Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: insects

  • There’ll be nobody home

    This square format photograph features a cross processed treatment of a painted lady butterfly at three quarters perspective and from the rear. The buttery smooth bokeh and shallow depth of field draws attention to the butterfly as it rests on a freshly bloomed sedum.
    There’ll be nobody home — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/160

    I arrived home from the foothills of eastern Pennsylvania stretched and worn. Bettered but battered after a long weekend celebrating my cousin’s pending nuptials. A good yet exhaustive time was had by all.

    Leaving the cousin’s shiny new F-150 my mind clung to the imminent hopes of a hot shower and a nap—here it is, victory. Or so I thought. Immediately out the truck I noticed 1) my sedum have finally blossomed, and 2) a butterfly had finally come to rest on one my flowers. I’d seriously been waiting all season for this.

    With the shower and nap plan on hiatus I grabbed my gear and tried to get a capture. I only got off two shots before this common butterfly was scared away for good—my approach wasn’t exactly one of stealth—and neither of which were from a frontal perspective. Even still I connect with the story this image tells. One of time. The never ending story of the inescapable passage of all things. And somewhere out there is the future we can’t quite see.

  • Working under cover

    In this low key macro photograph of a Black-eyed Susan (yellow daisy), miniature insects are working in unison under the cover of the illuminated yellow flower petals and rich bokeh fades out the background.
    Working under cover — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/400

    Yellow daisies. Shoot ’em while they last.

    Last week I was taking advantage of the late afternoon sun to create some dramatic flower macros with my Black-eyed Susans backdropped by a Japanese Maple. Some folks find too much sun a bad thing with their flower macros while I find it to be a most useful ally. It affords me stark contrast in lighting, muting the background to a smooth, dark bokeh.

    Now that’s all well and good but it wasn’t until I got behind the viewfinder that I saw what was really going on down there; roughly a dozen as of now unidentified insects dutifully consuming what I can only guess is some kind of sugar on the flower stem—please someone correct my ignorance: I’d love to know the type of bug, and what they were doing there. Thanks! Their legs were awful close to an ant’s however the abdomen was much different; oblong, elongated and raised toward the rear.

    At the end of the day shooting macro once again reminds me just how much is going on right under our very noses (all hail the mighty cliché). This is what drove me to become a photographer. Before I ever dreamed of shooting wide angle landscapes it was macro and macro alone that fueled my initial instruction and experimentation behind the lens.

  • Beeswax, are you minding it?

    In this macro photograph a carpenter bee is captured from behind as it pollinates a quick fire hydrangea, basking in golden hour light.
    Beeswax, are you minding it? — 100mm | f/4 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/250

    This shot is a holdover from this past Sunday. I spent a good half hour stalking my quick fire hydrangea as it lay awash in rich golden light and carpenter bees. Despite the abundance of airborne insects doing their pollinating thing it what seemed like fast forward, I couldn’t get a single carpenter bee to stop let alone face toward me. Left with just the business end of the abdomen, I’m still happy with the result.