Monday 23 January 2012

One Good and one Bad, but both Ugly

Following suggestions from some readers, I have been seeking out creatures to photograph with my new Macro lens. Unfortunately I have not been very successful, for a number of reasons: firstly, last weekend when I had the opportunity to take photos the weather was very cold and not conducive to grubbing about looking for small insects; secondly I have been suffering from a severe bout of Fibromyalgia which has meant that I not been physically able to get down on my hands and knees for those sought-after close-up shots. However, I did manage to get a few shots of one garden ally - the compost worm - and one enemy - the aphid.

The worms do a great job for me. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to making compost. I bung all the material into a plastic compost bin and let the worms get on with it. I do occasionally aerate the mixture by poking some holes in it with a long wooden pole, but mostly I leave it to the worms to chew on. Their digestive processes convert the vegetable matter into perfectly acceptable compost in a susprisingly short space of time. I keep adding new material to the compost bins, but they seldom overflow. This is because I have hundreds (possibly thousands) of worms in each bin, and they all seem to have voracious appetites. Here's one trying to swallow a half of a lemon:


Actually I think it is probably more interested in the piece of carrot.


Here is a whole bunch of worms, probably asking each other "What's for dinner tonight?"


This one is evidently puzzled. Worms don't talk, so maybe they communicate in sign language...?


So that was the garden Allies, now some shots of the Enemies. These nasty little things are aphids, clustering round the delicate little leaves at the growing points of my Flower Sprouts, and sucking the sap out of them.


I found it very hard to get a good photo of these aphids. I never managed to get anything I was really happy with. There always seemed to be too much shadow or too much reflection.


I soon lost patience and energy, and got cold, so I picked a leaf with some aphids on it and brought it indoors for another try. It was a very small leaf, so I put some grains of dry rice next to it to give an idea of the scale.


The aphids are very tiny and very dull-coloured, so not an easy subject to photograph. This is about the best that I managed to produce. I will do better eventually!


When I was clearing up I noticed some little black specks on the table where the leaf had been. Closer inspection revealed some VERY tiny aphids that had dropped off the leaf. Look at them next to the grains of rice:


They look pretty dead too, don't they? Probably died of boredom whilst I was striving to get a good photo!

Most of these shots demonstrate the main problem with Macro photography; if you get one part of your subject in focus other parts of it probably won't be. The depth of field is very shallow. I'll be the first to admit that I am still far from expert in the use of the Macro lens, but practice makes perfect and I hope to be able to deliver some better results in due course...

21 comments:

  1. The only thing I seem to get in my compost bin is Slugs!

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  2. Firstly Mark I had to look up Fibromyalgia...I'd never heard it. It sounds very painful :(
    Secondly like your post there's the good and the bad...the good is fantastic photo's even though you're not happy...the bad is I'm feeling a little queasy now and I haven't had my breakfast yet!
    Lol at the worm’s sign language. Keep cosy :D

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  3. Good shots, but you are right about the ugly! Nasty critters!

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  4. Bugs look much better on camera (or animated)! The aphids up close look like ticks. I've only seen one tick in Northern Ireland (on my cat a few years ago). Sorry to hear about the fibromyalgia flare up, hope you're feeling better.

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  5. I have suffered from fibromyalgia so I know how you are feeling - I think you are getting the hang of your macro lense perfectly. p.s. I heard a rumour over t'internet that Piknik is closing down - have you heard this - this will seriously affect your photo-playtime. Hope it's not true.

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    1. Elaine, you are right. Picnik is closing on 19 April, but there's always something else. Google+ has its equivalent.

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  6. Aww worms aren't ugly... they are beautiful! :)x

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  7. Welcome worms to my garden! They are great friends of mine. Having a struggle with aphids,they keep coming back:( Love all the shots. Sorry about your tussle with fibromyalgia.

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  8. I think maybe the 'dead' aphids are the skins that have been shed Mark. It is amazing hoe many different species of aphid there actually are. One question when you zoom in with your macro do you get an image in a circle as you would a telescope. I'm finding that I have to move out to get the image totally in shot.

    It is difficult though to get everything in focus - at least you managed to choose minibeasts that didn't move too quickly!

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  9. I really don't like aphids - I've got black ones trying to eat my garlic chives at the moment. Your worms look different to ours - I'm going to have to have a closer looks at ours to check though.

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  10. Sue; My "zooming-in" is done after the event, when I'm editing the photo with the aid of Picnik. If you want a wide angle but close-up shot I think you need a "pancake" lens or a "fisheye" - but don't quote me, I'm not an expert in such matters!
    BTW: I didn't know that aphids shed their skins, but now that you mention it I think you must be right. How long does an aphid live? Does it need a new skin very often?

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    1. They live between 20 - 40 days but I don't know how often they shed their skins. As they grow the skin tightens and splits as it isn't stretchy like ours so maybe it depends how much they eat! Females are born pregnant and can produce about a thousand young so it's no wonder that they infest everything is it?

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  11. Urgh! Your photos are certainly good and clear enough to show what horrible little creatures aphids are, though they're still part of the eco system I suppose. Hope you're feeling better now.

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  12. I hope you are feeling better! Great Shots. Did the worms move in or did you initially "seed" your compost with some worms?

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    1. David; the worms are all "volunteers". They just arrive(d) of their own accord.

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  13. Hi mark - Hope you're feeling better. Lovely pics! You give a whole new meaning to Wildlife Photography!!! BTW, our dogs here often get ticks and those little aphids look just like them but much much smaller! I wonder if they're all related....nasty little bugg...s !!!!!! lol x

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  14. Hi Mark great and gross photos I agree with "Stocki" worms are beautifull what amazing colours.

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  15. Wow, some awful pictures (as in what is in them, not how you have taken/presented them) the rice really helps put the size into perspective. We came across so many worms in the soil whilst digging (well whilst the OH was digging) at the weekend, lost count of the amount that were cut in half, is it true that they 'grow' back if you cut them in half? Fybromyalgia!! bane of my life, I truely sympathise with you on that one. Although I haven't had a really bad attack since moving here I remember how I felt at my worst and dread it getting that bad again. It is usually in the Winter that it's at it's worse with me so I'm keeping a close eye on myself!!

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  16. Beautiful worm pictures! I didn't know worms could volunteer their services on their own. I'd always thought you had to introduce them to the compost bin. I wish they would visit my compost bin. The only inhabitants in my compost are ants and a very frightful lizard.

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  17. Hi Mark, so sorry to hear your Fibromyalgia has been playing up, miserable. Macro photography can be so tricky, getting the right things in focus, I think you are doing a great job, though I must admit that I was very distracted by the grains of rice in the aphid photos, amazing shape to them, though not as amazing as the beauty of the compost worms. I particularly like the thrid worm photo. Hope you are soon feeling much better.

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