Bored in the back yard

Bigfatts · Aug 1, 2008

It's my day off and I got bored being stuck inside because of the rain. As soon as it quit I grabbed the tripod and went out the back door. Didn't really set up for any of these, just some snap shots. It was still very overcast and drizzled off and on so I didn't stay outside very long.

I think these are the best ones I took.

Kyuss · Aug 1, 2008

Man! The bug in the first one must have been one small critter. The plant looks like your up on it, I't makes the bug small!

Nice shots!

Bigfatts · Aug 1, 2008

Thanx! Yea, I was up on him pretty close. He was extremely tiny, probably 2/3 the size of a housefly. I honestly didn't think anything of that shot when I snapped it, just a quick one as I was headed in. I think it turned out to be the best one of the day. The only other bugs I managed to get was a little weaver spider but it didn't come out too well.

It would have been better if not for the flower directly behind. I was limited in angle possibilities so I just went with what there was.

thirdeye · Aug 2, 2008

nice shots ! droplets on green leaves always have that fresh mood !

Bigfatts · Aug 6, 2008

Thanx, I think so too. My favorite place to be is outside after a rainstorm when it's still overcast and all. Here is one more I have developed a liking for. I cropped it a bit on the bottom.

C&C welcome.

invisible · Aug 6, 2008

I have to say that #1 is one of the best photos I've seen in the last few days –here and elsewhere. You put the insect right in the middle, yet the composition looks flawless thanks to all the diagonal lines and the drops balancing the weight of the image.

By the way, is that the actual colour of the insect? Or you "dyed" it in post-processing so it could match the leaf?

Also, can you tell us what equipment you used, and the settings?

Thanks for posting these, really a joy looking at them.

Bigfatts · Aug 7, 2008

Thanx! That is the natural color of the fly, I actually did nothing to these pics other than minor cropping. I don't know what these flies are called but I see them every once in a while. This was the only time I've ever seen one still enough to grab a photo.

Pics were shot with a Canon S5iS (that I'm still learning how to use) with various settings, the first shot was:

ISO: 80
Shutter: 1/200
AV: 3.5

I had to tweak some of the settings due to the shifty cloud cover and wandering sun.

photo28 · Aug 10, 2008

Thanks for sharing, those are awesome!

photo28 · Aug 10, 2008

Does the S5iS have good macro? I've been looking for a new camera for a while now and I was thinking of getting this, then I saw your photo and I now have some positive thoughts about the camera! :wink:

Bigfatts · Aug 10, 2008

The S5iS does have good macro, what I consider good anyways. Check out that pic of the spider. The body on it was about the size of a grain of rice. And the cool thing about the S5iS is that Canon makes add on lenses for it. They make a 2x telephoto, a fisheye and a 1.5x Macro that I know of. It also has a hot shoe for a slave flash. The Manual shooting mode is great too. It's by no means a simple point and shoot and I have seen pics taken with this camera here in the forums that exceed my own.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=144&modelid=15207