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Sleeping Beauty
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Sleeping Beauty

by Balan Vinod

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted January 4, 2014103 views3 comments
Folks,

For long I have been using extension tubes only for macro images, and have my mind set on buying a dedicated macro lens. As a first step, I borrowed a tamron 90 to check ( working distance is a constraint).

Using LED lamps I searched the morning grass for a suitable subject and found this southern sand wasp fast asleep, in the cold, and a some dew drop on it.

7D, Tamron 90, 400 ISO, 7.1 @ 1/100.

Thanks NPN for your support

Balan Vinod

Comments

3 comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on January 4, 2014 at 11:37 AM
That is one skinny little insect! Very nice find, Balan. I like his position on the perch and your nicely blurred background with some OOF stems echoing the main stem. Great color in the background too and works well with the colors in the wasp. A crop in from the right to get the wasp more at the 1/3 spot (vertically) may be helpful.

Re macro lenses: I have both the 90mm Tamron macro and the 180mm Tamron macro. I must say, I probably use my 180mm macro a large percentage of the time. It works well to give more working distance between the photographer and the subject, which is especially useful for insect photography. It also allows for more detail on the subject and more blur in the background. Plus, this extra working distance allows space to add extension tubes without being right against your subject. But. . . I still really like the 90mm macro, especially when working space is physically limited. I find both to be pretty sharp lenses. :smile:
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on January 5, 2014 at 2:01 PM
Excellent comp, Balan. The wasp has good detail and stands out very well against the nice bg. Eye catching colors, too.
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 8, 2014 at 5:42 PM
I'm fascinated by the pose, with the abdomen lifted up against the wings. The background colors are nicely warm.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments