Fly eyes

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Fly eyes

May 9, 2014 by Mike Powell

After a week in an urban setting with only a point-and-shoot, I couldn’t wait to get back to my marsh with my trusty Canon 50D in my hands. I kept my macro lens on my camera for most of the time, because the insects seemed much more active than they were only a week ago. Even flies seemed to be good subjects. I photographed this fly hand-held at really close range, which gave me a very narrow depth of field.

The first image is cropped, in order to give you a good look at the fly’s eyes—the second photo is the same image with a much less severe crop.

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, close-up, fly, fly eyes, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 16 Comments

16 Responses

on May 9, 2014 at 8:12 pm | Reply judysbirds

Incredible, Mike. Your macro shots are just amazing!!
on May 9, 2014 at 8:16 pm | Reply krikitarts

Insect eyes really are worth a close look. Isn’t it great to be home again?
- on May 9, 2014 at 8:53 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  It’s nice to sleep in my own bed and to get back into my normal routines. I’m becoming increasingly a creature of habit.
on May 9, 2014 at 9:25 pm | Reply alifemoment

In the first photo I can see all the “Eye pixels”, really great photo details!!!
on May 9, 2014 at 11:55 pm | Reply nrlymrtl

Great eyes! I kind of like the second photo a little more because everything but the eyes is fuzzy giving a sense of motion.
- on May 10, 2014 at 4:23 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I like the second better as well, but chose to crop it closer for the shot that comes up in the reader in order to grab people’s attention.
on May 10, 2014 at 1:51 am | Reply Lyle Krahn

Those are impressive eyes. No wonder they are hard to swat sometimes.
on May 10, 2014 at 7:02 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

That’s a great macro shot of those eyes!
on May 10, 2014 at 9:30 am | Reply Ed

FANTASTIC!
- on May 10, 2014 at 9:55 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. When I have a macro lens on my camera, I seem to be irresistibly drawn closer and closer to my subjects.
on May 10, 2014 at 10:33 am | Reply Marco Pesaresi

Stunning shots Mike.
- on May 10, 2014 at 10:37 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Marco. During the winter months, I try to photograph birds with my telephoto lens, but when spring comes, I love to switch to my macro lenses, I should use my tripod more often for greater sharpness, but I enjoy the flexibility that I have when shooting handheld (though I generally do carry my tripod with me).
on May 10, 2014 at 3:09 pm | Reply Dragonfly eyes | Mike Powell

[…] I seemed to be particularly fascinated by insect eyes and did a posting on a fly, whose compound eyes were pretty amazing. However, dragonflies have the largest compound […]
on May 11, 2014 at 6:52 am | Reply Damselfly eyes | Mike Powell

[…] you missed the earlier postings on insect eyes, check out the images of a fly’s eyes and a dragonfly’s eyes. In all three cases, click on the images, if you want to get a higher […]
on May 18, 2014 at 3:38 pm | Reply Dan Antion

Incredible eyes and photos!
- on May 18, 2014 at 9:17 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Dan. At this time of the year, I really love using my macro lens for all kinds of subjects, even the most normal.