‹ Previous Macro & Close-up Gallery Next ›

Northeastern Pine Sawyer

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted August 9, 2012122 views9 comments

This is another shot of longhorn beetle (Family Cerambycidae), the northeastern pine sawyer (Monochamus notatus) that was in my previous post. I wanted a full-body shot in it's natural habitat, so the background looks a little busy.

It took 19 exposures to get it all in focus. (Well, ALMOST all in focus; I didn't even try for the left antenna, because that was in another county.) It's not a simple stack, because the beetle was moving a little. Shooting quickly, I ended up with one series for the body and another for the right antenna, and then I blended in separate shots of the legs since they moved a bit.

Canon 5DMkII
Sigma 150 mm. Macro
1/160 sec. @ f/8; ISO 640
Tripod
19 images focus-blended in CS5

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on August 9, 2012 at 6:59 PM

Very nice documentary shot, Wayne. Good look at the beetle and it's habitat. Did it really stay still long enough for you to get 19 exposures?

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on August 9, 2012 at 9:14 PM

Peter,
No, it did not stay perfectly still. The main body was still for 8 of the first 11 exposures, but the three right legs (mostly tibia) moved a little, so I manually blended those in. I could see the antennae move while shooting, so I quickly shot 8 more frames for a separate 8-image stack for the right antenna. Figuring it all out was kinda fun!

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Turner on August 9, 2012 at 9:26 PM

Lot of work for a stink bug

Good results

Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on August 9, 2012 at 9:40 PM

This one really complements the prior image/view. Nice to see this one from behind the enemy lines, so to speak. Good job on the blending/sacking. My hats off to those of you with the skill and patience to pull this off.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on August 10, 2012 at 5:58 AM

Good results Wayne, even with the left antennae in another "county"

Or is this an image sent back by the "Curiosity Rover" on Mars?
You know there are copyright laws to consider

Well done

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on August 10, 2012 at 6:27 PM

This really shows well the size of the antennae. Impressive that you could get a 19 image stack (and even two stacks at that). Great work.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments

Comment posted by Varina Patel on August 11, 2012 at 7:22 AM

What a fun challenge! Expertly done, Wayne!

Registered on August 22, 2008, 45 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on August 11, 2012 at 9:35 AM

Great image. Wonder what the purpose of the extremely long antennas is. Your PP work really payed off in clarity and detail. Nice job

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Hali Sowle on August 12, 2012 at 9:05 PM

This was quite the labor of love with great results Wayne.

Registered on January 9, 2008, 36 Posts, 582 Comments