So is it cheating to have other subjects in the weekly challenge photos?
This was taken at my black light sheet that I use to attract moths on Sept . 17th this year. It is an example of Slender Orange-bush Lichen (Teloschistes exilis) that is a very common lichen found on dead live oak branches here in Austin.
I picked up macro photography again as a result of my taking pictures of plants and insects for iNaturalist.com. I had been using my cell phone but was getting frustrating at the difficulties focusing. I had been into macro WAY back in the 80’s and when I lived in North Carolina, I was an active SCUBA diver and owned a Nikonos IVa and shot underwater macro with extension tubes. Since that was Fuji Film days, it was a pretty expensive hobby and when I moved to Texas, started having kids, I let that hobby go. More on the rebirth of that hobby later. Back to this image.
As part of my efforts to document the organisms that live with my in Austin, I set up a black light in front of a sheet to attract moths and other insects. I then photograph them, identify them, and upload them to iNaturalist. On this night, I was photographing with a friend that is also just beginning his jump into macro. To add some interest to the photography, I placed sticks and rocks on the table with the blacklight to have a different background other than a white sheet. This little nut and acorn weevil from the genus Curculio walked over the lichen allowing me to shoot a few photos.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Single shot, handheld with the Sony a6000, Laowa 65mm macro. (My guess is that the fstop was around 8, but this is a manual lens and I don’t have that info in the meta data.) I think this might have been shot with a Nikon SB800 speedlight with a softbox diffuser.
