u/Sacrificial_Sheep

Always amazes me what you can find in your backyard! First three are live subjects, last 2 (sweat bee and horse fly) are deceased. (found deceased). Been practicing and learning every week. I've definitely been getting faster and better results with my stacks. I have been hunting for new subjects that I haven't captured before, but a lot just comes down to luck (if I can find them).

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter with a product box and using a tripod. Stacked shots using Helicon Focus.

Found a dead fly inside my house while I was doing some focus stacks of a moth. Though I would get some stacks since I was already setup.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter with a product box and tripod. Stacked photo. 2.8x magnification.

I am kinda obsessed with moths atm. They are all slightly unique it colour and I love that. Generally they also sit very still during the day so they are pretty easy to get focus stacks of. I see hundreds of different moths at my work, so I have been getting lots of different shots.

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Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro Lens and the 2x Teleconverter. Using a product box for lighting. Stacked images.

Love the eyes on this bug! Super nice deep reds. Had no idea about this bug till I found it and did a little research. Love the fact that I get to learn about the insects as I photograph them.

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Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro Lens and the 2x Teleconverter. Using a product box and a tripod. Stacked images. @2.8x magnification.

Spent some time shooting damsel flies this week. Beautiful little critters! Love how different each one's colours can be.

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Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter with background cards and a product box. Stacked photos.

Got lost in those eyes! Absolutely mesmerizing green damsel fly. Spent quite a few hours to get this shot, but I am happy I did. Nothing is worse then setting everything up and they fly away. Took about 12 attempts, I was pretty close to calling it quits and giving up.

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Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter. 100 images stacked. 2.8x magnification.

Found this little beetle crawling around my backyard. Beetles are definitely are one of the easier subjects for focus stacking. I guess most of them play dead when they are confronted with danger. Absolutely loved how the highlights on the shell have an iridescent shimer. I got many different results of what beetle this is on google, so if anybody can let me know what species this is, I would appreciate it!

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Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter. Using a tripod with a product box and background cards. Stacked Images.

Got this little one to stay still and get some focus stacks. Really took some patience. Jumping spiders get startled by almost any movement. Took over three hours to get these 5 shots.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter with the Amaran Ace 25 for a light source. Background card used, with tripod. 100 to 250 image stacks. (Some photos are with thr 2x Teleconverter and some aren't.)

Caught this June bug crawling through some flowers in my backyard. Common sight, but upclose you get to see details you can't usually see.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro. 100 image focus stack in a light box.

F2.8, 1/500s, iso 100 .... 100 image stack (for both photos)

You can feel his mood... he was not happy that I kept following him trying to take pictures! Turn that frown upside down.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter with natural light. Stacked images.

Caught a female honey bee emerging from its cell. Always a fun moment watching them chew their way out. They generally always appear muted in colour as they are generally still wet and not fully developed yet.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro.

My husband is a beekeeper. he had to replace some queens in his hives. So that allowed me to spend some time to get these shots. These are all focus stacks.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro in a product box with three diffused lights.

Image 1: f2.8, iso100, 1/400s ... 100 images stacked

Image 2: f5.6, iso400, 1/160s 2x Teleconverter - 200 images

Image 3: f7.1, iso800, 1/160s 2x Teleconverter - 200 images

Image 4: f2.8, iso100, 1/400s ... 100 images stacked

Always a special spot for macro photos. Walking through the park I found the last cherry blossom tree that still had flowers on it. The bugs were all over it!

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter.

My husband is a beekeeper and we now have about 30 hives. I always find new things to capture when we are out at the bee yard.

First shot is a drone bee male bee on its last stage of being born. Its hairs are matted to itself because it is still wet. After drying it will start to crawl out of the comb. Like in the second photo.

3rd photo is of a queen cups or swarm cell. In the spring, honey bees have a dramatic population increase and if they don't have enough space they will try and swarm. My husband was just about to destroy the cell and this one bee was not having it!

4th photo is of drone brood. I liked how this captured the scale really showing the bulbus capping the bees produce for it.

I was walking through the park enjoying the last 2 cherry blossoms that were still in bloom. All the other trees had lost their blossoms. This ment all the bugs and birds were going crazy over these two trees. I was mainy here to tack macro shots of bugs but this lens setup still works for birds too!

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter.

A male honey bee (drone) exploring a Tulip. Really loved the colours of the flower and Pollen that really brought the scene to life. Stacked shots all compiled in Helicon focus.

Male honey bees also don't have stingers so you don't have to stress about them trying to sting you.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and the 2x Teleconverter. In a product box with three diffused lights. Using a tripod.

I got my first cover photo on a magazine!

I specialize in insect macro photography and I was wondering if anybody here had some other ideas of other magazines or newsletter that I could reach out to. I have sent out a few requests to a few, but I don't know what are more global options I could reach out to. What are some things that you read at home related to Entomology? Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

I never really thought I would get so into bugs, specificly bees, but ever since my husband started beekeeping, it has really entrance both of us.

I spent over 2 hours trying to get some stacks of this dude. He was not having it. I waited to dark so he wouldn't fly away anymore. Wouldn't sit still. Placed him on a Tulip petal. Got a few stacks, but wasn't to happy because he was still moving a bit. Tried feeding him honey. Didn't touch it but tried to roll in it. Back to another flower and was still not happy. The drone just kept moving. After 2 and half hours finally the only thing that the bee seemed happy on was a butter knife. No idea why but that was finally what got him to sit still.

So if you were wondering why the bee is on a metallic surface, that is why. After trying for so long I am happy I walked away with something. Even if the bee got covered with flower pollen, and a bit of honey. May not be perfect, but at least I got something out of it. If you made it this far, thanks for listening to my rant.

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro and 2x Teleconverter at iso 800, f8, 1/160s using a product box for lighting. 200 image stack using a tripod. Magnification of 2.8x

Spent a wonderful day at the Tulip Farm and was very happy they allowed dogs in too. Our dog had a blast roaming through the fields with us. She got a little muddy, but nothing a bath couldn't fix after!

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro Lens.

Always love being out at the beehives. Been getting more consistent and getting better and better results with every attempt. Here are five of my favorite shots from my most recent trip. My husband is a beekeeper so I get unlimited access to bees. A macro insect photographers dream!

Shot on the Sony A7IV with 100mm f2.8 GM Macro Lens and natural light.