Tag Archive | photography

In Victoria!

I am back in my real hometown: Victoria, BC, looking after my mom’s dog Maggie while my mom makes a trip to the Rockies. Because I am getting out twice a day with the dog, and sometimes can be persuaded to go out shooting with my brother, there is a good chance I will get some decent photo opportunities. Here is some of what I got yesterday.

Aedes togoi, an introduced mosquito from Japan, was first discovered in Victoria by my entomology professor Richard Ring. This one was hanging out at Cattle Point adjacent to the rock pools where it breeds.

Selatosomus edwardsi, a very pretty Click Beetle. I have found them previously in Victoria.

A moth peeking out to see if it is safe

Good day for a crow, bad day for a crab

I don’t always find jumping spiders in the high intertidal zone, but when I do, there are barnacles nearby.

Camas, once a staple food of some Salish people, is still abundant around Victoria, and is quite beautiful this time of year.

A male Running Crab Spider, Philodromus dispar.

Out catching snakes with my brother! Photo by Colin McCann.

A very pretty Pterphorid (Plume Moth).

This male Anna’s Hummingbird was defending a territory from a blackberry cane.

He really is lovely! Last year I found a nesting female.

A big mess of earwig nymphs!

Another of the hummingbird! I can’t resist!

A bald eagle launches from Cattle Point.

Weekend Expedition 17: The un-Expedition

May13

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This weekend I was busy with science outreach at the Science Rendezvous, where I gave a talk on caracara predation behaviour. I only got the chance for a short outing around the lab, and a quick visit to Hastings Park on Sunday before some heavy rain started. I did manage to return with some modest prizes, including some heron fishing footage.

A Stonefly in the headwaters of Stony Creek behind SFU.

A Mayfly in the headwaters of Stony Creek behind SFU.

This Mayfly lived much less than a day, before the water striders got it.

Julie Wray waits to deliver fresh science at the Science Rendezvous.

Julie Wray of the Elle Lab waits to deliver fresh science at the Science Rendezvous.

feast of the gerrids pink California Poppy

Believe it or not, this is a Neuropteran, family Coniopterygidae. They are often called Dustywings.

Found this under some plywood behind the Insectary Annex at SFU.

Totem Pole covered in algae, Hastings Park.

A Great Blue Heron fishes in Hastings Park

Below is the Heron Fishing video. Watch it in HD if you can, and see this impressive bird on goldfish patrol!

Found: Red-legged frog on Burnaby Mountain

May9

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The other day, when I was out searching for aquatic insects for my new aquarium photography setup, I came to a small pond in the forest just below the school, and could have swore that a Red-legged Frog jumped into the water. I did not want to stir up the pond to much, so I told myself I would come back to confirm.

This morning, after sending my predation manuscript to my coauthors for their input, I went down for a peek. Sure enough, right at the border of the pond, was a beautiful Rana aurora! I took a few photos before letting the frog go on its way. I checked the pond with a net, and found that it was full of eggs and larvae, so this was not the only one! I am excited to see this, as this species has been declining across its range in BC (though they were quite abundant when I was a kid). It is good to know that despite the super pro-development forces at this school, that there still remain parklands that can support these frogs.

This weekend, I will be giving a talk at the Science Rendezvous at SFU (part of a national science festival), so perhaps in the morning I will do some more exploring of the wooded areas near the school. If anyone is interested in attending, my talk is at 12:30!

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Cheapskate Tuesday 15: headed for the water!

May7

Inspired by this great post by C.L Goforth, a.k.a. the Dragonfly Woman, I decided to get my feet wet with aquatic insect photography. This is a field which I have almost completely ignored, probably because I thought it was too challenging. But really, despite a few technical challenges, it can’t be all that different from other types of shooting, and there is such a wealth of fascinating and beautiful subjects to photograph!

So far, I have just acquired a tank (a small, cheap betta tank, c. 20 bucks) and I have yet to add the recommended spacer to restrict the movements of the subjects. I have situated the flashes as below, added some diffuser material (same stuff as in the Cheapskate Diffusers) and shot away at what was available, in this case the larvae of Culiseta incidens, a common early-season mosquito here on the West Coast (in fact they overwinter as mated adults).

I will keep this blog updated with further refinements and experiments as I delve into aquatic insect photography. To all my fellow insect photographers: why not join me as this insect season really begins?

So far the results look decent on tricky small subjects. I have not edited out any of the bubbles and other flaws, and I may have pushed the contrast up too much, but I am hopeful and optimistic! I especially like seeing details of the gut and musculature through the cuticle.

This frame shows one reason to get your lens axis exactly perpendicular to the glass of the aquarium: distortion!

I am fairly pleased with this frame, as it shows decent depth of field and good sharpness on the setae (hairs).

This larva was moving toward the camera with the feeding movements of its mouth brushes.

Here is what Culiseta incidens looks like as an adult.

Weekend Expedition 16: A Grab Bag

May6

Probably the coolest find of teh weekend, this Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) was the first I have seen on the Mainland.

Probably the coolest find of the weekend, this Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) at Maplewood Park was the first I have seen on the Mainland.

This Weekend Expedition is actually another composite of three trips:

1) to Burnaby Lake with Mike, Catherine, Viorel and Tavi, stalking the elusive goslings

2) back to Hastings Park in the morning for some early insect shots

3) finally making it out to Maplewood Park in North Vancouver, accompanied by Adam Blake.

It was an exhausting weekend, with fine weather and good company, so I think I will let the images do most of the talking here!

Gallery 1: Burnaby Lake

: These are the goslings we were looking for!

: Catherine and Tavi explore the Piper Spit dock

: Viorel tries to show Tavi a goose

: Tavi and Viorel

: Piper Spit

: Western Painted Turtles (I presume) sunning.

: Mike shoots from the observation tower.

: Damsel via 300 mm plus tubes, natural light

: Damsel via 300 mm plus tubes, natural light

: Mike and Tavi stalk damselflies

: A firefly takes flight

: Coleopteran remains in bird dropping.

: Photo by Mike Hrabar, showing a Staphylinid orgy!

: A beautiful stinker

Gallery 2: Hastings Park

: A beautiful snail

: A chironomid

: Magic or spider silk?

: An Ichneumonid surveys the scene

Gallery 3: Maplewood Park

: An Elaterid on Horsetail

: A Soldier Beetle in the hand

: A Mule Deer was unconcerned with our presence

: Siskin food!

: Sleepy Pine Siskin

: Milbert’s Tortoiseshells on the mudflats

: We watched two osprey catch fish.

: This is known as the McBarge, and actually was a McDonald’s restaurant at Expo ’86. It looks shimmery due to heat and distance.

: Rough-skinned Newt!

: Rough-skinned Newt!

: Adam shoots beach flies.

: This Siskin was feeding on dandelion seeds

: A Thistle Tortoise Beetle? Guillaume? Anyone?

: Rough-skinned Newt!

Weekend Expedition Plans: Goslings at Piper Spit

May3

Piper Spit is the main, official entrance to Burnaby Lake Park. It is also a great waterfowl haven, with nest boxes for wood ducks and reed beds. I will go there tomorrow morning with Mike and Catherine to try my luck at shooting excessively cute Canada Goslings! I will of course have the full (heavy) kit with me so any cool insects or spiders are also fair game…

On Sunday I will go with Adam Blake to attempt to redeem last week’s debacle, and actually make it to Maplewood Park.

Cheapskate Tuesday 14: Fenix E-05: a handy little flashlight!

Apr30

Dwarf Caimans (Paleosuchus spp.) and other crocodilians can be found with headlamps, but if you want to use your handheld flashlight, hold it close to the visual axis of your eyes in order to better perceive the eyeshine. Photo by Tanya Jones.

Headlamps are very useful for nighttime nature photography as well as tropical fieldwork. For extended trips, or just to get better performance, I use rechargeable NiMH batteries. These AAA cells come in packs of four, but most headlamps only require three. What to do with the fourth?

Well, it is always a good idea to have a spare light, and the little Fenix E-05 is a great little light the requires but a single AAA battery to produce up to 27 lumens (that is a lot!). Problem solved!

They are compact, waterproof and f-ing bright as heck! So bright, you don’t wanna point them at your eyes bright. I have used them in fieldwork as well as in some studio lighting of Black Widow behaviour (but I can’t show you as it is not yet published!).

These little guys cost about 20 bucks and have served in nighttime focus illumination of several rainforest creatures. When in the field or out of it, Catherine and I clip these to our bags for a handy tool for our illumination needs. There are several colours to choose from, which is important for accessorizing (kinda?). If you want to read up more on these inexpensive little lights, go to Ken Rockwell’s review here.

Weekend Expedition 15: Hastings Park

Apr29

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This Weekend Expedition, we set out to go to North Vancouver’s Maplewood Park. Just a short bus ride across the bridge, right? Well, if is if you manage to catch the bus! Catherine and I arrived at the bus stop just as our bus was pulling out…And it was Sunday, so the next one was in 25 minutes. No problem! Lets just walk to the next bus stop and wait there.

This bus stop was awesome, we had knitting to do and Tobey Maguire (Spiderman!) to keep us company. Except the next bus didn’t stop for us! Apparently, our special bus only stops at the first stop (not that they are labelled or anything. Thanks TransLink!). Rather than wait another 25 minutes, we decided to change plans and head to Hastings Park, a few blocks away. Have a look below to see what we found!

The crows are nesting!

this looks a lot like Brumoides histrio, a type of Ladybird beetle (Coccinellidae). UPDATE: this is actually Brumus quadripustulatus. Thanks V. Belov!

We call them harvestpersons. This one appears to be a harvestchild.

first Odonates!

To me this looks like an Anthomyiid. Anyone else have an idea?

I think this syrphid turned out pretty nicely.

The first Damselflies of the season!

I liked how the drop on this lupine magnified the details.

A Sawfly

This Ichneumonid was hunting on the Lupines

taken with the Monster Macro Rig…Even though the leaf was moving, the whole exposure is with flash, so no problem.

I wasn’t the only photographer there. Check out this guy with a large format camera!

Chironomid midges!

This Red-winged Blackbird was doing an awesome job defending his territory.

This was my favourite photo of the trip…This heron was unconcerned with me after I had squatted observing for a while. I was apple to approach really close.

Results of the Stanley Park Photo Contest

Apr24

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Short version: I didn’t win!

Slightly longer version: Don’t bring insects to a bird contest!

Longest version: Check out all the great entries here, as well as the winning entries here.

I think I did a good job, representing the ONLY two insects out of 259 images (and there was only two other invertebrates: a slug and a crab).

All in all, it was a fun exercise, and a good way to get people out with their cameras. By the way, the nature category had by far the most entries, so it is heartening to see what people find truly inspiring at Stanley Park.

Cheapskate Tuesday 13: Little progress on the Salticid Startler®, but here are some more bees!

Apr23

I have made little progress on the Salticid Startler®, owing to other commitments, but I have purchased some nail polish for the chelicerae and paint for the bodies. I will update when I make more progress. In the meantime, have a look at Mike’s new 50 mm 1.8L lens! Some creative work with red pinstriping and he has got about 2 bucks more on the resale value. He also has a great conversation piece!

And as an update to the Weekend Expedition post, here is some more video and pictures of the large Solitary Bee (I haven’t figures out if they are Colletes or Andrena) colony.

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Beeflies were standing by to parasitize the nests.