Small things seen up close. Work in progress…# 2 (Poll Included)

I saw another one today but my shots were too OOF to show. However I got to see the mandibles front / side on. Very nasty looking - corrugated like a crab's claws

Fishing?

I believe he is from the family Pyrgomorphidae and although he's quite camouflaged, he has a lot of very brightly coloured cousins.

Just keep away from the nest 😁

Thank you gentlemen

It's a very curious grasshopper and, rather than fishing, being so close to the water I would say it risks becoming someone's lunch.
And by the way, the equipment you're using works wonderfully. Being able to photograph these little creatures with an 800mm equivalent lens and with that level of detail is a real treat...

Crane fly on pampa grass…

Back in my youth / early adulthood I remember being enchanted by the sound of wind through Pampa grass. So today I wondered why I never see it anymore. It was an introduced species in this country and is now considered a weed and banned in many states - out competes many natives and a fire hazard.

Nice Crane too... 😀

I would agree except that those little fish are the biggest there are in this quite small dam. Maybe the birds would be his biggest threat.

I wouldn't get any where near as many shots of small things if I had to get up close with a macro or smaller lens so the tele is a big advantage. While it is considered quite a good lens in general, there is reported copy variation and many returned theirs because of a lack of sharpness. I bought this one 2nd hand and was very fortunate to get one that is really good - I reckon it is very, very close to being as sharp as the OM pro tele lenses which cost a lot. I haven't seen any moon shots with say the OM 300 f/4 that better this one. Indeed I actually put out a challenge on DPR for 300 f/4, 150-400 owners to post their moon shots to compare - none responded 😄