Crane Fly

[Gary W. Graley]

Thought at first it was a mosquito but was told it was reallly a Crane Fly

Here is an overall shot

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/GaryWGraley/S7000%20Insects/full.jpg

a shot of his back wing span;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/GaryWGraley/S7000%20Insects/back.jpg

and a closeup of his head and shoulders;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/GaryWGraley/S7000%20Insects/profile.jpg

which really reminded me of the creatures on the movie Fifth Element, the
Mondoshawan ;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/GaryWGraley/mondoshawan.jpg

it's a strange world up close eh?
G2

[racketman]

thank God mosquitos aren't that big!! Recognise the last image from The Fifth Element - surely the most inspired aliens on film?

[Gary W. Graley]

I fully agree! Look at the muscle structure that itty bitty insect has!
I hope they never get too close to a Nuclear Power Plant and drink the wrong water !
G2

[LordV]

As you found out craneflies are tricky they are just to big to get in focus and get any detail. Love the headshot though. As Racketman said glad they aren't mossys think you might really feel something that big. Odd thing is the grubs are big fat things about an inch long and 0.3 " in dia that eat your grass lawn roots.
Brian V

[kallousa]

I love your shots Gary. Very clear and sharp
What gear did you use?

Regards

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks Ahmad, this particular shot was taken using two of the nikon 6T closeup filters but on my older camera, a Fugi S7000 which was a fun camera to use, I've since moved to the Canon EOS 20D and just got back into the Macro world by getting the very nice Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro lens, works great!
G2

[Omri Alon]

Nice shots. I like the head shot and the back shot:D . Realy sharp

[Gary W. Graley]

Thanks I included the overall shot just for scale, it's clinging to a screen window so you can see by the grid how small the crane fly really is.
Here's a shot of him vacuuming the screen;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/GaryWGraley/S7000%20Insects/eating.jpg

G2

[Leorooster]

Quite frankly the first two didn't do much to me, but the 3rd one is excellent. Very sharp and crisp........shows a lot of detail!

[Gary W. Graley]

Yep, that first one was just for scale, but the second one I've always liked as it shows the wings in place, more dof would have been handy but didn't catch it enough and the 3rd one is cool, what a creature eh?
Thanks,
G2