Deadly Desert - Scorpion Sting

[Morkel Erasmus]

41800

I took this recently at the bottom of the Fish River Canyon in Namibia (we were doing the famous 5-day 80km hike). Time of day was noon but what can you do? The little bug (called a 'Toktokkie' in colloquial Afrikaans) put up quite a struggle and had to be stung 3 times before succumbing.

Canon 1000D with Tamron 70-300 Di Tele-Macro on Macro setting
f11.0 @ 1/250 SS @ ISO-800

All crits welcome! This is full frame. Click on the thumbnail to view large.

[Dave Mills]

Morkel...What a great capture! Just wish you had got the whole tail in the frame...

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Dave - yeah I agree, but it was happening so fast and the Tamron isn't known for it's lightning-fast AF system so I just kept shooting as long as I had something in focus :)

I have a whole series of shots, some showing the whole scorpion, but for these close-ups I deliberately went in for more detail.

[Julie Kenward]

Great detail and exposure, Morkel! I do agree that the tail in would be better but it's an interesting crop as is. Might consider taking a little more off the bottom and trying it as a pano crop.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Morke, very cool capture. good details.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the comments guys!

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Morkel, deadly little creatures. Well timed to capture the sting on the beetle, and wish for all of the tail. In the heat of the moment, we get what we can. Well done.