Musings of a Frequent Flying Scientist

Strongest (Rehab2)

Day2 of Photo101 Rehab and I hope I’m not too late!

I love to experiment with macro photography. I took these photos when I was cleaning my camera one day during the November photo101 challenge. I had cereal for breakfast outside and had put a little on the tiles for Gidget. I watched as an ant came along and used its two front legs to grab the cornflake and pull it apart – the piece that it’s carrying is just one quarter of a cornflake, so you can see that this is a very small ant. What I loved was how determined he was to take the cornflake away – he was totally driven.

The hardest part of taking these photos was tracking the ant and keeping him in focus – I experimented with just autofocus and then with continuous autofocus as well. It was tricky because he was pretty fast – I think he was worried that I might want the cornflake back! I was lying flat on my tummy to take these shots and I took a number of shots to get these. They aren’t as sharp as they could be – I think the header one is the best. I should have upped the ISO so that I could use a faster shutter speed.

Ok, now what?! 60mm f/2.8 1/80s ISO200
I hope nobody’s watching… 60mm f/2.8 1/80s ISO200
I’m getting away! 60mm f/5.0 1/30s ISO200

As usual, I edited in Lightroom. A very slight increase in contrast, highlights and shadows, and a small boost to saturation and vibrance to bring out the colour in the ant.

Tomorrow, I hope to have time to actually get the camera out and take new photos.

x desleyjane

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Comments

30 responses to “Strongest (Rehab2)”

  1. nty6x Avatar
    nty6x

    sweet! these critters sure can run!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      oh yeah thanks, so tough being on my belly and chasing him

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. nty6x Avatar
        nty6x

        Great work anyho! Don’t think i’ve seen these ants before. Interesting colour. May I know what kinda lens you used for this?

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. desleyjane Avatar
          desleyjane

          I’m using a mirrorless camera so my 60mm macro lens (Olympus all the way) is a 120mm equivalent. I think they’re just notmal Aussie ants. Tiny!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. nty6x Avatar
            nty6x

            Ohhh cool! I need to get myself one of those extension tubes for macro.
            It must be cause i’ve never seen them this upclose before!

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
  2. Andy Townend Avatar
    Andy Townend

    Amazing, I like the one on the bottom right of the grid, never really tried macro…so there is a challenge

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      Excellent! Thanks Andy. Tomorrow maybe? 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Andy Townend Avatar
        Andy Townend

        Now there’s a challenge 😉

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. desleyjane Avatar
          desleyjane

          Should be fun!

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
  3. JJCylk Avatar
    JJCylk

    I’d like to get into doing some Macro photos. Yours look great. I wanted to try w/ an iPhone5s. Anybody have recommendations on what’s a good lens attachment for the 5s?

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    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      I havent really looked at that except for the ollo clips for iPhone. I did see some great insect shots on instagram that were taken with smart phones. We should definitely investigate. Thanks!

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      1. JJCylk Avatar
        JJCylk

        We to Barnes & Noble today. All the books I could but were all on Photoshop but I dont own the software. I had to go to online to my library to renew a book I have out. I did a search there. I’ve order 3 books. Lets see what I can learn from the written word. Also, just checked out you tube, they have abunch of video’s there. Well I’m back to school.

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        1. desleyjane Avatar
          desleyjane

          Oh cool! It will be good to find out what’s available for iPhone….

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      2. JJCylk Avatar
        JJCylk

        First off don’t trust Siri to know what you said. I think I might like “Lightroom” because a lot of information is saying “we are almost like Lightroom,..” That’s like how everybody compares themselves to an iPad.

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  4. Mara Eastern Avatar
    Mara Eastern

    I doubt that you’re late for the second rehab session, I think you might even be the first to report! 😉 As to a fellow macro fan, your macro photos very much appeal to me. I have the same issues with focusing as you describe; but being at the very beginning of learning to shoot, I have no advice. Besides keeping on experimenting. And having fun! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      Cheers Mara. I thought of you last night. It was 2am and I was still perusing blogs. I’m paying for it now at 8:30 in the morning. Time for coffee (again)!

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  5. tildy1 Avatar
    tildy1

    Great close ups! I hate those little ants getting in to my house, but they are interesting to watch! Your shot sure shows his strength!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      LOL he was amazing. Yes, they really make a mess. If Gidget doesn’t eat her food, it’s covered within about 15 minutes.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. luciledegodoy Avatar
    luciledegodoy

    You’re going to be the first, always…time zone helps you. And what about this photo? Wow! Brilliant.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      Thanks so much Lucile! I feel like we might be a day behind but it’s all good. Can you believe I left my camera at my folks’ place tonight?!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. luciledegodoy Avatar
        luciledegodoy

        The Clinic is always open and each patient follows an individual therapy; timing is 24×7…
        I can’t believe it…are you ok? Trembling yet? Get a mobile phone…now! Lol

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
        1. desleyjane Avatar
          desleyjane

          I am quivering, freaking out. I may need double-treatment!! Oh dear. It’s ok, they will take good care of it and bring it by tomorrow. I have 2 iPhones to sustain me til then lol 😉

          Liked by 1 person

          Reply
          1. luciledegodoy Avatar
            luciledegodoy

            I’m relieved to hear. I was already calling emergency services in Australia! 👍

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply
            1. desleyjane Avatar
              desleyjane

              I am so lucky to have you!

              Liked by 1 person

              Reply
              1. luciledegodoy Avatar
                luciledegodoy

                Likewise!

                Liked by 1 person

                Reply
  7. Cardinal Guzman Avatar
    Cardinal Guzman

    I didn’t know that ants enjoyed cereal for breakfast! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      Me either! Maybe it was the milk 😉

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  8. Omar Upegui R. Avatar
    Omar Upegui R.

    This is the first time I’ve visited your blog site. Your pictures are most interesting with a wide variety of subjects. The quality of your work is awesome. Stayed at your site for almost an hour mesmerised by your shots.

    Last night I took a hard look at your camera, the Olympus OMD EM5. If it weren’t for the steep price I would consider buying it. Everything I read and viewed on the Internet was first class. You are indeed priviledged in having such a great artistic tool.

    Plan to return as much as I can to see more of your work.

    Cheers,

    Omar.-

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    Reply
    1. desleyjane Avatar
      desleyjane

      Thank you Omar, that means a lot. And thanks for stopping by. 😄

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      Reply
  9. Photo 101 Rehab: Macro | Mara Eastern’s Personal Blog

    […] to today’s Photo 101 Rehab group was inspired by the fellow patient desleyjane’s cornflakes-carrying ants. I went for a petal-carrying ant here. Alternately, an ant-carrying […]

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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