While working on the plants in our patio area, I came upon these ants (I think they’re called Crazy Ants) attacking the back of a coreopsis flower and couldn’t figure out why . . . until I saw, yes, aphids (lower right corner) on the stem! Well after I took a hundred or so shots I got rid of the flower and hopefully the aphids.
I’ve been working on getting the settings more specific to different situations so for this shot I knew I wanted a fast ss (these guys are very quick) and upped the iso (to help) with an f stop of f/8 to balance the lighting.
The challenge, as always for me, is to balance getting the composition the way I want it, along with the proper lighting, all the while compensating for the amazingly fast ants as they darted here and there.
Do the settings seem about right? Is the main ant sharp enough? Are the OOF ants/aphids and flower a distraction? Or do they help set the environment? Any other thoughts and comments are welcome.
Nikon D7200, f/8, 1/500 sec., iso 400 @105mm, handheld, polarizer and external flash.
Linda, kudos to you for your accomplishments of photographing what looks to me to be the fire ants we have here in the south. It is an interesting story, with the aphids in it, so that is a personal preference if you want them to stay in the frame. I always like having things in focus at the front of the frame, and things further back to fall out of focus, so leaving them and the ants near the stem would, to me, take away from that nice sharp ant on the yellow petal. Again though, taking them away takes away from the story. For a nice image of just the one, nice and sharp, and on the yellow petal, I think I would try cropping from the bottom and the right to see how you like it. Ants move fast, so you did really well getting this little guy. I like how the flower is back lit too, by you shooting from beneath. Very nice.
Thanks @Shirley_Freeman you bring up several points I hadn’t considered and appreciate your perspective. I’ve re-posted a cropped version along with another version of the same session.
Linda, I like the crop okay, but the other image I like even more. The ant seems more “active” in this one with it on the petal’s edge. It also gives it a side profile, which to me, is better than looking straight down on it. Way to go!
Thanks, @Shirley_Freeman. I do like the second image for the composition, but didn’t post it originally because I felt the first image of the ant was clearer. Thanks again.
Wonderful photo of these ants Linda. You did very well considering how fast ants move. I find myself doing what Shirley does and predict the ants movement. Easier to do when there is a trail of them but in this case the ants are just going everywhere. Nice one
Thanks, @Dean_Salman. After this exercise in trying to photograph these ants I am in total awe as to how you and the others here at NPN manage to get such amazing images. The whole time I was shooting I kept thinking; don’t forget about the composition, the lighting, the background, are my settings right for this situation and… how on earth do these guys do this? I have a new respect - or perhaps renewed respect- for the photos posted here. Thanks again for your thoughts.
