chrispullphotography

A blog to share my (mainly) insect-based photography. I have bred insects on and off for ten years, and sharing their beauty and character is part of the fun.

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Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus"

A blue poison dart frog. These are some new acquisitions of mine. They have great characters and are really fun to watch. 

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On the Prowl

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The Crow

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Inky Jelly

An Aurelia jellyfish against an inky underwater background. 

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Sepia Bird

Not had a lot of time for photography recently, but was playing around with some old photos in LR this morning and came up with this.

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I love your insect photography! Your praying mantises are just absolutely precious!

Thanks, glad you like it! 

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Hey Chris! Can you share what lighting equipment you use in your macro? Thanks!

Hello! 

Thanks for your question. I am currently using the Nikon SB-700 flash. I use it with a cheap diffuser I bought on online and usually have it mounted on a tripod, rather than on the camera itself. I often also shoot inside a white box, to get more light onto the subject.  I usually use Lightroom to brighten areas of the photo that are too shadowy, created by the fact I usually have light coming from the side. I am thinking about upgrade my lighting system (most serious macro photographers are using a minimum of two flashes), and I am seriously considering this new macro flash solution: http://www.venuslens.net/product/macro-twin-flash-kx-800/

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Popa spurca nymph

I bought an ooth a while ago ago and they hatched a few weeks back. I lost a bunch as I was away on holiday when they did, but have a nice amount left that have now moulted to second instar. They have extremely long abdomens; when they're well fed, it really sticks out. Excited to see them grow!

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Down in the leaf litter

An adult female Blue wing mantis (Prohierodula picta). This species has extremely colourful wings, which are black, red and blue. They use them as a threat display when scared. However, in my experience they're very laid back insects, and so sadly, I've not had a chance to see them.

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Tanzanian boxer mantis

A Tanzanian boxer mantis nymph. Similar to the Thai boxer mantis, this species has very wide forearms, which it waves around in a robotic fashion. This is supposed to deter would-be predators and to communicate with others of it's species. This form of visual communication is especially important when it comes to mating, allowing the males and females to signal to one another.

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Escaping the heat

Although jumping spiders are ordinarily sun seekers, this female has had enough of the sun for one day, and takes refuge in a rolled up leaf. 

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Kitchen Lacewing

Found this interesting lacewing (probably a Micromus sp.) on my kitchen wall. It sat still long enough to capture a few shots, before flying off somewhere. I've always particularly likes lace wings; I think it's their cute face. The only interesting thing I know about lacewings is that they deposit each egg on its own stalk of silk, which hardens as it's stretched out during the laying process. In doing so, each egg is suspended out of reach of ants and other predatory insects, which cannot climb the extremely fine stalk.

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Acontista multicolor 

I've wanted this species for a while! This is a female Acontista multicolor and she's only about 1 cm in length. They have nice mottled green and black patterns, and bright red wings. Hope I can get some ooths!

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Black and Blue

As is often typical of mantids that have recently shed their skin, this Acromantis formosana has blue tinges to its wing buds, eyes and legs (presumably because their 'blood' is green). Coupled with the washed out colours, it looks rather striking! This is in contrast to another nymph of the same generation that is so dark it's almost black. It completely disappears against a soil background, with only the glinting eyes giving away it's position. Love this species!

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Tree Hugger

This Taiwan boxer mantis (Acromantis formosana) is trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, lying completely flat and tightly hugging it's perch. It is a sub adult male, and the immature wings are clearly visible, but contribute to it's amazing camouflage.

I love this photo. I used a very high aperture, which I don't normally do, but I think it's responsible for the very soft, almost painting-like look of the photo.

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Side eye

Another pic of a Acromantis formosana nymph. This is a few moult older than the last pic. They have elongated a bit and can sit in some quite interesting positions. This one has just taken down a fly and is giving me the side eye for interrupting.

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Baby sitter

One of the cool species of ant in our lab, baby sitting the brood. We study how ants are able to cope with disease, and I'm particularly interested in how they protect their babies (eggs, larvae and pupae) from infections.