by Wayne Jones
Late yesterday, my granddaughter told me that it was National Camera Day. Naturally, I could not let the occasion pass without shooting SOMETHING! The Sun was going down, and it was cloudy, so I didn't have much light, but I was determined to find a subject in my yard. One of the great things about macro/close-up photography is that subjects are everywhere, but as the light got dimmer and dimmer, my first two subjects (green flower buds) did not look very exciting. Some red berries deep in the shade caught my eye, and as I approached them, something in slightly better light appeared -- my first "firefly" of the year. (A beetle in the family Lampyridae, Photinus sp.) Just barely enough light to shoot, thanks to the ability to crank up the 5D3 to ISO 5,000. That's a far cry from when I started getting serious about photography over half a century ago, when I thought ASA (now ISO) 400 was fast! See my old equipment in the NPN Discussion Forum, here: http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=78216&CGISESSID=9c3e792dfab93aea6ef210cc7486696b&u=11686
Canon 5D3; Sigma 150 mm. Macro
1/40 sec. @ f/8; ISO 5,000
Tripod
Comments
8 commentsHi Wayne,
This one looks very good considering it is a 1/40sec exposure. Normally the antennae are in constant motion and you actually got the near one in sharp focus. You also were able to get the velveteen texture in the elytra and ideal highlight in the eye. Good job getting the capture under less than ideal lighting
...........................Jim
Excellent example of what the 5DM3 cam do at the upper ISO range.. in the right hands of course.
Nice job processing, great details & comp - A fine low light image Wayne
Wayne, this is a fine example in making a quick response to the Camera Day event you've outlined so well here on NPN. Although admittedly I do some macro, using a macro lens, I consider it more of closeup work for a couple reasons. Primarily it is not super magnified such as this image and it usually is not a singular object, such as bugs and or a single flower.
Anyway, to end with my comment I wanted to mention that our local paper here in Riverside County in California, second largest geographical county in USA, had an article on a NEW firefly just discovered. Apparently a student from the UCR campus just got it brought it into recognition and it's been named, classified, and filed. Kind of cool to think nature still has surprises for us....
Wayne ..this is beautifully composed ..and i have always seen the fire fly only when it emits light.
Balan Vinod
Fireflies are so cool. I'm still a little kid when it comes to watching them in the evenings and trying to recognize the different blink patterns. The sharpness on the beetle is great and the green perch plus position in the frame are excellent. Yes, the high iso performance of the 5D3 is a wonder of technology.
Wayne - Nice diagonal composition and crisp focus for the Firefly from head to tail. Very nice !
Neatly composed frame with leaves lining up diagonally, Wayne. And such fantastic details with ISO5000 !!!
Great details and processing with ISO 5000. I especially like the composition. Very nice shot!