It takes time to develop "bug" eyes bro haha
Just like how you used time to develop your photographer's eye

Will ask you to join next time... I will go look for a nice spot for spiders around the campus first

Salticid by Ji Tan, on Flickr


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Nothing wrong with it ah haha, some people prefer the image effects of higher ISO
Overly high ISO can be very nice especially when indoors~

Great shots!
I just noticed that the landscape on the road to Tanjung Tualang (keep on going after Kampar Putra) is really majestic! Definitely have to go shoot there

Wah, awesome man
Dayum!

I have some students crazy enough to cycle the whole 30KM trail

Anyway, the place will be superb for macro, landscape, milkyway and birding If only I have the suitable lens for the latter(s)

Hyllus cf. keratodes with food by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A heavy jumper feeding on another jumping spider. Although spiders are quite capable of eating everything (polyphagous), they certainly have their own preferences if they get to choose!


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Nice one!
Really colourful!
I think this particular bug has a "face" when shot from the top

Macro time!

Something similar hehe
Red Stink Bugs mating (Dindymus rubiginosus?) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Found these two lovebirds mating in public! I supposed its their season now, they seemed to be everywhere!

These bugs can attract one another via hormone or sound, and the copulation process can take minutes and possibly hours.

Back to spiders:

Hyllus cf. keratodes ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A young, male Hyllus heavy jumper. it seems that the two, characteristic "horns" on the heads of male spiders of this particular species tend to fall off as they age, often misleading people to think that they are different species.

Yellow caterpillar by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A very beautiful and hairy caterpillar! The striking yellow colour was so brilliant that the caterpillar looked like a spark of light from afar. Very impressive!


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Great find! I have yet to shoot this type of stink bug yet

As for the yellow beetle, its a Gold Dust Weevil (likely Hypomeces squamosus). Quite common on shrubs, and very beautiful to photograph~

Yeah, a good diffuser will surely improve your shots more

Great shot hehe

@DS_Legacy punya diffuser better than mine already, I am emo

Awesome shots, diffusion damn nice
The snake is an Oriental Vine Snake (Ahaetulla sp.). It has very specialized and good eyesight.

Will ask you to join us for our next casual outing, then you can copy the one owned by DS_Legacy
I think you guys have pretty much the same setup~

The trick to photographing lizards is to go out during early morning, say 7-10am, when the lizards (poikilotherms) have to bask in the sun for energy. Most of them will not have enough energy to run away from you, and will often just perch lifelessly on tree trunks or twigs etc.

Lizards that are alert to your presence and ready to flee will press their bodies towards the ground/bottom, as seen in the shot above. Those that are still feeling pretty okay (un-threatened) will not do that (see below)- you will have an idea whether they are going to run away or not~

Great Angle Head Lizard- Gonocephalus grandis ♂♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Stingless bees guarding their nest (Tetragonula sp.?) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Stingless bee guards protecting the entrance to their hive.

Stingless bees, as the name suggests, are not capable of stinging. They build their hives in tree cavities, rock crevices and even man-made structures.

The bees store pollen and honey in large, egg-shaped pots made of beeswax mixed with various types of plant resin. Because of this, stingless bees are often cultivated for their honey.


Long Bodied Jungle Pholcid (Calapnita deelemanae) with Salticid prey by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Nature always has its ways.

How does a tiny and seemingly fragile pholcid spider end up preying on a much larger and agile jumping spider?

This leaf-dwelling pholcid is often found beneath foliages and has 6 eyes (instead of the usual 8 in spiders).


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Seems like a pretty good deal if everything is in good order
Have to check thoroughly when COD

The longer your focal length e.g. 105mm vs 50mm (no accessories), you can reach 1:1 from a farther distance, but I am not too sure about the DOF itself, let's try it out sometimes

What I noticed based on my setup (FF + 105mm + Raynox-150/250) versus a (DX + 50mm + 20+12 ET), my DOF seems to be thinner for the same subject, although I do not need to get as close... Not too sure about the specifics, have to really test out to find out whether there's really any difference in DOF, or its just my imagination lol

I've never got the chance to really use an unfilled warranty card, so I can't really comment on whether it will work or not with Nikon Malaysia
Need to ask the other sifus

Mangrove Cross Spider- Argiope mangal ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Meet Joseph! Named after the scientist who caught and describe this particular spider from Singapore!

Mangrove Cross Spiders, although naturally confined to mangrove areas, they certainly have no problems living in non-mangrove areas. If this is the case, then why confine themselves in mangroves? Competition? Predatory?


Yellow-Silver Cross Spider (Argiope catenulata ♀) with blowfly prey by Ji Tan, on Flickr

One of the most beautiful Cross Spiders in Malaysia, the female Arigope catenulata displays striking silver patterns on both her abdomen and cephalothorax. Despite its relative uncommonness here, this species seem to be more abundant in Northern South-east Asia all the way to India.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Great find man! Not exactly a very common Jumping Spider
A nice diffuser will not only help soften the light, it can also help produce nice, different-shaped catch lights in the eyes, which are especially attractive in Jumping Spiders

Double-striped Carrhotus- Carrhotus viduus ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr


Keep it up! I guess you are getting really good and hunting for Salticids already

Welcome to the fascinating world of Nature haha
The more you go out and shoot, the more you will see how awesome some of these creatures can be!

More macro!

Big-bellied Tylorida with prey- Tylorida ventralis ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A very common spider that you can find pretty much anywhere in the wild. The males can often be seen hanging out with the females on the same web, and it is not uncommon to see them mating in public

Common Garden Lynx Spider- Oxyopes lineatipes ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A very common spider that frequents your house garden, keeping the insect populations there in check~

Like Jumping Spiders, Lynx Spiders do not use webs to capture their prey. Most of the time they just sit on or beneath foliages, waiting for oblivious prey to stop by.


Wolf Spider carrying egg sac- Pardosa sp. ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Female wolf spiders, like many other spiders, take care of their young even before they hatch, carrying them around either attaching the egg sac to its abdomen, or pushing the roundish egg sac using their pedipalps as the spider moves.

It is not uncommon to see hatchlings staying on top of the abdomen of the wolf spider, where they will stay until they are old enough to head out into the vast world.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Well, its called Big-Bellied for a reason I suppose
Anyway, the diffusion is not very good