Cricket Close-Up
I took this picture while on a night hike looking for salamanders and other critters in Western Oregon. This is a close up of a square-legged camel cricket....
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I took this picture while on a night hike looking for salamanders and other critters in Western Oregon. This is a close up of a square-legged camel cricket.
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Nov, 2020Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo near a mid-size creek called Parker Creek in the Oregon Coast range in the Marys Peak Botanical Preserve.Time
This photo was taken around 11PM at night, long after the sun had set. I had gone out to shoot some photos and look for salamanders with a friend and photographer, Chris Cousins, earlier that evening. We had left town after dark since salamanders and other critters (like this square-legged camel cricket) are more active at night. I didn't take this picture until shortly before returning to the car. I love hiking around the woods at night - I find it gives a different perspective and really allows you to see a different side of forest life than you would experience during the day.Lighting
Since I took this picture at night, I did just a flash to take the photo. I didn't want the cricket or the background too washed out, so I was shooting with the flash on 1/4 power (2 stops). The advantage to using a flash in this situation (instead of a long exposure or bright external light) is that the background remains dark, which I think really highlights the cricket well!Equipment
I used a Canon 7d Mk1 with a 25mm extension tube, 18-200mm lens, and a Yongnuo speedlight. I did not use a tripod to take this photo as the cricket was in an awkward position and it would have been very challenging to get my tripod in the right spot for this shot.Inspiration
I love taking pictures of insects and it is always a treat to find insects in-situ and patient while I snap away with my camera! This square-legged camel cricket was not even remotely perturbed by my presence and after taking photos from a crouched position above the cricket for a little while, I thought it would be fun to capture a more head-on image showing the crickets palps (mouthparts) and some of the finer details of the critter. I ended up lying down on the ground in front of the rock that this cricket was perched on in order to get this angle. Part of what I like about taking photos of insects is they are all around us but we often don't stop to notice their beauty. Taking photos of them is a great way to inspire people about bugs. Close-ups like this one really help people learn about insects and (hopefully) be less afraid of them.Editing
Generally I don't like to do too much post-processing on my images and prefer to start with an image that is 95% of the way there when I take it. This image was no different. The only post-processing I did here was some minor noise-reduction, white balance and brightness corrections and cropping.In my camera bag
I always bring my Canon 7D Mk1 camera body and usually use my 18-200mm lens paired with a 25mm extension tube when I am shooting macro photographs. When I am out shooting at night, there are some other special considerations I make. First, I almost always bring a flash and flash diffuser, and second I always bring a headlight and a flashlight to help with locating subjects and focusing on the subjects in my viewfinder.Feedback
When you're taking photos of insects and other arthropods, I think it is particularly important to be calm and move slowly. While this helps prevent the insect from frightening and taking flight (or jumping away), I find that it also focuses my mind and helps me find cool critters. My other piece of advice would be to explore at night! There are quite a few interesting creatures that are more active at night and generally much harder to find during the day. Last, while square-legged camel crickets (like this one) can be found all over the place, I find that I often have better luck finding interesting insects if I am in a place with abundant, native plants. This could be a native plant garden or a park or nature preserve. A lot of critters have really specific relationships with certain plant species, so locating those plants can be key to finding some insects.
