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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Green eyes

Before Christmas I got hold of an Olympus TG-6 camera. I'd seen and heard all the fuss around its in-camera focus stacking and its amazing close focus abilities and I thought that I would be able to put it to good use especially on taking shots of beetle specimens.

Like with any camera, it's isn't a quick fix to getting amazing images. You need to learn what it does and how to coax the most from it. To be honest since I got it I haven't really given it much attention.

However, this week I've at least been taking it out and seeing what it can do. First off, I decided to beat a bit of hawthorn to see what I could point it at.

There were lots of Grammoptera ruficornis running about and I managed to grab a couple of shots where most of the beetle was in focus


This cranefly proved to be exquisitely beautiful viewed close up. Just look at that eye! What a perfect shade of green. The stripe down the abdomen and the aforementioned eye colour make this Tipula vernalis. (Thanks to Tristan, Calum and Ryan on Twitter for the ID).



I also had my usual sieve of the garden heap to find that a whole load of Lesser Earwigs have turned up. I always think 'staph' when I see them until I notice the end of the abdomens. They kept running about but I manage a shot or two that were vaguely recognisable.



Still lots to learn an have only dipped my toe into what is possible with this bit of kit. For specimen images I really need to sort out a suitable lighting setup, but we'll get there. Will just have to keep on practicing...

Today's title inspiration for you.

1 comment:

  1. Nice. I nearly went for the TG6, and it would probably have been a better choice for macro, but I've been used to the versitility of a decent bridge for too long.

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