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Thread: Blister beetles courting

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    Default Blister beetles courting

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    I found a small patch of common lupine full of these shiny blister beetles. With camera on a tripod I watched and photographed as the sun popped in and out. In particular I was fascinated with the courtship behavior of the beetles. I was so excited when I figured out the sequence of dance moves you would have thought I cracked a major mystery ! Two taps of the male abdomen against each side of the abdomen of the female, 2 times, then a bit of stroking with antennae and front legs, then the male throws his front legs straight forward and his antennae back over his head and pauses for a brief moment...that's when he was motionless and the best time to take the picture. The frantic sequence goes on and on and the only response I saw from the female was that she never stopped eating.

    Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens, tripod, 1/160 (should have been faster), f8, ISO 800.

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    Wow, Nancy, this is really neat.

    The background, although somewhat busy, is subdued and works quite well. The pose and composition are excellent, as are the sharpness and exposure. And the iridescent colors are beautiful. And thanks for the interesting story explaining the action. But isn't that just like a female, to keep on eating at a time like that?

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    Very cool image and story, Nancy. The background mirrors the colors in the subjects' iridescence.

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Nicely composed and exposed, I like the background too. The beetles are showing very good detail. The tails are not in focus, had it been possible I would have angled the camera back more round to the left.
    In the old days of 35mm film macro work f16** was often regarded as optimal for small insects, this would apply to the 5D mk111, so a couple of things to bare in mind:
    1. optimise the plane of focus
    2. check how close you are - don't be afraid of moving back just a little bit
    3. check the DOF - I think this can be done in live view
    After a little while when photographing small insects you will get to know instinctively how close and what aperture to use.
    ** with crop frame cameras a rough guide for DOF about a stop less

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    Forum Participant christopher galeski's Avatar
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    very nice Nancy,like the iridescencein these beetles.

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    Thank you all. Jonathan, that's a great list for me to use!

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