Stalk eyed fly

[Jason Stander]

This is a close up of the stalk eyed fly (Family Diopsidae sp Diopsis))... the length of the eye stalks is possibly the result of competition between males (sexual selection)... they are slow and clumsy flies... form swarms in shaded areas... esp moist and humid places.

Crits and comments welcome... ENJOY!:S3:

Canon 60D, MP-E 65mm, 24ET Macro twin flash

Aperture:f14
SS: 1/100s
ISO: 100

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jason and a big welcome to the Macro forum - it's good to see another MP-E user! This is an awesome looking fly - those eye stalks are truly weird! Thanks for including the biological info. I like the head-on eye level view and you have good sharpness within your DOF. The MT24 has given you some rather harsh light (which it is prone to do) - you might want to look into diffusing those flash heads to get softer lighting. For this image, I would suggest cloning some of the flash-generated specular highlights. Also, I'm not a big fan of black backgrounds for daylight shots - holding an artificial background (e.g., a print of OOF vegetation) a few inches behind your subject will give the flashes something to illuminate and will eliminate the black. (Having 2 or 3 extra hands helps too. :S3: ) This is a very nice first post and I hope to see more of your work.

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Steve... most welcomed:S3:... I have recently converted to the MPE and MT24 combo... yip flash diffusion is an issue... any ideas PLEASE... thank for the bg tip:S3:... going to look into that... have a lovely day!!!!:w3

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jason,
Welcome to the forum and glad to see you got the image posted! Steve gave you some great advice on both thesubject (love the eyes) and some possible tips on the flash (sheer fabric and rubber bands may work) and I will give you one on the BG......take a picture of some OOF greenery......print it on Matte paper......since you are shooting small subjects.....8x10 or 13x19 ( i use this size) mount it on some thin card stock......use a plamp or other device to hold it behind subject. Just be careful teh flashes don't cast a shadow on it! Looking forward to more of your work and nice first post!

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Welcome to the forum Jason!
I like the composition and colors. Good focus on those amazing eyes. The bright area on right side is a bit distracting.
Looking forward for your next one.

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Ovidiu and Roman for the views, comments and tips... much appreciated!!!!!!!!!:S3::S3::S3::w3

[Steve Maxson]

flash diffusion is an issue... any ideas PLEASE...

Jason - I'll send you a PM with some info. :S3:

[Jim Bridges]

I have never seen a image of one of these flies before anywhere so this is a thrill for me see! Thanks for posting it and I hope you'll post more of your images here.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I ditto Steve's critique all the way. Very cool image:w3

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Jim and Cheryl for the time... appreciate!!!:w3
Steve... thanx for the pm... will look into it!:bg3:

[Nancy Bell]

I'll leave all the tech tips to the pros. This is one very cool-looking fly. A long time ago when I was studying entomology and making collections I never saw a fly such as this. Thanks for posting!

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Nancy... it is a pleasure!:w3