Didn't have too much free time today but what I did was in glorious weather. My wife had kindly gone exploring in our wood in search of mushrooms and fungi and was successful in both! Fungi is Green Elf Cup and is about 1-2 mm in diameter. This group was on the underside of an old branch and the mushroom was growing out the end of another one Z9 105 macro f11 1/20 for green cup stack of 80 1/125 for mushroom stack of 60 ISO 64

Well, it's been an incredible educational journey for us this week. A Vapourer moth cocoon appeared on our window frame. We'd never heard of them before - let alone seen them! Here's some photos of the sequence of the events (I took quite a few and @Ryan Cush prog Macro Studio was magnificent in identifying and sorting out the stacks!!!). The eggs had a lucky escape, the window cleaners came this morning as we were going out. They were instructed NOT to wipe the cocoon and the eggs away! Will the eggs hatch in a few weeks or is it too cold and we'll all have to wait until Spring 2027? She's unable to fly, having little stubs for wings, so - she's now dead, her job done. Photos taken with an Olympus OM-1ii camera and 90mm macro lens. I'm amazed at how close I can get to the action and the quality of the images. Some were simply single shots, some stacked in-camera, others photo bracketed shots and merged on the computer with Macro Studio. I love the mega close up ones of her amongst the aubrieta - mind you I did get funny looks and comments whilst I was laid on the pathway taking them.

Its sad to see all my local preserves start to do their fall turn. Most of the grass and flora has gone brown 😟. Still some decent opportunities but you have to work a little harder, wander a little longer. Still shooting the R6 Mk III and the RF100mm, it just keeps producing. - Green Stink Bug Nymph - Green Stink Bug, must be it's older bother or sister - Clover shot top down buried in some deep cover - And an Orb Weaver, not the best frame but the setting was pretty nice. f9 - 1/160 sec - ISO 160

While my wife and I have been busy harvesting the garden and preparing to plant for the fall/winter crops...these critters are busy in the garden eating all they can 😲 OM1 Mark II M.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 Godox V350 O AK diffuser 1/200 sec f10 ISO 320 1/16 - power on flash

Yesterday I was able to take my rented Om1 m2 and 90mm out for a stroll in my local nature area. It's geared more towards birding with its several ponds and walking paths, but it is also a great location to find bugs. The one thing I most wanted to shoot while I was renting the Om1 was jumping spiders. I found some!! There were actually loads of them hanging out in the tall grass along the walking paths. Every time I'd notice a little brown or black blob moving on the grass, it was almost always a jumping spider. They were being tricky though. I wasn't able to get a straight on portrait until the very last one I found. She was hanging out on the tip of one of the stalks of grass. Here are my two favorites from yesterday, one environmental portrait, and one more up close and personal. Both handheld, single shot, in natural light. 1/500, f8, ISO250 Today I hope to get out into the desert along the river for some pollinators.