Ant undaunted
Oh profligate me: I take a lot more pictures than I can possibly show you here. Now that we’re in a relatively bleak part of the year, I’ll supplement current pictures—which aren’t coming quite as fast and furious, thanks to the season—with some from the past year that I never managed to squeeze in, of which there are many.
Back on August 7th I showed a photograph of two ants that met their demise when they became entombed in a drop of sunflower resin. Most ants, especially the bigger ones, don’t suffer that fate. Here’s a large reddish one I photographed on the tip of a sunflower leaf alongside Bull Creek on August 3 (on the same outing that produced the picture of the bald cypress “rainbow”). Ants often move quickly on plants, as this one was doing; if that’s not the way the photograph makes it look, it’s because I used a shutter speed of 1/500 sec. to stop most of the motion. Even so, you can see a bit of movement in the ends of the ant’s antennae and its forelegs.
For those interested in photography as a craft, points 1, 2, 5, 7, and 18 in About My Techniques are relevant to today’s picture.
© 2012 Steven Schwartzman
Great picture and, as always, I appreciate the educational aspect.
worldismycuttlefish
January 18, 2012 at 5:50 AM
Even if I want to say “Teacher, teacher, go away, come again another day,” it usually does no good: the teacher finds a way to have his say.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 6:51 AM
Very nice shot, Steve. You stopped the motion at a very interesting point….looks like it’s at full attention.
Steve Gingold
January 18, 2012 at 5:51 AM
I know I was certainly at full attention!
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 6:52 AM
Amazing how it appears to be standing.
Bonnie Michelle
January 18, 2012 at 8:09 AM
I agree, Bonnie. And I’m glad I could stand being out in the heat that day.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 8:22 AM
Where are his 3 million friends? (too much Discovery Channel!)
Wonderful capture.
Dawn
January 18, 2012 at 8:32 AM
I don’t know a lot about ants, but I think this isn’t one of the swarming types. That’s why I lived to tell the tale.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 9:07 AM
An amazing photo. I’m also intrigued by the background.
Louis
January 18, 2012 at 9:33 AM
Thanks, Louis. When the circumstances allow, I sometimes take pictures from a position that lines my subject up against something in the background that’s colorful but far enough away to stay largely (or in this case completely) out of focus. The yellow in this image came from a nearby sunflower.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 9:52 AM
Great macro shot Steve! I am in the market for one (my old Minolta lenses won’t mount to a Nikon…no adaptors are made for this combo, plus focal planes are different) but can’t decide on brand or focal length. I am thinking in the 70 – 85 mm range.
dhphotosite
January 18, 2012 at 10:06 AM
Thanks, David. I started out with a 50mm Canon macro lens (thanks to my friend Ariana) and later moved up to first one and now another 100mm Canon, which lets me stay farther back from my subject but still get a 1:1 image. By coincidence, a couple of hours ago I was reading the latest issue of Popular Photography, which features a new Sigma 150mm macro f/2.8 with image stabilization. The magazine didn’t test the lens, but you may want to look it up and see what sorts of reviews it’s gotten (if there are any yet). And of course Nikon has its own macro lenses.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 10:22 AM
This is tough…photo equipment is like a good restaurant menu with too many pages of dishes to choose from. Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, Tokina arrrrghghhh.
dhphotosite
January 18, 2012 at 10:37 AM
That’s not a problem: just buy one of each.
On the serious side, you may want to check the detailed equipment reviews at
http://www.dpreview.com/
I’ve found this site to be quite helpful over the years.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 10:52 AM
Wow, great capture! Looks like it’s trying to decide ‘Left to safety, right to doom.’ Patience and planning make for some wonderful shots! Cheers. 🙂
Steve
January 18, 2012 at 11:10 AM
Patience, planning, and let’s not leave out a dose of good fortune—in this case, because the ant stayed on the sunflower plant, even if it moved around.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 1:07 PM
Just WOW – awesome photo!!!
cravesadventure
January 18, 2012 at 11:54 AM
I’m happy to have you react that way. Thanks.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Insects are simply amazing and an endless source of entertainment–as long as they’re politely refraining from biting, stinging or otherwise impinging on my personal space!! Great shot of some beautiful body armor!
kathryningrid
January 18, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Now, if you discover some chigger-proof armor in my size, I’d love to know about it.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 1:08 PM
love seeing that ant on the tip of a leaf.
Tammie
January 18, 2012 at 12:43 PM
I was glad to be able to show it there, Tammie.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 1:11 PM
Be still my ant-loving heart! This is stunning!
Lemony(Gr)Egghead
January 18, 2012 at 1:55 PM
You put that so well.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 2:19 PM
🙂 I really like this one!! So does my 5 year old 🙂
JuanitasPhotoBox
January 18, 2012 at 7:23 PM
I guess we can say that it’s two for the price of one.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 7:50 PM
Yet another brilliant photograph. And where will that ant go, do you think, when it reaches the very top?
Susan Scheid
January 18, 2012 at 9:28 PM
Thanks, Susan. If I recall correctly, when one of these ants reached the tip of a leaf, it turned around and went back to the stalk of the plant. What the ants were looking for or doing on the sunflower plant, I don’t know.
Steve Schwartzman
January 18, 2012 at 9:36 PM
What a great photo!
TBM
January 19, 2012 at 4:04 AM
Yes, and one I didn’t ant-icipate when I went out that day.
Steve Schwartzman
January 19, 2012 at 7:41 AM
I’m very impressed with all the details here.
The background looks awesome and makes the ant stand out.
Nicely done Steve.
Pablo Buitrago
January 20, 2012 at 9:57 AM
Thanks, Pablo. This time all the elements, including the yellow glow in the background, lined up for a success.
Steve Schwartzman
January 20, 2012 at 10:13 AM
What fantastic color! What a cool portrait! Clapping!
lesliepaints
January 20, 2012 at 12:20 PM
I wondered what that sound was that I heard a while ago. Now I’m happy to find out it was you.
Steve Schwartzman
January 20, 2012 at 12:54 PM
This feels like a cut above other ant shots! And nicely weaved writing : )
firasz
January 23, 2012 at 2:34 PM
Thanks. You could say the text has a pleasing texture. This may have been the closest I’ve ever come to an ant with my macro lens.
Steve Schwartzman
January 23, 2012 at 5:17 PM
We can see details ! congralutations !
Guillaume
January 11, 2013 at 2:51 PM
I think this is the closest picture of an ant that I’ve ever taken.
Steve Schwartzman
January 11, 2013 at 7:19 PM
Ok and how far you find yourself ?
Guillaume
January 12, 2013 at 5:46 AM
I don’t remember how close I was, but the front end of my lens can get as close as 10 centimeters to a subject.
Steve Schwartzman
January 12, 2013 at 9:02 AM