Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you and your family!



Now a muack from the fly :D (front a couple of years ago :D)



Hover fly Santa and giraffe weevils reindeer :D..recycled from last year, or maybe 2 years ago:D. Remind me to do a new one next year!



Oh I couldn't resist adding the red nosed lanternfly in :D...that was last year :D



If you want to see more lanternflies, click here.

2011 Fave Macro Images

2011 is almost over and as usual, I spent some time going through the images I have taken this year to come out with this mosaic.

Created using BigHugeLabs' Mosaic Maker.

It's been a good year. I only realized I found 5 new species (to me) of lantern bugs this year after going through the whole year's images. I had also managed to cross off a few insects/arthropods from my wish list, such as mantisfly, lacewing, owlfly, jewel wasp. The unexpected finds in Maliau Basin like the violin beetle, jewel beetle and dead leaf mantis are wonderful surprises too!

All in all, it's been a great year!



All taken with a 40D. Mostly full flash with Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens, and Sigma 150mm f/2.8 AF APO EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens for natural light for bigger subject.

Full flash macro shot with an MP-E65, Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite Flash, and Concave Diffuser. 

Natural light macro shot with a 150mm F2.8 (with or without a 1.4x teleconverter).

Should you like to check out any image in the mosaic above, just use the links below. For example, if you want to find out more or view bigger image of the mantis, a quick count will tell you that it's image #7. You can then click on #7 below and that will take you to that mantisfly image in my Flickr Stream.

1. flickr.com/photos/9353033@N05/5925447431/, 2. IMG_7512 copy, 3. IMG_8642 copy, 4. IMG_6788 copy, 5. IMG_8151 copy, 6. IMG_9433 copy, 7. IMG_6100 copy, 8. IMG_7643 copy, 9. IMG_7152 copy, 10. IMG_6898 copy, 11. IMG_2530 copy, 12. IMG_6748 copy, 13. IMG_8414 copy, 14. IMG_2407, 15. IMG_0204merged copy, 16. flickr.com/photos/9353033@N05/6219924736/, 17. IMG_7325 copy, 18. IMG_1477 copy, 19. IMG_8640 copy, 20. IMG_0609 copy, 21. IMG_1663 copy, 22. IMG_0472 copy, 23. IMG_8850 copy, 24. IMG_9640 copy, 25. IMG_9955 copy, 26. IMG_0020 copy, 27. IMG_0024 copy, 28. IMG_0598stk copy, 29. IMG_9235 copy, 30. IMG_8983 copy, 31. flickr.com/photos/9353033@N05/6028707942/, 32. IMG_1229 copy, 33. IMG_8132 copy, 34. IMG_7332 copy, 35. IMG_9358 copy, 36. IMG_7353 copy

You can find my 2010 Fave here.

Wireless Macro Rig

This is an alternative to the FMMB and it is also wireless! No ETTL cord (CANON OC-E3 OFF CAMERA SHOE CORD ) needed!

If you really like the FMMB (Front Mounted Macro Bracket) but don't know how to DIY one for yourself, fret not. There's an easy way out, and it won't really cost you a lot! Items like extension tubes and Canon Speedlite 270EX II Flash  are items that will come in really handy in macro anyway!

Chances are, you might already have most of the items already, and all you need is one simple bracket. (HDE flash bracket shown below, or something similar) so you can bring the 270EX II even closer to the front (if you have to), and closer to your macro subject.


I used my 40D body, MP-E65 lens and 1.4x teleconverter here just for illustration. This wireless macro rig works only with IF (internal focus) lenses like the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM  or Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, or Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR , and with extension tubes (prefered over teleconverter), and of course, newer bodies like Canon EOS 60D , Canon EOS 7D , Canon EOS Rebel T3i /600D


Some side notes:

- the 270 EX II should be upside down/belly up.
- Only the newer Canon body like 60D, 7D, and 600D can trigger the 270EX II wirelessly.
- Mount Ring/tripod collar B is for the older Canon 100mm (USM) while D is for the newer Canon 100mm L (IS)
- You won't be able to rotate the mount ring all the way up (flat surface on top) unless you have at least one tube attached to the body, as the mount ring will hit the popup flash.

Why you need at least one extension tube if you want to use the tripod collar/mount ring: