Deer Fly Macro's

pete w

This guy was sitting on a fence today , he looked like a young fly, very clean and his eyes were different colors.Even has some fur on his head.





This was the one from last year , very different eyes and more mature.

Andy

su-weeeeeeeeet!

equipment? setup? tips? technique?

DRT-Maverick

Sheesh! Talk about a closeup! What did you use?

mereimage

Those are some crazy 'psychedelic' peepers
Awesome fly eyes..................Mere

Lord Vetinari

Love the eyes
Great shots-really weird colour arrangement in those eyes.
Brian V.

douglas

Very impressive shots, awesome eyes!

Best regards,
douglas

MuskyDude

Wow, just amazing shots Pete! Love the clarity and colors...



AJ

TristanP

Wow, nice portrait. Beautiful. What was your setup?

pete w

Andy

andy wrote:

su-weeeeeeeeet!

equipment? setup? tips? technique?

I took about 30 pictures of this guy with the 100mm Macro and 20D. I also tried the 250D but the results are mixed as I get an extremely shallow DOF.



With Macros , I always try to get the aperture a small as possible to increase DOF, this one was f6.4 which gave me a shutter speed of 1/100. I also like to get as close as possible to the subject to ensure minimal cropping and maximize detail. This also can cause DOF issues so I take shots at varied lengths. This one was about 6 inches form the subject. I have some at 3 inches but the DOF is miniscule. Those at 12 inches have great DOF but are lacking in detail.



This particular shot was also taken with center point AF, I use both AF and MF depending on the contrast of the subject. These eyes were perfect for AF.



Hope I answered all your questions.

Skippy

How Big Are These Flies ?

pete w wrote:

This guy was sitting on a fence today , he looked like a young fly, very clean and his eyes were different colors.Even has some fur on his head.

This was the one from last year , very different eyes and more mature.

What amazing eyes they have look at the size of them things geeeezzzz.....all the better to see you with my dear.....
You called them Deer Flies so does this mean they hang around Deer??
Can't really tell from your shot but are they big or small ? the size of the eyes gives the impression they are larger than an ordinary house fly ? are they?
The colours in those eyes are just amazing........great shots
Skippy (Australia)

lynnma

Amazing shot! so thats what the little %$*##*& look like is it? they LOVE me, bite me right through my clothes even covered in deet.... fishin friend of mine puts sticky fly paper round his hat to catch 'em.. looks charming by the end of the day..:uhoh

pete w

Skippy
Thanks for lookin in. These flys are just a little larger than a common house fly,the tell tale sign is the eyes, they come in many different colors and zig zag patterns. They are easily missed and thought to be regular flys without close inspection. You can find them throughout all of North America( not sure bout Aussie). As in all Insects the male is quite harmless and drinks plant juice, The female however:tuesday Bites and drinks blood:fish so keep away from the female...hehehe.

It circles its victim before settling and then lands and bites immediately. Not sure why its called a DEar Fly , because it not so dear :giggle

Hope this explains everything

Skippy wrote:

What amazing eyes they have look at the size of them things geeeezzzz.....all the better to see you with my dear.....
You called them Deer Flies so does this mean they hang around Deer??
Can't really tell from your shot but are they big or small ? the size of the eyes gives the impression they are larger than an ordinary house fly ? are they?
The colours in those eyes are just amazing........great shots
Skippy (Australia)

Higgmeister

Hi Pete,
Half the hits have to be mine because I keep coming back to this shot. I still don't have anything to say but .

Thanks for the shot,
Chris

nzmacro

EXCELLENT !!!

We do get a different species here in NZ with the stripped eyes but as said earlier, you really need to examine them up close to know for sure. Flash helps allot with these.

This one of yours there, not minding the name, is obviously related to a robber fly. Going by the placement and shape of the antennas and how low down the wings are on the back, hints of a robber fly species, then the behaviour is obviously in the robber fly family.

Anyway, this is great to see. Excellent shots and work Pete.

Danny.

Jekyll & Hyde

lynnma wrote:

so thats what the little %$*##*& look like is it? they LOVE me, bite me right through my clothes even covered in deet....

J: ! My sentiments exactly.

H: Today I was out in a field shooting Dragonflies, but those darn deerflies were being such pests. Suddenly I heard a loud buzz and one of the dragonflies grabbed a deerfly out of the air directly in front of my face, then landed and proceeded to eat it. Justice was served!

J: BTW, neat idea with the flypaper. I may just have to try that. At the very least, I'll gain a captive audience (to photograph).

H: Oh, and before I forget... Very cool shots Pete!
J&H

pete w

thanks NZ
Yes they do look the same from the front, but they are very different in body shape, i will try and get a full body shot next time. This fly belongs to the fly familyn Tababidae. The robber fly belongs to the Family Asilidae.

Thanks for looking in and you comments.

nzmacro wrote:

EXCELLENT !!!

We do get a different species here in NZ with the stripped eyes but as said earlier, you really need to examine them up close to know for sure. Flash helps allot with these.

This one of yours there, not minding the name, is obviously related to a robber fly. Going by the placement and shape of the antennas and how low down the wings are on the back, hints of a robber fly species, then the behaviour is obviously in the robber fly family.

Anyway, this is great to see. Excellent shots and work Pete.

Danny.