Up Close with Nature

Lantern bug / lantern fly is among my most favorite macro subjects. Whenever I find one, I  spend hours and hours photographing it, or just admire its spectacular beauty! New catches from Maliau Basin. Managed to find only 2 new species to add to my collection. Pyrops sultanus (ID credit: Jerome Constant). Maliau Basin, Sabah. . Pyrops sultanus. Maliau Basin, Sabah. Pyrops cultellatus (

What is a plamp? Well, a plamp is a flexible wire with clamps attached to both ends. Like this. This one was given to me by Sunny from the Butterfly Circle forum :). If you want to check out great butterfly images or to know more about these beautiful insects, click here. It is an extremely useful contraption that will come in handy in close-up and macro photography. Clip or tie one end to

When shooting macro / closeup with  natural light, sometimes you need not just a reflector, but a diffuser as well. First, a little bit about diffuser and reflector. Diffuser and reflector set. White translucent fabric (left) is great for diffusing harsh direct light. The cover (right) has 4 colors: silver and black (underside) and gold and white inside. Of course, you can turn it inside out

I was extremely excited when I found this spiny / spiky version of the more common Cycnotrachelus sp giraffe weevil / long necked beetle a couple of weeks ago. Edit: this spiny/spiky weaver has been IDed as Hoplapoderus hystrix (Fabricius, 1801). Thanks to Andrei from The leaf-rolling weevils (Coleoptera:  Rhynchitidae, Attelabidae) of the world fauna                              

This post is all about macro diffusers. Since I have posted so many different types of macro diffusers before in my blog, I thought it is a great idea to have a summary list of all the macro diffusers here for easier reference: Macro Diffuser for pop up flash / built in flash. Highly recommended if you already have a macro lens but no budget for a speedlite / speedlight yet. Macro diffuser

My face-to-face with a longhorn beetle image won the Reader's Digest Unseen Asia 2011, March challenge. The prize is a Ricoh CX4. I have always wanted a compact camera/ point & shoot that I can carry with me at all times and also for blogging! The actual image is here: It is my first time winning something in a photo contest. I am so lucky! Thanks to Jeffrey Siow for the early good news.

This post is about tripod for macro photography. I was out looking for bugs again when I found this newly emerged cicada perching on its own exuvium, pumping fluids to its wings, waiting for its body to harden before taking its first flight! I spent the next one hour photography this cicada. I believe I missed the emergence process by about 10 to 15 minutes. Better luck next time! The newly