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Formica polyctena, Hylobius abietis


Formica polyctena, Hylobius abietis
Photo Information
Copyright: Dietrich Meyer (meyerd) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 585 W: 64 N: 2238] (7531)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-10
Categories: Insects
Camera: Konika Minolta Dynax 7D, Minolta AF 100 Macro & Kenko tube
Exposure: f/14.0, 1/125 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes (Fill) Flash: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): The predator with the Prey [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-05-14 8:21
Viewed: 4063
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Drama, not in my backyard

The dramatic picture was taken in the backyard of Anne (anel). The lion is the 11 mm long Bald wood ant (Hymenoptera; Formicidae; Formica polyctena ; Kahlrückige Waldameise) identifiable by the lack of hairs at the head and thorax; F. rufa (Red wood ant; Rote Waldameise) looks quite similar.

The attacked beetle is the Large pine weevil (Coleoptera; Curculionidae; Hylobius abietis; Grosser brauner Rüsselkäfer).
Its rare sortie from the root underworld into daylight did'nt pay. But the exoskeleton was tough and the lion had no chance.

All happened really fast, I had only one shot at it (ISO 200, shaded sun, macro double flash). The picture was in PS shadow/highlight adjusted, contrast enhanced by 12%, cropped, sharpened, resized.
marhowie, anel, boreocypriensis, aes_thor, pvs, peter_stoeckl, sandpiper2 has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Wow -this shot just blows me away. Fantastic macro for a one shot chance. It's a very dramatic photo and all elements are perfect. Congrats! Penny

What a great macro Dietrich!
I wrestled in high school, this looks exactly like the starting position..
Your POV could not be better, the detail/DOF is excellent.
Great lighting too, with the subjects standing out very well in your frame.
I've looked at the Canon MP-E 65mm 1:2.8 for this kind of work..
Unfortunately it's on hold for the time being.
Howard

Hello Dietrich,

Superb action shot. Excellent composition and sharpness.
Great colours too.
Cheers,
Mariki

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3053 W: 3 N: 8715] (40574)
  • [2008-05-14 10:02]

Hallo Dieter,
Es freut mich sehr das Bild auf TN zu sehen. Es gehört offensichtlich zu der interessanten Sorte vom Inhalt her. Und wenn es noch gut fotografiert ist.. was will man mehr? Bravo
Einen schönen Abend noch
Anne

i doubt he could bite through that Armour. a great moment captured here amazingly at their level.tfs

Hermosa metafora!

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1739 W: 224 N: 6872] (24909)
  • [2008-05-14 14:02]

Woooowww!! What a fantastic macro shot, Dietrich!!!
You've got in very close here and have shown this dramatic scene very well.
Excellent detail and sharpness.
Superb lighting too.

Exceptional work!!

TFS!!

Joe

Hi!
Great action shot. This small beattle was in big trouble, hopefully only one lion attacked him:). Great sharpness and natural colours. Well observed!
cheers
Adrian

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1127 W: 254 N: 3161] (14464)
  • [2008-05-14 23:47]

Hi Dietrich,

A superb macro capture,well seen and captured,the dof,exposure,amount of fillflash and focus are spot on,thanks for showing us this battle of the giants (as this what it looks like),

regards,
Paul

Hi Dietrich,
Stunning macro shot of this dramatic scene. All are perfect! You should have a eagle-eye to observe this event my friend. Superb composition too.
TFS & cheers,

Bayram

Lieber Dieter,
dramatische Szene, bravourös im Bild festgehalten.
Beeindruckend scharf, perfekt fokussiert, ideal ausgeleuchtet. Du scheinst über eine hervorragende Kamera mit ausgezeichnetem Blitzgerät zu verfügen und beherrscht Dein Instrument auch vorzüglich.
Mit Dank und besten Grüßen,
Peter

Bonjour,
Etonnante scène. J'ai l'impression que la fourmi s'attaque à un trop gros morceau !
Bonne journée.
clnaef

Hi Dietrich

Great capture.
Excellent sharpness and details of both the ant and the weevil.
Great composition DOF and POV.
Your lucky being able to identify the species. In Australia, its lucky if we can get to genus for many insects, especially weevils.

cheers
Chris

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