New Found - A cute weevil

An old picture or capture while I was at Kota Kinabalu Park (KK) , this beetle is ~5-8mm in size and look real cute ...

not really move alot may be due to cool weather ... but still floew off after ~3 shots, may be my diffuser is too close to it



more beetle/weevil collection
http://www.flickr.com/photos/liewwk/sets/72157605373755899/with/5245543500/

New Found - a Orange Long-horned beetle

a cute and beautiful beetle , but it harm the plantation .....

it move slow while I see them .. in group (Northborough, MA, US) .......





more
liewwk beetle collection
liewwk 2010 US collection

other - a not so easy closeup

I am shooting for Macro for ~2.5 years now and few bugs I still having problem to shoot their close-up (face in close without cropping) and share in my flickr @ It's always good to look close xx

2 of my wish to shoot their face are Tiger Beetle and Giraffe Weevil

both this bug very shy, not easy to get close and I managed to get close to one the giraffe weevil (wild) and shoot 4:1 without any crop .. one of my happiest capture in 2010 even not a best picture ... but I am happy to have it get close ..



more beetle from liewwk flickr click here

New Found - Long-Horned Beetle in Love

After 2 years ++ in MACRO photography, this is my first time see a pair of Long-Horned Beetle mating in real life instead of pictures. it is wonderful found, and was should be one of my best found for 2010 .. so let's share it with pictures ... and HD Movie

1. keep moving around so I got green BG


2. and also brown BG


and a HD movie show how they never give up ... (@almost end of the movie)

New Founds - Rhinoceros beetle

this is not new to me but happy to share it with you all as this seem to be rare after years ...

while I was young I can see this beetle quite often even in the town (I stay in Kuala Lumpur since young) but nowadays, we are not easy to smell this beetle even went into jungle ....

few characteristic
i. seldom move and like to climb stick
ii. female without horn
iii. take note of it legs as it will hurt you if it trying to hold your hand :D
4. so far I found @highland ... Genting Highland, Berjaya Resort (Bukit Tinggi) and Lukut Palm Oil Plantation



larger view http://www.liewwkphoto.com/image-viewer.htm?Fgallery2-23

A Beetle body full with Mites Again ....

It is common to see mites or parasites on insect body especially beetles .. and last year I do found a long-horned beetle with "a lot" of mites on it's body .. but last 2 days ago I found another beetle so call full with mites !!! It's body look full cover by mites and it move really slow (can feel it is pain) ... but how should I help ???


2009 - long-horned beetle with mites


the beetle full with mites


bigger picture view through here

let get closer to the mites (5:1 and non crop)


if someone know how do we help .. please suggest ...

How I shoot MACRO - angle is important

I had share this to most of my MACRO gang, "angle" to shoot the bugs is very important. Angle need to be choose to control
1. better DOF
2. better BG
3. show beauty of the object

and in general I had discuss @previous post How I shoot MACRO - Composition, angle ...

I can't provide too many samples but will keep on to post relevant sample as I got relevant sample pictures ...

as for last week , I got a chance to see a pair of weevil mating on the tree trunk and I know this will be good for this so I decide to make few shots to show the different effect on BG while using different angle

below is a picture show the situation


and as for the sample of common 90 degree to the object and we are easier to get max DOF but the BG will look like


a dark/black BG will be produce as full flash use, so we could try to make leave behind the object as sample (different object but still a beetle on tree but with brown leaf behind as BG - hand make :D )


but then while we shift out angle a bit higher to make the tree body as BG


- this will be better in term of overall picture but then it is not easy to get both Weevil in focus due to the DOF limit. so even we move to upper but we still need to control the angle where both weevil eye can be in focus


some add-on on the weevil, this weevil is small one and I shoot it with coin as comparison before as below



and again we really should thanks MACRO photography to allow us to see something where we normally can't view through human eye

a big magnification of same type of Weevil

one of my favor MACRO Model - Tiger Beetle

think this was one of the beautiful/cute creature attract me into MACRO photography while I was still using my Pns (~2 years ago)

let me make a count how many types I managed to capture so far , and let talk about it's behavior

1. common in hill/lowland forest
- quite sensitive but still allow get close if we move slowly
- while we use flash, 50% it will move or flew off
- normally on leaf




2. common in forest could be far from stream
- super sensitive not easy to get close (even with 150mm + 1.4tc)




3. common near low land forest close to stream with sand
- sensitive, not easy to get close need to move really slow
- depend season, sometime a lot but sometime .. just disappear
- while mating season, you will see them keep mating non stop but most of them only for ~5-10sec




4.can found on few beach
- when found normally gang of them
- love to mating, and look like they don't know how to different male or female until make it
- sensitive but easy to get close especially mating time .. not easy to shoot single




5. only found @one beach near Sepang
- many of them
- love to mating
- super sensitive, even mating. almost impossible to get close as type 2 but this normally found group of them so easy t get shots





6. common in forest
- less sensitive , can easily get close
- but didn't see it mating so far

special write for my gang .... Philip Wee

a gang of mine, asking for poison (wny am I using mt24) ... so while our last week outing in a reserve jungle we tried to shoot the same beetle (normally I stop shooting the long horned beetle... I just have too many of them) with same gears (canon 5dm2, mpe65...) except the light different.. I am using mt24 setup as below


and he is using my old setup as below


I am sharing this to him with minimum of PP and waiting for his post too to have compare ...

a portrait mode


a landscape mode


just hope he will post his ASAP .. and I will update his picture here



but let share my capture

he is replying this fast with picture

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4019/4321311593_883c642c1a_o.jpg

Cicindelephilia - in action in same pose [18sx]

no other pose I think ..








hope I can find more species by this year

... it's always good to look close 8 - Blue Tiger Beetle ...

I was like hit the Jackpot where manage to get 5:1 of sensitive Blue tiger beetle last week... it seem like hurt but then I found few hurt before they still jumping around instead flew off while we are feets away

this is a very shy/sensitive bug , normally not easy to get close as 1-2 feet to them ...



~4:1 non crop


and full view of this "tiger"

... it's always good to look close 7 - Long Snout Weevil ...

there is nothing special about this weevil except it look lazy and long snout ... the side view of it's face will be better compare direct face and the DOF will never display it's snout correctly

a weevil move slowly, not shy can handle with hand but take note as it will playing/pretend "dead" after we touch it





a full view

funny "tiger" : "pls queue up"

this beetle really funny, where they cannot differentiate male or female until they try and error ... so this happen



and yes ... it is not ghost but have 3rd one ....