The Nymph Mode of the Assassin Bug

[Michael Erlewine]

Photo by me today, as the grape leaves on our arbor begin to unfold, here is the nymph mode of the Assassin bug.

Nikon Z7 II with the Z 105 Macro S lens.

[rosko]

Michel,

These shots are just exquisite.

I'm trying to resist to purchase this lens, but I'm going to fall soon...

Francis.

[Michael Erlewine]

Michel,

These shots are just exquisite.

I'm trying to resist to purchase this lens, but I'm going to fall soon...

Francis.

I must have scores of close-up and macro lenses, yet since I bought this lens, it is the one I use almost all the time, because not only is it a stellar lens, it has autofocus, which very, very few of my close-up lenses have.

[Robert Camfield]

Michael,

Very impressive - as mentioned by Rosko, the day-to-day details of nature are exquisite. Aside from Nikon's Ultra Micros (e.g., 28mm f1., my impression from various reviews and comments is that the Voigtlander 125mm f2.5 is near best, for resolution.

Robert   

[Michael Erlewine]

Michael,

Very impressive - as mentioned by Rosko, the day-to-day details of nature are exquisite. Aside from Nikon's Ultra Micros (e.g., 28mm f1., my impression from various reviews and comments is that the Voigtlander 125mm f2.5 is near best, for resolution.

Robert

The CV-125 is not as sharp, IMO, as the Z 105 Macro S. I have had five different CV-125 2/5, and while the CV-125 is one of the best all around macro/close-up lenses, the Z 105 Macro S sharper for my work.

[Bill De Jager]

Spectacular, Michael.  It's always a pleasure to see your work.

[Michael Erlewine]

Here is another young Assassin Bug, plus a crop. It seems these bugs stay on the same leaf. The nymph I photographed yesterday was still on the same grape leaf today. This is a different nymph in this shot.

Nikon Z7 II, plus the Z 105 Macro S lens.

[Snoogly]

How are you taking these photos? Are they single shot or stacked? Flash or natural light?

I ask because I have just started on a new quest to take macro photographs, and am currenlty trying find the best balance of lens, flash, and illuminating the subject.

Unfortunately this coincides with an epic breakdown in my eyesight and quality of my glasses prescription!

Yesterday I went for a walk in a nearby park, and struggled to capture what I really wanted to capture. I used an 80mm Laowa macro lens, and small and crappy Godox flash. Although I am happy with the composition of my images, my knackered eyes got in the way of accurate focussing, and the weak flash made exposure hard to nail.

I also have the same lovely Z lens, but I want to nail my macro technique before really using it to its advantage.

[Michael Erlewine]

How are you taking these photos? Are they single shot or stacked? Flash or natural light?

I ask because I have just started on a new quest to take macro photographs, and am currenlty trying find the best balance of lens, flash, and illuminating the subject.

Unfortunately this coincides with an epic breakdown in my eyesight and quality of my glasses prescription!

Yesterday I went for a walk in a nearby park, and struggled to capture what I really wanted to capture. I used an 80mm Laowa macro lens, and small and crappy Godox flash. Although I am happy with the composition of my images, my knackered eyes got in the way of accurate focussing, and the weak flash made exposure hard to nail.

I also have the same lovely Z lens, but I want to nail my macro technique before really using it to its advantage.

These shots are stacks or layers that are combined. I use Zerene Stacker software, and a typical shot may be 200 or more layers. I hardly ever use artificial light and I always use a tripod. I either stack manually or use the Nikons built-in stacking feature. These are shot outside, but much of what I do is better done in the studio, because in Michigan, which was scraped flat by a glacier, there is almost always wind.

[Nasos Kosmas]

Impressive shots Michael especially the first one with a  pronounced 3D effect!

[David H. Hartman]

Here is my effort sometime back with what I thought is an assassin bug nymph. I may have taking 20 or more shots to get one. There was fill from the popup on my D800. The lens was a 105/2.8 AIS Micro-Nikkor. The EXIF data is close to useless as Photoshop replaces most of Nikon's EXIF. My post on Flickr indicates 1/200s at f/16 and it was hand held.



https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_speedlight/17008702551/in/dateposted-public/

Some day I'd like to try stacking.

Dave

[Michael Erlewine]

Impressive shots Michael especially the first one with a  pronounced 3D effect!

Years ago, when I hiked all the time, my goal was to make nature photos that would be good enough for a field guide. I have thousands of those photos. Then I morphed and segued into composition and form above the 'nature' in the photos. That's where I am today, looking for a photo with punch, but also based on nature's beauty, something more like this photo with the Nikkor Noct f/0.95.