Arriving in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique at this time of the year, when the grasslands are bone dry and green has all but disappeared from the color palette of this immense ecosystem, I did not expect to see too many insects. Sure, there will always be ants and a bunch of grasshoppers, but the…
Category: Wide angle
Mozambique Diary: The stuff of dreams
Isn’t it fascinating that the same thing can be the subject of one person’s worst nightmares, and another person’s wildest dreams and desires? Nothing illustrates this point better than the Golden orb spiders (Nephila), which my wife doesn’t even call spiders – they are simply her Nemesis, clearly intent on luring her into their enormous…
Getting low and wide – Part 2
A few days ago I posted the first part of an introduction to wide-angle macrophotography, and here is the conclusion. Illumination. In order for the illusion that you are a lilliput looking at the giant world to work, the background of a wide-angle macro shot should be well and evenly lit, and the frontmost, focal…
Getting low and wide – Part 1
Shortly after I had become a proud owner of my first real SLR camera (the wonderful Nikon n6006 – an unexpected Christmas gift from my wife), I decided that what I wanted to do with this magical piece of equipment was to document life that was two or three orders of magnitude smaller than traditional…
A disappearing Goliath
Quickly vanishing forests of West Africa are still home to one of the most magnificent members of the beetle order—the Goliath beetle (Goliathus regius). Despite their bulky appearance, Goliath beetles are excellent fliers, frequenting flowers blooming in the forest canopy. Adult beetles feed also on ripe fruits and sap, while their giant grubs, which can…
Alien predators in my garden
On most nights I like to turn the porch light on, just to see what insects are flying in the neighborhood. Last night I stepped outside to check the light, and was instantly hit by a huge insect that bounced off my head and landed on the ground. To my surprise and delight it turned…
The Smaller Majority 