Horse fly ommatidia pattern

[Nancy Bell]

I was amazed at the fabulous color pattern in the ommatida of this horse fly! I checked Google and it appears that different species have different patterns. And to think my first impulse was to use a fly swatter! This fly first chilled out in the refrigerator and then it posed peacefully for me in a white box. It was released back to the world.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100 f2.8 macro, tripod, ETTL flash +1/3 comp., 5 sec, f18, iso 800

[David Cowling]

Wow! Those eyes are great. I usually spend my time swatting these off me. I should be photographing them! Lovely detail and nice position in the frame.

[Steve Maxson]

Beautiful eyes and I like the head-on pose that emphasizes them! Also, you made a lightbox shot look like it wasn't shot in a lightbox. I'm wondering a bit about your shooting specs (e.g., 5 sec and ISO 800). For my lightbox shots, I'm usually at about f/16, 1/160 and ISO 100. The difference may be that I set my flash to Manual mode (usually between 1/4 and 1/8 power - and adjust the power as needed to fine tune the exposure) which allows me to hand hold.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you, Dave.
Steve, I do not use Manual mode for my flash. But I see how that would be better. Thank-you!!

[Ron Conlon]

I hate when they bite.. nice to know that they have attractive eyes. Cool shot, and as has been said, nice that it doesn't have the shot-in-a-lightbox feel. Good tips from Steve on managing the flash.

[Nancy Bell]

Thanks Ron. They do have a nasty bite!

[Diane Miller]

Wonderful detail in the eyes! It looks like it's making a face at you!

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Amazing eyes! Very good pose, details and good composition. Nice work.