Shadow of his former self

You may have seen Paladian's image of a native bee today, and she got a comment from a fellow blipper that the HDR really brought out the detail. However, and much to our embarrassment, we didn't fully realise about the HDR capabilities of the 6D camera, having not yet read the instruction book! So I looked again at the menu, and turned this HDR feature on, being that it was factory set in the off mode!

As I was in the process of putting together the write-up for my Braconid wasp blip for today, I suggested to Paladian she might want to go out in the garden to try a couple of test shots using this HDR mode.

Being the sort of person she is, a couple of test shots means waiting to shoot something really special! Even though she is suffering sunburn on the back of her neck (from yesterday and today), she insisted on staying out into the garden with the macro lens, sunburn or no sunburn, to practise some more shots of critters.

Paladian did a couple of honey bees and was just about to come inside when she spotted this little "face" peeping over the top of a daisy. Knowing how she thinks, this was too much to resist! This little grasshopper had obviously just shed his exoskeleton, and was drying himself out on the edge of the flower, ready for the next stage of his life.

Braconids are pretty common, and I could not waste such a great opportunity of a hopper from our shared camera. (My camera left today for its new owner).

Seeing little hoppers like this - having just jumped out of his skin, was too good a blip to waste. You know the rest of the story, it was not a wasted shot and this is what I am now posting for today. With Paladian's full approval, I might add! See his face and empty shell in amazing LARGE.

We feel there may be a plague of grasshoppers (we then call them called locusts) this summer, as we normally never see one. Or maybe it is our blip eyes that is seeing them this year. However I do feel the unusual weather is a breeding ground for these critters. We will keep you posted on this subject, especially as I love grasshoppers and blipped one a few days ago.