Young 11-Spotted Ladybird Beetle

A young (and somewhat tiny) 11-spotted ladybird which found itself upon my desk on a warm spring evening. [ enlarge ]

Common Yellow Slug

Closer than you might normally see...

For some reason, the slugs love my kitchen floor - and any nook or cranny they can find on a late summer's night, they'll creep in (presumably on the hunt for crumbs). They're very timid visitors - they shy away from the light and they don't like to be spotted - but this fellow was more than happy enough to have his portrait taken! [ enlarge ]

Strawberry Close-up

More macro goodness

Like something out of Honey I Shrunk The Kids, this strawberry was begging to be caught up close. Right before I devoured it, of course! [ enlarge ]

Lighbulb Filament

Macro Photo

I've been using my recently aquired Speedlite 580ex and off-shoe cord for a lot of macro photography recently - I quite like the challenge of discovering interesting textures, features and details at such a small scale. My Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens is great - with true 1:1 ratio, you can get very close to things - so much so that you can make out the double helix in this light bulb filament.

Of course, I'd love to get in even closer - the Canon 5:1 ratio pro Macro lens is looking quite tempting! [ enlarge ]