Xylotrupes gideon

[gus]

I found this fellow next to my driveway this arvo.


http://wadjelaphotography.smugmug.com/photos/14092208-L.jpg


To give you an idea of scale...he is 2 inches long & can grow to 3. They make a loud squeal if they get annoyed.

http://wadjelaphotography.smugmug.com/photos/14092207-M.jpg

[jwear]

OK WHAT the H is a arvo? can you stop talking funny :rofl we can see they no bite .on the real side i did not know they are in aussie land . you learned me a lot with the pics and animals .the guy next door is an aussie can't understand him either thanks for all the fun photos and the info my son and i get a heck of a kick out of them :clap Jeff

[gus]

OK WHAT the H is a arvo? can you stop talking funny :rofl we can see they no bite .on the real side i did not know they are in aussie land . you learned me a lot with the pics and animals .the guy next door is an aussie can't understand him either thanks for all the fun photos and the info my son and i get a heck of a kick out of them :clap Jeff
Sorry mate...arvo means this afternoon. I think rhino beetles are worldwide.

[Mongrel]

killer. :thumb

Very nice macro. Looks like a creature out of Half Life 2.

[jwear]

Whoa! You're thinking...the strongest creature on earth is only a bug that fits in the palm of your hand? What about the largest living land mammal? You'd think something as massive as an elephant would be able to carry way more weight than a little insect. Yes, it's true. An elephant can carry a lot more weight than a rhinoceros beetle, but the definition of strength we're using here is one of proportional strength. A huge African elephant can only carry up to 25% of its own weight on its back. The rhinoceros beetle can carry 850 times its own . found in rain forests all over more info for your great shot mate

[gus]

Yep so pound for pound by comparison...a man should be able to lift about a large car & walk with it on his head for a mile.

Imagine being an ant & looking up at it :huh

[wxwax]

Another excellent macro, man. :bow Nice stuff. If you get a dSLR, make sure you get a macro lens, you'll feel lost without one.

[gus]

Another excellent macro, man. :bow Nice stuff. If you get a dSLR, make sure you get a macro lens, you'll feel lost without one.
I know that mate...thats 3 lenses i need now. Just been cruising through ebay & i am sooo lost in there. 2 lenses look the same,from the same company but are $1K different :huh

Where are all your lens sites waxedfruit...come on i know you would have half a dozen bookmarked.

[pathfinder]

I found this fellow next to my driveway this arvo.


http://wadjelaphotography.smugmug.com/photos/14092208-S.jpg


To give you an idea of scale...he is 2 inches long & can grow to 3. They make a loud squeal if they get annoyed.

http://wadjelaphotography.smugmug.com/photos/14092207-S.jpg


I really like the lighting in your first image 'gus. It looks like it was shot with natural light which is difficult when shooting macro sometimes. Did you use any flash for this at all?
Remember with that macro lens you will also need a flash of some kind, and sometimes you'll want a ring flash too :D And DON"T get the 50mm macro, you won't like it and you'll be back for the 100mm or 180mm versions.

[wxwax]

I know that mate...thats 3 lenses i need now. Just been cruising through ebay & i am sooo lost in there. 2 lenses look the same,from the same company but are $1K different :huh

Where are all your lens sites waxedfruit...come on i know you would have half a dozen bookmarked.
i just enter the formal lens name into Google. I always gets links to reviews when i do that.

For Canon, some lenses get a lot of play, makes it easier. Like, the ones with "L" in their name. :evil

[wxwax]

Rememeber with that macro lens you will also need a flash of some kind, and sometimes you'll want a ring flash too :D And DON"T get the 50mm macro, you won't like it and you'll be back for the 100mm or 180mm versions.
I haven't shot a lot of macro, but what I have shot has been more than fine without any additional light. :dunnoI I have the 100mm Macro lens.

[gus]

I really like the lighting in your first image 'gus. It looks like it was shot with natural light which is difficult when shooting macro sometimes. Did you use any flash for this at all?
Rememeber with that macro lens you will also need a flash of some kind, and sometimes you'll want a ring flash too :D And DON"T get the 50mm macro, you won't like it and you'll be back for the 100mm or 180mm versions.
Just natural PF...most of my macro is at 3/4" so as you can imagine the flash is just going to go over the target by 3" if i did use it. It was (why does the font change like that) about 5pm & the light was down low.

What you can tell me mate is why do they sell a lens as 'Macro' but it is a 105mm ? Wouldn't a Macro be short ? (oh god...now they know just how little i know)

here is one i found
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30070&item=3865747275&rd=1

I really need to find a sight that starts at the basics to wxplain the numbers on the lenses.

[pathfinder]

Just natural PF...most of my macro is at 3/4" so as you can imagine the flash is just going to go over the target by 3" if i did use it. It was (why does the font change like that) about 5pm & the light was down low.

What you can tell me mate is why do they sell a lens as 'Macro' but it is a 105mm ? Wouldn't a Macro be short ? (oh god...now they know just how little i know)

here is one i found
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=30070&item=3865747275&rd=1

I really need to find a sight that starts at the basics to wxplain the numbers on the lenses.

'gus - Manufacturers put Macro on any lens that will let you shoot close to the subject and capture an image on film/sensor that is at least 1/2 size of the subject itself. A 2 cm long bug shot with a typical macro would be at least 1 cm long for a 2-1 ratio. Most better macro lenses create images that are 1-1. That 2 cm long roach now is captured on the sensor plane as a 2 cm long image.
A 50mm lens was the standard focal length for a 35 mm camera, and the early macro lenses were 50 mm lenses that had lens barrels that would extend further and allow closer focusing. Then the manufacturers brought out real 50mm macros - lenses specially designed optically to produce very crisp image at near focal distances eg:less than 10cm in front of the lens frontal element.

One of the disadvantages of 50 mm macros is that you are very close to your subject. Your Rhino beetle may try to run away when you get close with your camera, but how fast can a beetle run. My butterfies just take off and fly away if I get too close and annoy them. SO a longer telephoto macro lens allows me to shoot from further away and also gives me shallower depth of field to further isolate my subject with a nice blurred background. That is why the 100mm and 180mm macros are more popular. The reason 50mm macros are still used is they are a lot cheaper to make and on a copy stand for copying flat printed material they are easier to use than a longer focal length.

Most macro shooters in the natural world tend to prefer the longer macro lenses.

Here is a thread where Andy and I discussed macro equipment
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=3131&page=1&pp=10&highlight=Macro+Andy

And here is another thread where I suggested several ways to enter the world of macro photography inexpensively.
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=4745&highlight=Macro+Andy


Take a look at the macro forum at fredmiranda.com also. An excellent book I have rec'd here in the past is "Macrophotography - Learning from a Master" by Gilles Martin.

[TristanP]

Awesome - love those shots.

[Ann McRae]

Pathfinder - wow, this is an excellent discussion. Thanks so much!


'Gus - love the beetle.
Are you an animated movie fan? I really loved 'Bugs Life' and 'Ants" for completely different reasons!

ann

[gus]

'gus - Manufacturers put Macro on any lens that will let you shoot close to the subject and capture an image on film/sensor that is at least 1/2 size of the subject itself. A 2 cm long bug shot with a typical macro would be at least 1 cm long for a 2-1 ratio. Most better macro lenses create images that are 1-1. That 2 cm long roach now is captured on the sensor plane as a 2 cm long image.
A 50mm lens was the standard focal length for a 35 mm camera, and the early macro lenses were 50 mm lenses that had lens barrels that would extend further and allow closer focusing. Then the manufacturers brought out real 50mm macros - lenses specially designed optically to produce very crisp image at near focal distances eg:less than 10cm in front of the lens frontal element.

One of the disadvantages of 50 mm macros is that you are very close to your subject. Your Rhino beetle may try to run away when you get close with your camera, but how fast can a beetle run. My butterfies just take off and fly away if I get too close and annoy them. SO a longer telephoto macro lens allows me to shoot from further away and also gives me shallower depth of field to further isolate my subject with a nice blurred background. That is why the 100mm and 180mm macros are more popular. The reason 50mm macros are still used is they are a lot cheaper to make and on a copy stand for copying flat printed material they are easier to use than a longer focal length.

Most macro shooters in the natural world tend to prefer the longer macro lenses.

Here is a thread where Andy and I discussed macro equipment
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=3131&page=1&pp=10&highlight=Macro+Andy

And here is another thread where I suggested several ways to enter the world of macro photography inexpensively.
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=4745&highlight=Macro+Andy


Take a look at the macro forum at fredmiranda.com also. An excellent book I have rec'd here in the past is "Macrophotography - Learning from a Master" by Gilles Martin.
Thanks heaps mate... read 4 times & then once again ! You did help me out here. Ive a lot to learn thats for sure.

[gus]

Pathfinder - wow, this is an excellent discussion. Thanks so much!


'Gus - love the beetle.
Are you an animated movie fan? I really loved 'Bugs Life' and 'Ants" for completely different reasons!

annI do remember those movies...i am looking really hard at the moment for a giant stick insect. They grow up to a foot long & recon that would be a good macro...can you do a panorama macro ?:rofl