My wife excitedly called me to come out back right away. Ladybugs, she said! And they were getting jiggy with it, too! Yes, there was wild sex happening in my backyard. I raced out with a camera and macro lens. Not enough magnification! I raced back in and added an extension tube. Perfect. No memory card! One more trip inside, and…
Strathmore, AB, 2024-04-28
AB, 2024-04-28
I was a moment too late for the wild sex. The bugs had separated, and it looked like the one was heading home to smoke cigarettes and brag to his buddies. Oh well, I still got a few shots I liked, which is no mean feat when using a manual focus lens from 1985. It’s too bad that I missed my shot at being known as Alberta’s foremost insect pornographer, though.
Our Mayday trees are about two weeks away from blossoming. That’s what those little green pods are — the tree is making little white flowers right now. I’m looking forward to working them with both my macro lens and my reversed Helios lens.
Strathmore, AB, 2024-04-28
Strathmore, AB, 2024-04-28
The lilac bushes are still coming to life, but not as quickly as the Mayday Trees. The “blossoms” you see above are about 3mm across at this point. I expect we’re three weeks away from them maturing. I’ll be ready when they do.
The ladybug was today’s highlight for me. My friend Ray was crazy about photographing insects and he was incredibly proficient at it, too. I’m nowhere near his skill level, but spending time chasing bugs of my own with a lens brought back some wonderful memories of my departed acquaintance. I’m still missing him a lot.
Today’s kit: A Canon EOS R5 with a SMC PENTAX-A 100mm f/2.8 macro lens mounted using a Fotodiox PK-EF lens adapter. A Meike MK-RF-AF1 18mm Metal AF full frame macro extension tube adapter ring was added to the mix to give the macro lens more pull.
