What is an Australian Summer without flies?

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What is an Australian Summer without flies?

Postby rflower on Thu Feb 19, 2009 8:49 pm

It has been a funny summer here in Australia.
Fires in the south, Floods in the north (and west now)
Hottest accurate temperature recorded in Victoria last week (47 degrees at Avalon Airport).

Some things never change though ...

Image
Common Australian Housefly (around 5 - 10mm long) (Sorry don't know the scientific name)
Nikon D80
Tamron 90mm macro lens
Kenko 36mm extension tube
SB800 on TTL
hand held
Shutter: 1/200 Aperture f36
Subject was around 10-20cm from lens

This shot has been cropped to around 50% of original.


Image
Common Australian Housefly (around 5 - 10mm long) (Sorry don't know the scientific name)
The fly was on my jeans. The OOF black in the foreground is a wrinkle in the fabric.
Nikon D80
Tamron 90mm macro lens
Kenko 36mm + 24mm extension tube
SB800 on TTL
hand held
Shutter: 1/200 Aperture f40
Subject was around 5cm from lens

This shot has been cropped to around 80% of original.

Any comments welcomed.
Russell
Nikon D700 // 50 1.4 // 70-200 2.8 VRII // 24-120 f4// Tamron 90 // SB-800 // 70-300G
I'm on Redbubble too ... http://www.redbubble.com/people/rflower
If you can make one of my photos look better and you have the inclination ... please do so.
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Re: What is an Australian Summer without flies?

Postby ATJ on Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:02 am

Nice shots, Russell. Despite using a bare flash, the lighting for both is pretty good.

I think the first one would have more impact if you could have got in closer and lower. The Tamron alone should let you focus down to 1:1 which means at 5-10mm, the fly would fill 1/5 to almost half the frame width (in landscape mode). The 36mm tube should let you get even closer. It also would have been better if the fly was facing towards you rather than away.

The low angle makes the second shot better for me, although the dark background makes the separation not as good. The out of focus foreground covers up the legs of the fly which takes away a bit from the shot.

I'm not sure if it is a common house fly, but if it is, it's Musca domestica. It actually looks more like a bush fly which are slightly larger but are in the same genus.
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Re: What is an Australian Summer without flies?

Postby DebT on Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:16 pm

Ha Ha .. Fly on your jeans ...a 'zipper-upper-orous' perhaps ?
OK I'm only jeolous .. great shot of the eye I'm amazed you can get so close and get the shot before they buzz off.
Pity about the forground in #2 I'd be inclined to crop in even closer to get rid of it. #1's really crisp DOF looks spot on - now you just need to work out how to get them to pose in position.
Great shots keep them coming
DebT
DebT
"so many dreams - so little time "
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