[Polly]

I'm told this is a leafhopper, probably a small, young one. It's sitting in an Oxalis flower. Shot with the *istD + Pentax 100mm 2.8 macro lens + ring flash.



Polly

[guerito]

This is perfect, Polly. The green and pink are a beautiful contrast. I need a ring flash too!!!

[Rufus]

Brilliant Pol.

Clarity and sharpness. Marvellous.
Composition 10/10

Subject; YEUK!! :o I hate bugs!!!

[Irma]

Splendid macro Polly. I like the colors a lot! Hey but it seems that he had eaten already a bit of your flower when you took the picture

[noisynoodle]

i have to agree wholeheartedly with my husband on this one, Polly - great exposure/composition, lovely and sharp, but icky subject!
Still it could've been worse - spider macro. I absolutely cannot bear spiders and seeing them in macro is just horrendous! I can't look when opening Capture One at the moment as the current splash screen is of a spider...shame on them. I think it shoud be illegal to post photos of spiders on the net without a BIG warning! :o

By the way, what ring flash are you using and was it expensive?

--NN

[Petographer]

Brilliant Pol.

Clarity and sharpness. Marvellous.
Composition 10/10

Subject; YEUK!! :o I hate bugs!!!

My thoughts Exactly. I'm just going to mirror what Ruf said. :o

[shuttertalk]

Amazing! *double take* Amazing -both bug and flower!

The bug is so interesting - all the intricate dots and colourations. Nice vibrant colour, framing, perfect DOF. Well done!!

[Polly]

Thanks for all the comments!

These little insects are more often seen on leaves so I was pleasantly surprised this one gave me an opportunity to grab a shot of its bright green body against the brightly coloured Oxalis.

Insects and spiders don't worry me. They can be fascinating to look at in close detail - though I don't often go in for those pictures of the huge eye or mouth of ugly bug. they can indeed be fascinating but not always visually pleasing ........ arrrrrggggghhhh...... yuck!

As for the ring Flash I used. This was taken using the dedicated Pentax ring 140C and yes, it is a tad expensive imo. I had to order it and wait 3 weeks before it arrived. I paid £348 for mine, from amazon.co.uk.

I just checked and see amazon.co.uk has one on offer for £319.99 at the moment - also available for depatch in 24 hrs. That's a good offer! The same one cost £369 from Warehouse Express and they are the only 2 sources as far as I know.

Here's the link to the one from amazon.

I've also had some good results from a Vivitar Ring flash .. cost ranges from about £50-£99 depending on where you buy it. Mine was £50 from 7dayshop.com. The Vivitar rings can be used on the *istD but they're not suitable for Canon or Nikon digital cameras. Lucky for Pentax owners as they're an inexpensive alternative to the dedicated 140C

The Vivitar has no controls - no options - it just has an on/off and that's it. I took that earlier picci of the bee and crab spider with the Vivitar (in guerito's bee thread).

The Vivitar can be a bit hit and miss so you need to spend more time getting the exposure right for some things otherwise there can be burnt out areas. It's also plasticky - but fine if you're careful with it. Also - you can only use the full circle of the ring - so pix can sometimes seem a little flat.

The dedicated 140C has 4 light tubes around the ring and you have an option to use all 4 or just 2 on the right or 2 on the left ...... meaning you can get more of a 3D effect. I used the 2 tubes on the left for this shot - same as the direction of the sunlight coming from the back of the insect. Aperture was f.32.


Pol

[Pol]

I've also had some good results from a Vivitar Ring flash .. cost ranges from about £50-£99 depending on where you buy it. Mine was £50 from 7dayshop.com. The Vivitar rings can be used on the *istD but they're not suitable for Canon or Nikon digital cameras. Lucky for Pentax owners as they're an inexpensive alternative to the dedicated 140C

Pol

I've just been doing some searching and noticed the Vivitars are less and less available now. Also - 7dayshop only has the Pentax fit available and on offer for just £39-99 as a *clearance* item AND there's a note at the bottom stating it's not suitable for digital cameras.

So it would appear Pentax could have withdrawn supposrt for these ring flashes on their digital range.

TBH - I must admit it wasn't particularly good. It was just all I could get at the time. Better to aim for the dedicated 140C TTL if you can possibly manage it.


Pol