I found a small group of black aphids on a foxglove stem in my garden last week and tried to photograph their relationship with the black ants which were clambering over them. The two have a mutualistic relationship whereby the ants provide protection to the aphids and, in return, the aphids secrete honeydew which the ants feed upon. It's very interesting to watch through a macro lens, particularly the way the ants continually stroke the aphids with their antennae to encourage them to secrete the honeydew.
It's very difficult to get the ants in focus (or the eye to be more precise) because DOF at this level of magnification (4x life size) is approximately 0.1mm, also it's difficult to get a reasonable composition because the ants are constantly on the move and there are normally 2 or 3 in the shot at any one time. The above is probably my best effort at the moment. Here's a 1100 pixel version.
Canon 7D with MP-E 65mm macro lens, f9, 1/160, ISO 100, diffused flashguns on side brackets, handheld.
The real challenge is to actually get a globule of the honeydew within the shot. This is very tricky because the aphids only produce it sporadically and the ants consume it almost instantly (interestingly they always help it into their mouths with one of their antennae). For those interested, my best 2 efforts to date are HERE and HERE. They're far from perfect compositionally but I doubt I'll improve upon them this summer.
Far too many of these on my runner beans already this year. Great to see somone making the most of the opportunity, you have coped well considering the limitations on depth of field at this scale.
Matt, this series of pictures is truly inspirational. And all with a 7D and 65mm macro handheld! I can see I'll have to get closer to the "wee beasties" in future....
Well up to your usual very high standard, Matt. Unfortunately, (or fortunately from a gardener;s POV) I've not many greenfly and no blackfly this year, the blue tits etc have been very busy, I am tempted by this product to make things easier to photograph such situations and get improved DOF.
That really is brilliant Matt and I look forward to seeing more of these. The lack of DOF must be frustrating for you but you still seem to get the best out of that kit..
David, that does look like an interesting bit of kit, although not cheap. It's probably not something I would use too often but I could imagine it being useful for some of your still life shots.
Discussion
15 repliesIt's very difficult to get the ants in focus (or the eye to be more precise) because DOF at this level of magnification (4x life size) is approximately 0.1mm, also it's difficult to get a reasonable composition because the ants are constantly on the move and there are normally 2 or 3 in the shot at any one time. The above is probably my best effort at the moment. Here's a 1100 pixel version.
Canon 7D with MP-E 65mm macro lens, f9, 1/160, ISO 100, diffused flashguns on side brackets, handheld.
The real challenge is to actually get a globule of the honeydew within the shot. This is very tricky because the aphids only produce it sporadically and the ants consume it almost instantly (interestingly they always help it into their mouths with one of their antennae). For those interested, my best 2 efforts to date are HERE and HERE. They're far from perfect compositionally but I doubt I'll improve upon them this summer.
All comments gratefully received.
Sorry if I've gone on a bit
Matt
Keith.
Cheers
JohnR
David
Dale
http://www.cognisys-inc.com/stackshot/stackshot.php
http://www.cognisys-inc.com/HowTo/focus_stack_how_to.php?osCsid=177390f0cbbe6e5daf1f31cde263fde3
Regards,
Des
David
Brett
David, that does look like an interesting bit of kit, although not cheap. It's probably not something I would use too often but I could imagine it being useful for some of your still life shots.
Matt