Macro practice

I went out for a walk with the macro lens the other day and stumbled across a small patch of Rosebay Willowherb and other tall flowers.  It was full of bugs to photograph including a Dragonfly that allowed me to get pretty close.  It was superb to see the wings, eyes and body in such detail.  I was experimenting with getting different kinds of images using my position and the branch it was sitting on to achieve this.  I think it needs improvement but it was an interesting morning practicing with my macro lens.  I also photographed a great Shield Bug that sat still long enough for me to try different compositions and exposures.  Here are a few photos.

Here is the Shield Bug sitting on top of a stinging nettle leaf.  I spent ages trying to get the eyes in focus -  it's been a long time since I have used the macro lens like this properly!

I had to move off the path to let someone pass me by.  When I went back to photographing the Shield Bug, I couldn't find him.  As I looked down the plant, I could see that it had moved underneath a leaf.  I had a go at photographing him here as he was backlit from light falling onto the leaves behind which allowed a chance of silhouette images.   

This is the Dragonfly that I also spent a long time photographing.  I was also experimenting with the way I used the twig in the foreground in the composition.  Unfortunately, when I moved from where I had been standing, I discovered that I had been standing a little too close to an ants nest... 

I hope that you like these images.

Matt