Praying Mantis - Postcard from Brazil

     This is actually a tiny baby Praying Mantis that we found here.  It's entire body was hardly half-an-inch in length and so I it was a challenge to get a macro portrait of him, but he finally looked into the camera - not sure if he's smiling or not, though!

Macro Insects - Extension Tubes

     Because today was such a nice day, and because it's been a long time since I've shot Macro photos, I decided to get out my Extension Tubes to convert my 200mm F2.8 lens into a Macro Lens.  I use an inexpensive set of extension tubes that mounts between my camera body and the lens.
    As Wikipedia puts it, "The tube contains no optical elements; its sole purpose is to move the lens farther from the image plane. The farther away the lens is, the closer the focus, the greater the magnification . . ."   For these shots I used about 60mm of extension resulting in considerable magnification and enjoyed experimenting with the different insects I found.
    Here are several samples from my shots today.

     I had a great time and was glad I took a few minutes to deviate from my standard photography style!


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Quote of the Day:

     I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
       - Noel Coward

Archived Photos

Here are a couple photos that I found collecting "digital dust" on my hard drive. Thought I'd revive them and give them another chance!