Portrait of a Mosquito

[Vida van der Walt]

A Bush Mosquito from my garden. They bite during the day and are the reason I have to cover myself in insect repellent. They do not transmit Malaria. They normally sit on the underside of leaves and I was lucky to eventually find one sitting in the open on the hedge of Duranta. This is a female ( the males have big feathery antennae) and I think she followed me around after this shot as I was bitten not long after.:)
Canon 5D Mark11; MP E 65mm & MT 24EX
apert f16; ss1/200; iso 200
Slight crop, shrpn, nr, levels.

[Charles Wesley]

Vida,

You have excellent details and color contrast on this one. He looks really big. Know the MP-E 65 mm macro goes from 1- 5 X but what was your magnification. Do you HH with this lens?
Thanks for sharing...
______________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Morkel Erasmus]

stunning study Vida! lovely colours and fine details. we all have our risks! some risk a little mosquito sting here and there, others risk getting their limbs chomped off ;)

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Charles and Morkel. Thank you very much for the kind words. Charles, this was hand held and not yet at 5x. I had time for 5 shots before she took off. The first two shots were at around 2x and the last three I'm not 100% sure of but I do know that I didn't have time to get to 5x. This mosquito is just average in size (in fact, my SA Insect Guide describes it as small).:) Morkel, sounds like you have been getting too close to the lions!;):D

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Absolute stunner !
Love the BG colours and the details on the mosquito. Nice exposure to bring out such good details from black coloured body. The compound eyes show such fantastic texture.
Thanks for sharing this Vida.

[Vida van der Walt]

Thank you Kaushik. Your comments are highly appreciated.:)

[Julie Kenward]

How you manage to make bugs look so cool is beyond me, Vida! Everything looks crisp and realistic - my only question is any idea what the thing is on the underside of the leaf? If it isn't anything relevant, I'd consider cloning it out...everything else is fantastic! ;)

[Allen Sparks]

amazing details! what an image...even the tiny compounds eyes are displayed...really fantastic...love the contrast in the fly and the BG too.

[Vida van der Walt]

Thank you Jules and Allan!:) Jules, you've got sharp eyes. I had a look at my raw files to see if the thing-a-ma-jig is perhaps clearer in one of my other images. I definitely looks like some little creature or its remains. I can make out what looks like legs and eyes. It must be incredibly small!:)

[Stu Bowie]

Vida, you just amaze me more and more. Looks like a robot out of transformers. Seriously, exceptional detail, especially on the head and eye. Just love that vibrant yellow. Another fine image from you. Well done.

[Vida van der Walt]

Thank you very much Stu. I'm sorry, I only saw this now.:)

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Great work Vida. WOW! As much as I despise the insect itself, your rendition makes me fascinated. :)

[Myer Bornstein]

Vida your macro photos of insect are great, such clear detail keep up the good work

[Vida van der Walt]

Akos and Myer, much appreciated.:)