Life’s like that. We pick up and move on, as we always do. It’s back into the forests after the trauma of the previous few months, after what is possibly the greatest loss I’ll ever come to experience in my life. Mantis (Amantis sp.)with cricket prey Giant forest ant (Camponotus gigas) major
© 2012-2021 Jacqueline Lau
Category: Biodiversity
Midway through the morning, we were caught in the greatest torrential downpour I had ever experienced in London. Thoroughly soaking wet at the end of it all. And then, there was that rainbow.
Domestic house spider (Tegenaria domestica)
15 September 2013, 3.4km, after a heavy rain shower. Wagler’s pit viper (Tropidolaemus wagleri), male Green mantid (?Hierodula sp.) Huntsman spider (Heteropoda venatoria), female Salticid jumper (Menemerus bivittatus), female
4 September 2013. Managed to finish the entire loop, rather rare for a night walk. Copper-cheeked frog (Hydrophylax raniceps) Moulting nursery web spider (Thalassius sp.) Singapore tanrantula (Phlogiellus inermis) Stick insect (Necroscia ?prasina , formerly N. roseipennis – the 7 white rings on antennae are diagnostic) Nasute termites Brown mantid (?Statilia sp.) Moulting orthoptera Bioluminescent ‘shrooms (Filoboletus manipularis) Nocturnal duck
The many clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms (Filoboletus manipularis, among possible others) that we saw earlier in the week had all but withered. The sole bunch still existing in a decent condition was found near the end of the route, emitting a very weak bioluminescence. Singlets and another dying cluster could be found on an adjacent log, their glow barely discernable from the gleaming moonlight being reflected by surrounding surfaces on the forest floor. First, behold the X100S! 25-second exposure, f/4, ISO 5000, in-camera noise reduction off, auto white balance. The junk piece of a manual screw-in cable release I picked…
Venus Drive 14 August 2013, 2.3km Who’d have guessed that the X100S isn’t just a brilliant streeting camera, but does decent nature macro photography as well! First field test went better than expected: slapped on a Raynox DCR-250 close-up lens and used my Nikon SB-800 flashgun with a flimsy DIY diffuser softbox (it fell into a pool of murk when I was shooting the frogs), synced with a SC-29 remote cord. Everything is manual: exposure, flash settings, flash handling sans extension brackets. The only thing that’s stopping me from using manual focusing is that I’ve run of out free hands.…
11 August 2013, 4.8km Oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina) Green-crested lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) Oriental whip snake (Ahaetulla prasina), juvenile Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) Changeable lizard (Calotes versicolor), male
2 August 2013, 2km trail. Attempting a return to nature macro photography after a hiatus of about nine months. Skills, equipment, joints and all have gone rather rusty. Sun skink (Eutropis multifasciata) Plain Nawab (Polyura hebe plautus) caterpillar Net-winged beetle (Taphes brevicollis) Two-tailed spider (Hersilia sp.)
A female domestic house spider (Tegenaria domestica), relocated from my bedside to somewhere outdoors. It should be warm enough for them out there now. Played around with three different cameras, producing vastly different pictures:
Nikon D7100 + SB-800 flashgun, using a hastily-assembled DIY lightbox out of a light bulb box