Search found 710 matches

by rjlittlefield
Tue Jul 04, 2006 4:35 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Pretty mushroom -- Amanita muscaria?
Replies: 4
Views: 13130

Pretty mushroom -- Amanita muscaria?

http://www.janrik.net/PanoPostings/SouthForkTieton2005Sep3-5/CRW_6953_small.jpg I found this picture today while rummaging around in photos from last summer. Nothing special, but I liked the colors in it. A closer crop... http://www.janrik.net/PanoPostings/SouthForkTieton2005Sep3-5/CRW_6953_crop.jp...
by rjlittlefield
Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:58 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Carpenter ants on a rotting tree
Replies: 2
Views: 8952

Hmm... I've heard of bombardier beetles, but never ammo-armed ants.

Talk about your basic unexpected hazards! :shock:

--Rik
by rjlittlefield
Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:50 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Have you ever seen a snake fly?
Replies: 6
Views: 13352

Hah, excellent! :lol: I figured Mike B would chime in with some story about the Asian flying snakes. (I'm disappointed that he hasn't actually seen one :( , but I do appreciate the link -- there are some very interesting videos out there.) But a flying rattlesnake from Tom Webster, that one I did no...
by rjlittlefield
Mon Jul 03, 2006 8:17 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Just another flashy caterpillar...
Replies: 5
Views: 17261

Most of those "spines" are for looks to would be predators. True enough -- that's what makes the exceptions so interesting and memorable! I grew up about 6 miles south of British Columbia, on the east side of the Cascades. In that area, the only stinging caterpillars were Hemileuca , and they were ...
by rjlittlefield
Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:19 am
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Carpenter ants on a rotting tree
Replies: 2
Views: 8952

Carpenter ants on a rotting tree

http://www.janrik.net/PanoPostings/SouthForkTieton2006June29-30/CRW_9306_crop_small.jpg Field width 2", largest ants are almost 1/2" long. What's going on here? Well, I really don't know! These are carpenter ants, a large species that inhabits western forests and generally makes its living in and a...
by rjlittlefield
Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:09 am
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Just another flashy caterpillar...
Replies: 5
Views: 17261

Ken, I did take the risk of "petting" a couple of these caterpillars just to see if they would sting. Nothing -- apparently my hide's too tough. Actually I've only encountered one small group of stinging caterpillars out here in the Pacific Northwest. Those are the Hemileuca sheep moths that I poste...
by rjlittlefield
Sun Jul 02, 2006 11:20 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Just another flashy caterpillar...
Replies: 5
Views: 17261

Just another flashy caterpillar...

To tell the truth, I didn't notice the electric blue spots until I looked at the pictures. By eye, I thought the critters were just black and yellow with red heads. Old eyes, I guess. http://www.janrik.net/PanoPostings/SouthForkTieton2006June29-30/CRW_9321_cropped.jpg These things were really workin...
by rjlittlefield
Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:19 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Have you ever seen a snake fly?
Replies: 6
Views: 13352

Have you ever seen a snake fly?

Oh, sorry, I must have put an extra space in that title. :wink: What I really meant was, "Have you ever seen a snakefly?" http://www.janrik.net/PanoPostings/SouthForkTieton2006June29-30/CRW_9281_crop.jpg Well, you have now! These strange creatures are fairly close relatives of Dobsonflies, lacewings...
by rjlittlefield
Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:35 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Arrowhead Blues: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Impossible Dream?
Replies: 2
Views: 6088

Arrowhead Blues: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Impossible Dream?

In order... The Triumph -- a pristine male Arrowhead Blue ( Glaucopsyche piasus ). http://www.janrik.net/PanoPostings/SouthForkTieton2006June29-30/CRW_9332.jpg The Tragedy -- what should have been like the first, except that this sad individual did not succeed in getting any of its wings properly ex...
by rjlittlefield
Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:53 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: For Rik...Dragonfly photo'ed with stacked tc's.
Replies: 6
Views: 5790

Tom, thanks for the actual pixels. I'm just about as impressed as it's possible to be. From lens designer through photographer, this is excellent. A very useful calibration point -- quite different from my previous experiences with cheaper lenses and TC's. --Rik PS. Am I correct that this is the len...
by rjlittlefield
Sat Jul 01, 2006 12:26 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Flame Skimmer Dragonfly at 600mm.
Replies: 6
Views: 5216

Tom, thanks for the detailed reply.

Do you know what's different about the various IS systems, that some work on a tripod and some don't?

With the ones that don't, what happens if you forget and leave it on?

--Rik
by rjlittlefield
Sat Jul 01, 2006 12:20 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Sundew plants
Replies: 4
Views: 4270

Very pretty. Also very encouraging -- I've been waiting for camera-controlled focus bracketing to appear, and this is the first case I've seen. I look forward to seeing more experiments. If you get some interesting improvement, post out a single frame too so that we can see the difference.

--Rik
by rjlittlefield
Sat Jul 01, 2006 12:07 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: For Rik...Dragonfly photo'ed with stacked tc's.
Replies: 6
Views: 5790

Tom, I agree, this is remarkable -- and very pleasing! Good point about not being able to lock the tripod. Let me think about this... The unlocked tripod will still prevent linear movements and also roll. So presumably the IS compensates for whatever up/down and side/side rotation happens as you han...
by rjlittlefield
Sat Jul 01, 2006 11:47 am
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Need Help to ID a Beetle
Replies: 2
Views: 4445

George, I believe you have a "leaf beetle", family Chrysomelidae. Chrysomelidae is a huge family (over 25,000 species worldwide, 1500 in North America), with quite a bit of variation. I can't find anything that looks quite like yours in BugGuide, but that's not surprising given how few species it ca...
by rjlittlefield
Fri Jun 30, 2006 11:45 pm
Forum: Macro and Close-up Photography Gallery
Topic: Flame Skimmer Dragonfly at 600mm.
Replies: 6
Views: 5216

Tom, this picture makes a great advertisement for that lens :D (not to mention the photographer's skill :wink: ).

I notice that you're shooting "tripod with IS on". Have you any thoughts or experiments to share about how much improvement IS gives when the lens is already tripod mounted?

--Rik