Up Close with Nature

Since I have three different UV flashlights, I thought it would be a great idea to do a side by side comparison of all three. Here are the three UV flashlights I have purchased so far. 1. Inova X5MT-WUVT High Powered Ultraviolet LED Flashlight US$40.45 2. Ubesta 3-in-1 15+1 3xAAA Flashlight US$11.563. UltraFire® 3w Ultraviolet LED Flashlight  US$7.46 First, I tested them, one by one, on a RM10

It is the time of the year to round up some of my favorite images taken in the year of 2015. Again, lots of herps (amphibians, reptiles) this year with many new species added to my collection. AMPHIBIANS More amphibians here. #1 - I think this is possibly the cutest frog face in the world! Malaya Bug-eyed Frog (Theloderma leprosum). Malaysia. #2 - One of the most awesome frogs I've ever

I have never been a fan of ring flash / ring lite because the light is harsh and diffusion is not easy, but with Stephen's new and easy-to-DIY diffuser, getting good light is no longer an issue. You might want to check out another interesting method of diffusion for macro ring flash here as well. All text and images are by Stephen Barlow (SteB1) The aim of this diffuser design was to produce

Khai Yai National Park is about two hours' drive from Bangkok. The main reason we went there, of course, was to look for my favorite lanternflies (Fulgoridae), especially the Pyrops. We managed to find five different species of them during our 5D/4N stay in the national park. I will be hosting more macro workshops in locations in Thailand and also Borneo in the near future. Limited seats only

Venus 60mm F/2.8 Ultra Macro Lens is the world's first 2:1 macro lens with infinity focus.  Yes, 2:1 i.e. 2X magnification. Native 2:1 magnification, all built-in - you don't have to add any accessories like extension tubes, teleconverter or Raynox diopter lens! All without losing the infinity focus too! And since you don't have to add tubes, you won't lose the ability to focus to infinity,

It is the time of the year to round up some of my favorite images taken in the year of 2014. Lots of herps (amphibians, reptiles) this year with many new species added to my collection. Instead of just 36 favorite images like the past few year, there are 108 favorites this year. If you would like to see more of any of the species posted here, just click that image and that will take you to my

Lampyridae firefly (Lamprigera sp. - ID credit: Michael Geiser, Gene Mesher) attacking and later eating a Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica. ID credit: Tan Siong-Kiat, Marcus Ng) that it killed earlier. Selangor, Malaysia. I first spotted the firefly because of its glow in the dark. You'll see the time stated above each image 8:36pm 8:36pm 8:36pm. The snail tried to escape! 8: