Flyday August 2, 2013: death of a mosquito

A dead mosquito floating on the surface of a pond. Photographed with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 & El Nikkor 50mm enlarger lens adapted to a vintage Olympus OM telescopic extension tube. Magnification=approx. 3x.

To quote Monty Python’s Flying Circus: “and now for something completely different…”

A couple of weeks ago I posted a photo of a mosquito that had just emerged from its pupae and was standing on the water surface getting ready to fly off and find something to suck on (see Flyday July 12, 2013: a fresh new mosquito). I took these pictures on the same day and in the same place. Unlike the previous mosquito, however, this one had arrived at the end of its short life, not the start.

I don’t know whether this specimen was another new mosquito that drowned after emerging, or if it was a mature mosquito that had returned to the pond to lay eggs. In either case I was intrigued by this little corpse floating on the water surface, slowly growing a garden of algae.

A dead mosquito floating on the surface of a pond. Photographed with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 and Zuiko 35mm macro lens. Magnification=1x. This is more typical of my style of photography…less artsy and more “just the fact’s ma’am!”

I can usually explain very easily why I like (or don’t like) a photo, usually based on technical points. But I really can’t explain why I really like the picture at the top of the page, but I do. It certainly isn’t much like the photos I typically post. And that is probably part of the appeal. Somehow the shallow depth of field, muted colours and twisted perspective give the picture an interesting atmosphere…almost poignant.

A poignant photo of a dead mosquito! Like I said…something completely different…

Cheers,
EC

For a description of how I adapted the El Nikkor lens to the Olympus telescopic enlarger lens and OM-D E-M5 body, see: Maple syrup in the garden of good and weevils.

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: El Nikkor 50mm F2.8 enlarger lens + telescopic extension tube (top photo); Zuiko 35mm macro (bottom photo)
Settings: manual exposure (F8-11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus FL-36 flash (Full power)
ISO: 200

Surprise in a sweep net: my first thread-legged bug!

Portrait of a thread-legged bug (subfamily Emesinae) collected from a Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium fistulosum) in my backyard. Photographed with a Zuiko 60 mm micro 4/3 macro lens & 25mm extension tubes. Magification = approx 1.5x.

 Yesterday I grabbed my sweep net and went out into the garden to mess around and see what I could collect. A sweep net is similar to a butterfly net but more strongly built so that it can be used to sweep back and forth through vegetation. I made mine out of an old pillow case, three wire coat hangers, the handle from a paint roller and plenty of duct tape. It isn’t pretty (something of an understatement) but it gets the job done.

But getting back to my story…I wandered around the garden and (gently) swept it through a few bushy plants. I was just curious to see what I would find. I didn’t think I’d find anything that was particularly interesting, but I was wrong! After a couple of sweeps I looked in the net and saw what I first thought (with my lousy vision) was a mosquito or midge because of the size and the long spindly legs. But when I looked closer I realized that it was something I had never seen before.

What I had caught (I subsequently discovered) was an appropriately named thread-legged bug, a type of assassin bug (family Reduviidae). But this was unlike any assassin bug I had ever seen before. As it turns out, the thread-legged bugs comprise a subfamily (the Emesinae) which is distinctly different from other assassin bugs because of their thin body and very long thin legs. They are a predatory insect and, as you can see in the photos, they walk on four legs with the front pair free and ready to grab their prey—similar to the stance of a praying mantis. You can also see the long pointed rostrum folded under the head. They impale their prey with their rostrum and inject saliva and digestive enzymes; then they suck up the resulting soup. This specimen was only 7mm (1/4 inch) long (not counting the legs).

Photo of a thread-legged bug (subfamily Emesinae) showing the distinctive thin body, long spindly legs, and grasping front legs which are not used for walking. Photographed with a Zuiko 60 mm micro 4/3 macro lens. Magification = 1x.

According to Wygodzinsky (1966) the wide spread of their long thin mid and hind legs is a preadaptation to life on spider webs! Apparently many species are often found on webs where they feed on either other insects that become trapped, or the spiders themselves. Wygodzinsky (1966) also noted that of the 86 valid emesine genera known at the time, about 20 were known only from a single species collected only on a single occasion! I wonder what those stats are like today?

I was definitely familiar with assassin bugs, but not thread-legged bugs. Discovering such a cool little insect in my own backyard—from a subfamily that was unknown to me—was just too cool! What made the event even better was the way the little critter posed for me. I just set it down on a leaf and took these photos. It hardly moved. It is really rare to have such a cooperative subject!

Another view of a thread-legged bug (subfamily Emesinae). This was the first shot I took. The leaf vein in the forefront is distracting, but it shows the insect nicely. Photographed with a Zuiko 60 mm micro 4/3 macro lens. Magification = 1x.

After shooting its portrait, I thought I’d try to entice it to feed for some more photos. I offered it a little fly (also collected in the sweep net) but it wasn’t interested. The fly might have been a bit big, so I ran inside and grabbed some drosophila (fruit flies) I have been culturing. But when I returned, the insect was gone. Funny how it sat perfectly still while I photographed it, then took off in the less than a minute I was away. Oh well, where there was one, (hopefully) there will be more.

I wonder what other surprises are lurking in my backyard?

Cheers,
EC

Wygodzinsky, P. (1966). A Monograph of the Emesinae (Reduviidae, Hemiptera). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. Vol. 133. New York. 614 pp.

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm micro four thirds macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (TTL mode)
ISO: 200

Flyday June 14th, 2013

As I have stated several times in my blogs, I love photographing flies. So I’ve decided to start something a little different: a regular weekly post entitled “Flyday”. Yup, you guessed it, every Friday from now on I will try and post a new photo of a fly. That means in the next year I will need to produce and upload 52 good fly pictures.

 Think I can do it? No, me neither actually…but I’ll do my best!

For my inaugural Friday fly I am posting another photo of a Meiosimyza fly that I found in my garden. I posted a picture of one of these flies not long ago (see Of flies and flashes) but today’s image was taken with a different lens (my new Zuiko 60mm F2.8 micro 4/3 macro lens) and the foamcore diffuser I wrote about here: Weevil meets flash diffuser.

These flies seem to be pretty common in my garden and they are really quite pretty (although this one isn’t as brightly coloured as the last one I photographed). An excellent choice I think for my first Flyday post.

One down, 51 to go… 

Cheers,
EC 

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 35mm macro
Settings: manual exposure (F8 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus FL-36 flash (on TTL)
ISO: 200

Chinese mantis baby pictures

Newly hatched Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) eating a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). The red colour are the eyes of the fly, not blood!

There isn’t too much of a story to these pictures…they are just pictures of a very tiny, and very cute little critter. 

 A few weeks ago I acquired a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) egg case. This is a large species of mantis that has been introduced into North America and is now widespread throughout much of the Northeast United States and Central Canada. The egg case hatched this past week. Now I have lots of little mouths to feed! 

Newly hatched Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) searching for prey

Newly hatched Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

This little specimen posed very obligingly for me last night as I was feeding them fruit flies. So I snapped a few photos with my new Zuiko 60mm macro lens and ring flash. There is always something very satisfying about watching a critter eat. Well, not for the fly I suppose… 

More about the new lens soon… 

Cheers,
EC 

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 60mm F2.8 four thirds macro lens
Settings: manual exposure (F16 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (1/8 power)
ISO: 200

Weevil meets flash diffuser

Unidentified weevil, pausing to take a drink from a drop of water

In my last post (Of flies and flashes) I noted that I had some ideas for how to put together a diffuser for my new FL-36 flash that would be lightweight, simple to use and produce nice soft lighting for macro photos in the field.  I wanted something that would be quick to set-up with the flash mounted directly onto the camera hotshoe. I semi-seriously referred to it as my flash diffuser Mark II.

Well last weekend I sat down and built a diffuser using foamcore, white paper and white duct tape. It is modeled after the LumiQuest Softbox diffuser I discussed in my last post, but the front is angled down to light subjects close to the lens. The working distance for my 35mm macro lens is only 3.5 cm when is focussed to maximum (1:1) magnification, so I needed a diffuser that would effectively light a subject at that distance.

I used foamcore because it is strong, extremely light (it is just Styrofoam covered with paper) and very light reflective. I have included the design and dimensions of the diffuser in the graphics below in case anyone is interested in making a version for themselves. Keep in mind that I designed this diffuser specifically to fit on the FL-36 flash: the dimensions of which are 6.5cm x 4.2cm. This design may need to be modified to fit other flash models.

Diagram and dimensions of the top and bottom pieces of the flash diffuser: the two pieces were identical except that the bottom was cut short along the upper dotted line. Both pieces were cut along the lower dotten line but only on the inner surface and not all the way through

I cut-out the four sections of the diffuser (two sides, a top and a bottom) with a razor blade. The bottom piece was identical to the top except that it was cut shorter as shown in the diagram. Each piece was cut on the inside surface along the dotted line shown in the diagrams, being careful not to cut the whole way through the foamcore. That allowed the pieces to be folded out to form something of a square based pyramid shape. Then the edges of the pieces were taped together with white duct tape. All of the cut edges were also covered with duct tape. Lastly, a piece of white sketch paper was cut and taped over the wide end of the diffuser.

Structurally, the diffuser worked out very nicely. It is solid but extremely light, and fits snugly on the flash. Set-up is a snap: just slip the flash onto the camera hotshoe, push the diffuser onto the flash and voila! The photos below (taken with my phone) show the diffuser and flash mounted on the camera.

Olympus OM-D EM-5 camera and FL36 flash with diffuser made from foamcore, white duct tape and paper (side view)

Olympus OM-D EM-5 camera and FL36 flash with diffuser made from foamcore, white duct tape and paper (front view)

But the real test was of course whether it produced the results I was looking for. The photo at the top of the page, of a rather nice little (unidentified) weevil, was the first picture I took with the diffuser. I couldn’t be happier. You can expect to see plenty more photographs taken with this diffuser in the coming weeks.

There are only two drawbacks to the design. Firstly, the top front edge of the diffuser sticks out well past the front element of the lens. This is actually a good thing in most cases (I think) because it means the background of a picture should be well illuminated too. The drawback is that I can’t use it for aquarium photography or in other situations where there is an obstruction above my photo subject. Secondly, this diffuser would be awkward to pack for travel. It would be nice if it could be folded away when not in use. Maybe that’s a design idea for a flash diffuser Mark III… 

Cheers,
EC 

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 35mm macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus FL-36 flash (on TTL)
ISO: 200

 mm

Of flies and flashes

Small fly (Meiosimyza sp.) resting on a bracken fern

In my last post (Portrait of a yellow rabbit snail) I mentioned that I thought maybe it was time to invest in a new modern flash. So I checked around and found a ripping deal on a used Olympus FL 36 flash. It’s a little smaller and lighter than the old Vivitar 283’s I have been using for the past couple of decades, and, amongst other advantages, offers me the option of TTL exposure. It’s reasonably small and compact too…excellent for macro photography.

I originally started thinking about a new flash to make aquarium photography easier. But by the time I got the flash the nice spring weather had shifted my attention back to insects. I’ll get back to the aquarium eventually.

Last summer most of my field photography was taken using an Olympus RF-11 ring flash. It is a great piece of equipment, and does an excellent job, but I found that my photos tended to be a little too low in contrast for my taste. The other thing about the ring flash is that it lights the subject directly from the front; so when the subject is properly exposed the light drops off and results in a darker background. That isn’t always a bad thing…but it’s also not always optimal. When looking at macro photos on the Internet I was struck by how many were taken using “normal” flashes with some sort of diffuser attached to soften the light. I used to use a system like for photographing somewhat larger creatures like snakes and lizards. S0 now that I had a spiffy new flash I thought I’d try this technique for myself.

After some trial and error I ended-up attaching the flash to a TTL cable (linked to the camera), which was clipped onto a ball-joint flash adapter mounted on an old Vivitar flash bracket. This somewhat awkward assembly allowed me to position the flash sideways so that the flash tube was positioned above the camera but pointed down at the appropriate angle for macro photography. A LumiQuest Softbox diffuser was attached to the flash. The somewhat unwieldy apparatus is shown in the photos below (taken with my phone).

Below are photos of moss taken using both the ring flash and the LumiQuest diffuser. In general I prefer the picture taken with diffuser, but note how well lit the vertical green stems in the forefront are. I think that the ring flash would be superior for vertical subject such as a spider in the middle of a web.

Close-up photo of moss using an Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, Zuiko 35mm macro lens, and Olympus RF-11 ring flash

Close-up photo of moss using an Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, Zuiko 35mm macro lens, Olympus FL-36 flash and LumiQuest diffuser

              

Very tight crop of the same photo of moss using the Olympus RF-11 ring flash

Very tight crop of the same photo of moss using the FL-36 flash and LumiQuest diffuser

The next step was to test the diffuser in the fied with live bugs. I went out into the garden and found a few tiny flies (Meiosimyza sp.) wandering around on a bracken fern. Meiosimyza are flies in the family Lauxaniidae; they are yellowish-brown or black and typically have colourful eyes. These flies were tiny (4-5mm long; about 1/10 inch), colourful and mobile: the perfect test subjects.

As you can see from the photo at the top of the page, the diffused flash produced a very nice result, and TTL made the process a snap… each frame was perfectly exposed with no fiddling on my part. The photo below is a very tight crop of the original (approximately 3:1) and at this magnification the soft light looks great.

Tightly cropped photo of a Meiosimyza sp. fly resting on a bracken fern

I shot the fly at F16, so the resolution isn’t as sharp as it could be. I would have preferred to use F11, but I needed as much depth of field as I could get because the biggest challenge was getting the flies in focus! Hand-holding the camera for subjects this small is difficult at the best of times, but I found the set-up a little too heavy and clumsy. It didn’t help of course that the flies were sitting on a fern only about 30cm (1 foot) above the ground, and it would have been easier if I’d attached the camera to a monopod. So I got a lot of nicely exposed but out of focus pictures; a few nicely exposed pictures where the fly had turned away from the camera; and this one nicely exposed, composed and properly focused photo. Clearly I am on the right track as far as lighting, but I think I need something lighter and simpler that gives the same results. I really need something that sets-up in seconds, preferably with the flash attached directly to the camera hot shoe. I have some ideas for how to put that together…stay tuned for flash diffuser, Mark II…

Cheers,
EC

Many thanks to “djo” and “Mark-uk” on the Diptera.info http://www.diptera.info/forum/index.php forum for assisting with the identification of this fly..

The technical stuff (for the fly):
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 35mm macro
Settings: manual exposure (F16 @ 1/200 sec)
Lighting: Olympus FL-36 flash (on TTL)
ISO: 200

Portrait of a yellow rabbit snail (Tylomelania zemis)

Yellow rabbit snail (Tylomelania zemis) native to Lake Poso in Sulawesi, Indonesia

Isn’t this a gorgeous animal? It’s a yellow rabbit snail (Tylomelania zemis)—one of three that I added to my aquarium this past weekend. These snails are native to Lake Poso in Sulawesi, Indonesia, although this is a captive bred specimen. It’s approximately 7.5 cm (3 inches) long including the shell.

Most of the aquarium photos I have posted on this blog have been taken with an Olympus E-620 camera, Zuiko 35mm macro lens and the pop-up on-camera flash. The on-camera flash was well positioned to light a small subject without creating reflections on the glass that showed in the final photo. Using the on-camera flash made it easy to grab the camera and take photos of whenever I saw one of the aquarium inhabitants doing something interesting. But when I went to photograph this rabbit snail with my new camera¹ I discovered that the flash² that came with it sits too low on the hot shoe to work for macro work. I ended-up using my ring flash³ to take these pictures. They turned-out nice, but the ring flash is a bit of a pain to use for aquarium photography because the positioning of the flash tube so close to the lens makes it difficult to avoid reflections of the flash on the glass.

My other flash options are both vintage: either a Vivitar 283 which is a little too big, or an Olympus T20 which is a nice size, but not versatile enough because you can’t adjust the manual output. Both of these flashes are more than 20 years old…I think maybe it’s time to invest in a new modern flash!

Anyhow, here are two more photos of the rabbit snail poking around in the aquarium gravel looking for something to eat. They are very slow moving funny creatures. It will be easy to get more nice pictures in the future, once I sort-out the flash issue.

Yellow rabbit snail (Tylomelania zemis) searching for food in the gravel

Yellow rabbit snail (Tylomelania zemis) searching for food in the gravel

Cheers,
EC

¹Olympus OM-D E-M5
²Olympus FL-LM2
³Olympus RF-11 ring flash

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 35mm macro
Settings: manual exposure (F14 @ 1/125 sec)
Lighting: Olympus RF-11 ring flash (1/2 power)
ISO: 200

White box photographs of a Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla): part II

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) on moss

My last post (see White box photographs of a Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) part I) featured classic white box photographs of a Pacific tree frog. By classic, I mean they featured the animal against a featureless white background. Once I was satisfied with those pictures I decided to take another series with the same soft lighting but with a more natural background. So I went out to the garden and brought in a pot of soil in which I have been cultivating a miniature garden of moss. The pot is meant as a hanging basket so it is wide and low—perfect as a backdrop for macro photography. All I had to do was put the pot inside the white box and place the frog in the pot. The rest of the set-up stayed the same.

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) on moss

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) on moss

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) on moss

This second series was much easier to take as the frog appeared more relaxed and secure nestled amongst the moss. And as you can see, the photos turned-out really nice and have a very different “mood” from the photos in my previous post. The white background of the first series really emphasized the bright colours of the frog while these new pictures (which I was tempted to subtitle “Green on Green”) seem to give the frog more personality. I find these photos to be “cuter”. Or maybe it’s just me…

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) on moss

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) on moss

 In any case the combination of white box and pot of moss worked out really well. I’ll definitely use this combination more in the future.

Cheers,
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 12-50mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 zoom
Settings: manual exposure (F11-16 @ 1/125 sec)
Lighting: Vivitar 283 flash and VP-1 Vari-power adapter (1/16 power)
ISO: 200

White box photographs of a Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla): part I

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla)

There are a lot of reasons to love spring of course…but for a photographer of little critters a big reason is that suddenly there are lots of things to photograph!  During the winter it can be a real challenge to find subjects, but when the weather warms up all you have to do some days is walk outside and there is a good chance you’ll find something interesting…

Last weekend I went out to mow the lawn and happened upon this little Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla). I scooped it up to save it from the mower and of course to take the opportunity to take a few photos. I opted to take it into the house and photograph it in a white box. It would have been nice to have photographed it in its natural surroundings, but it wasn’t likely to pose for me after being picked-up—and understandably so. Besides, I thought that the soft lighting of the white box would make for some nice pictures while the box itself would help contain the critter during the shoot.

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla)

 I set-up the white box in the usual way (see How to: white box photography of Macleay’s spectre stick insects) and used my new Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro Four Thirds body.  For a lens I first chose my trusty Zuiko 35mm macro (using the MMF-3 Adapter to attach it to the body) but I found that not only was the auto focus very slow, I also found the viewfinder to be rather dark. I ended-up doing much of the shoot using the Zuiko 12-50mm kit lens instead. Hopefully the viewfinder issue with the 35mm macro won’t be a problem when I am shooting outdoors with brighter ambient light. 

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla)

An addition to my usual white box set-up was a cup of clean rainwater. Amphibians have smooth, soft skin which is permeable to water. Therefore water evaporates rapidly from their skin and a small frog like this one could dry up and die in a relatively short time. The cup of water was there so that I could give it a little swim periodically to keep it hydrated and healthy. I also washed my hands with lots of fresh water to ensure I didn’t have any soap or other potentially dangerous chemicals on my hands that could be absorbed through the frog’s skin.

Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla)

The thing about shooting tree frogs in a studio is that they bounce around a lot…but not like a rubber ball—more like a piece of wet toilet paper. They leap and then stick in place wherever they land. Photographing a tree frog typically goes something like the following:

• Put the frog in place for the photo.
• “Sproing—splat” as it immediately leaps away and lands on the wall.
• Put the frog in place for the photo.
• “Sproing—splat.” Frog is on the wall again.
• Put the frog in place for the photo.
• “Sproing—splat.” Frog is on your face.
• Put the frog in place for the photo.
• “Sproing—splat.” Frog is on the wall again.
• Put the frog in place for the photo.
• “Sproing—splat.” Frog is on the lens.
• Put the frog in the cup of water to rehydrate, and clean the lens.
• Start again and repeat.

In-studio (white box) photograph of a Pacific tree frog as it peers into the camera lens

Eventually if you are persistent and patient the frog will sit in place long enough to get a photo…maybe two…before it jumps again. And that is pretty much how this shoot went. As you can see I did get some nice photos of this little critter. As I expected, the white box did a nice job of lighting the critter, and its colours show up nice and bright against the pure white background.

Once I was satisfied that I had a good series of pictures I decided to try and take another series with a more natural background. Those photos will be the subject of my next post (White box photographs of a Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla): part II).

Stay tuned…
EC

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 12-50mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 zoom and Zuiko 35mm macro
Settings: manual exposure (F11-16 @ 1/125 sec)
Lighting: Vivitar 283 flash and VP-1 Vari-power adapter (1/16 power)
ISO: 200

I’m baaaack….Part III: fried bugs as a nutritious and tasty snack!

A very friendly Thai gentleman selling stir-fried insects outside the Chatuchak (weekend) market in Bangkok, Thailand

Hey! What’s this…another post so soon? It’s only been two days instead of a month! 

All self-sarcasm aside, I hope this foreshadows a return to regular postings for me. Hard to believe that once upon a time I was posting every day! These days I hardly ever get the time to take photos or play with bugs and worms and other wiggly things that most people consider icky—never mind actually writing about it. Between the arrival of spring (bringing the opportunity to go out and play with said icky things) and work (hopefully) quieting down, hopefully that will all change… 

I wrote in my last blog (see I’m baaaack….!Part II) that while I was in Bangkok I only had the time to take 28 photos (28 to be exact)—but I also wrote that those photos included a few images of insects. Well, here they are! 

As you can see from the accompanying photos, I saw a lot of insects in Bangkok. But they were almost all dead. Not just dead, they were fried! 

Here’s the story: on the one free afternoon I had while in Bangkok I took the skytrain out to the Chatuchak (weekend) market: the biggest weekend market in the world. This market is incredible: it is HUGE (according to Wikipedia it covers over 35 acres and contains more than 5,000 stalls); it’s CROWDED. It’s a vast labyrinth of stalls, tiny shops and carts selling absolutely everything. It’s chaotic, confusing and utterly fascinating. I spent a couple of hours going through the live animals and tropical fish area. Most of the animals I saw were the same species you might find in a pet shop in North America. There were some exceptions, however, such as the numerous pet squirrels (which appeared to be captive born). Happily most of the critters appeared to be legal and well taken care of—which perhaps wasn’t too surprising considering the largest global wildlife conservation meeting was taking place in the city at that time. I can’t help but wonder if things would be different if I visited now. Even with CITES CoP 16 happening I still saw a few examples of illegal wildlife trade, such as the one vendor who was selling wild caught fledgling hawks and owls. His set-up was clearly temporary and included a big sign saying that no photos were allowed… 

The most interesting vendor was a tiny store that sold only beetles, beetle larvae and the media and equipment to care for them. It was really cool (in more than one way as it was thankfully air conditioned). I know that beetle husbandry is a popular hobby in some countries, but not in Canada. Unfortunately the owner spoke no English—and I certainly don’t speak Thai—so I wasn’t able to ask any questions. 

Anyhow, the afternoon I was at the market the temperature was 35°C (95°F) and 100% humidity (or so it felt) and in the market there wasn’t a breath of air. After a couple hours I was absolutely dying—I desperately needed air conditioning, a shower and a gallon of water to drink. When I exited the market I came across this cheerful vendor who was selling a variety of fried insects. I wasn’t looking for a tasty snack, but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to take a few photos. 

Fried caterpillars

Fried silk worm pupae (Bombyx mori)

 

Fried crickets

Another photo of fried giant water bugs–the idea of eating these critters was pretty intimidating as they were 7-10 cm (3-4 inches) long!

For those that don’t like to eat bugs, deep-fried fledgling birds were also available!

There isn’t much to say about my photo technique for these photos. I was too hot to want to think about it; I just set my camera to auto everything, took these snapshots and headed back to the hotel. 

I’m afraid that I can’t tell you how they tasted…maybe next time! 

Cheers,
EC 

The technical stuff:
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M5
Lens: Zuiko 12-50mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 zoom
Settings: auto exposure (wide view: F8 @ 1/320 sec; close-up: F6.3 @ 1/100 sec)
Lighting: Ambient light
ISO: 200