Wasp Feeding
Aug, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was captured in my garden, on, of all things, a recycling bin.Time
The image was taken at lunch time. Where my recycling bins are located, a shed blocks the sun after 1.30pm at this time of year.Lighting
This image was taken with the camera facing from East to West, the sun at this time of day and year is south of my location so would have been falling from the left. The day was quite bright sunshine with some infrequent cloud cover.Equipment
Equipment used was a Nikon d3200 body, Sigma 105mm macro lens with a 1.4x teleconvertor and a UV filter, mounted on a RedSnapper tripod.Inspiration
I am a member of a number of insect and arachnid related groups and there had been some discussion regarding the use of syrup to attract wasps etc. I decided to set up a small syrup pool on a nearby bird table, and as an afterthought placed a small pool of syrup on the recycling bin to attract some flies. This little wasp decided it was less competition to feed here rather than with the large number of its nest-mates at the nearby pool.Editing
Some slight sharpening and cropping from the original in post.In my camera bag
If you check my other shots you will notice that I take predominantly nature or macro / close-up images. I like the images obtained using Sigma lenses so I have the 105mm macro used for this image, which is usually permanently coupled with the 1.4x teleconvertor. In addition I use the Sigma 70-300mm DL Macro as a 'standard' lens and for longer reach, the Sigma 150-500 APO. In the future, I would love to be able to afford to buy the SIgma 180mm APO macro, but that's just a dream at the moment. I also carry a set of Kenko extension tubes, a Raynox DCR-250 just in case and the usual UV and polarising filters. A second case contains 2 x Yongnuo 560EX IV flasehes and wireless Yongnuo controller, a Manfrotto LED Panel and a Camlink LED Ringflash, along with a couple of portable softboxes, flash filters and a variety of DIY flash modifiers. The outfit is rounded off with RedSnapper and Velbon tripods.Feedback
Use as fast a shutter speed as possible but always bear in mind the limited depth of field when working at macro level, so a compromise needs to be made between aperture and shutter speed. If the subject can move, consider adding flash. Where possible use a good, solid, heavy tripod, I for one would not be without my RedSnapper.
