Ants up close

[TobyMac]

After focusing mainly on birds for the past few months I decided to get out my macro gear again. As it is now winter here there isn't all too much insect activity. I did however discover some ants interacting with the aphids on a hibiscus and decided to spend the better part of a few days trying to get some nice shots. I have never gotten this close to something so small and to get focus was incredibly difficult. The gear I used was as follows:
Canon 7D
100mm macro
31mm and 21mm extension tubes
Canon 430Ex flash
Macro focus rail
Tripod

1 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

2 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

3 by Tobias Weber, on Flickr

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[IzzieK]

All very good captures, Toby, but to make it easier to look, I suggest that you rotate them. What do you think? Just a thought...after all the green images I have been looking at before this one makes my eyes a little bit sore already...#1 the transparency is heady but it is beautiful; #2 I like the sharpness of the ant itself but I'd rather look at it rotated a little bit clockwise and #3 would be nice rotated 180°...

[deetheturk]

Well captured Tobias, these little girls are a nightmare to photograph!

[Rebel]

Nice shots Tobias, especially like number 3.

[TobyMac]

Thank you all.

Izzie I understand what you mean but this is the way the ants were on the plant, if I rotated the image I would know that the ant is upside down and that just feels wrong to me.

[IzzieK]

It's OK...just asking...thanks. The glaring look that I feel must be because I am viewing the images here in my laptop in a darkened little hotel room in the middle of the night. I gotta jump back to bed here in a minute. But before I go, may I ask what sort of focus rail you have? and also, I have macro extensions, I think 36, 20 and 12mm but I have not used them at the same time, just one at a time. How do you stack them, lower number first or higher number first before putting on the 100mm lens? I joke around too much to David (deetheturk) now I am scared to ask him. Thanks Toby

Thank you all.

Izzie I understand what you mean but this is the way the ants were on the plant, if I rotated the image I would know that the ant is upside down and that just feels wrong to me.

[TobyMac]

Hey Izzie. I don't actually know the brand of the focus rail, I got it off the german amazon a couple years ago. It's only for backwards and forwards, so no left and right adjustment.

I never payed much attention to what order I stacked them, at the moment I have it shortest tube on the camera then the longer one and then the lens.

[Ziggy]

Nice shots of the tiny ones.

[IzzieK]

Thanks Toby...

Hey Izzie. I don't actually know the brand of the focus rail, I got it off the german amazon a couple years ago. It's only for backwards and forwards, so no left and right adjustment.

I never payed much attention to what order I stacked them, at the moment I have it shortest tube on the camera then the longer one and then the lens.