I am not sure where to post this as I did not think it was really a macro element. Hope this ok.
This pair of dung beetles came rolling past the front of my vehicle at the LBE site and I hunched down to get a lower angle out the door (I don't have a door on drivers side). They always impress me with their ability to zone in on animal dung as well as their enormous strength in relation to their size.
Used side of door frame as a steady
Canon MK IV - 300mm f2.8 Mk II plus 2 X extender Mk III
ISO 1600, 1/1600 sec, f5.6
As the shadow of the ball shows in the image I was at a slight angle
I cropped it a bit and left it at this comp as I wanted to show the kind of terrain these guys are forced to negotiate ( a little later he rolled it over the stump in the BG) . The female holds on to the ball whilst the male rolls her and the ball to a suitable location where the ground is soft enough to dig a hole to bury the ball of dung. I am not entirely sure why the female has to hold on as opposed to following but do know that there are times when the females often lose their grip and fall off. When this happens they can become quite disorientated and really battle to find her place again if he is on a mission to get somewhere.
LR5 basics - WB - brushed a little NR on beetles - The beetles have a bit of natural magenta and purple in them so I only just touched on that in HSL slider.
PSE 9 - LM on beetles and ball - layer adj , B&C, sat, levels - USM - SFW
I cloned out a little blade of grass in the FG and darkened the BG slightly.Thats all
All C&C welcome







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