The signs of an early spring

Every kid has a bug period… I never grew out of mine. E.O. Wilson

As the days are now getting longer they are also getting warmer.  The Earth begins to slowly awaken with its tiny creatures.

Macro photography is a favorite of mine. I love to peer into their little world, the place that is unseen by the naked eye. This happens to be an Asian Lady Beetle out sunning him or herself.

He got quite comfortable with my camera up close and personal. He soon started to lift his head to watch what was watching him. I was able to catch his eyes looking directly at me. It’s as if he’s giving me a little grin.

The Lady Beetles usually like to keep their heads down so you only see their hard shell. This shell looks like a large face to ward off would be predators. But he wasn’t to scary to me.

When I took this shot it was in the afternoon so the sun wasn’t so direct. This was important as I didn’t have deal with strong shadows. I used a Manfrotto Element tripod with a ball head so my camera would be steady, as well as a shutter release cable attached to my camera. This was to avoid any unnecessary shake to the camera.

If you’re interested in macro photography, a set up like this will help you with getting those clean clear shots. There are a number of macro lens available for every level of photography and price point, so it’s just a matter of how much you want to put into it.

Macro photography can vary from simple set up to complex. Adding in speed lights, colored lights and even light reflectors can help with the clarity of your subject. I myself prefer the simpler way because most days I don’t have the time to put together a macro set. I like to be able to move the camera around back and forth freely in case my subject decides to move.

This was taken with a Nikon D7000 and the Nikon DX SWM VR ED IF Micro 1:1 ø52 lens.