An Evening with Macro Focus Seven

Mandatory Group shot! From what I understand, there were missing members that night.
 © MacroFocusSeven

Thanks to an invite by David (an exceptionally well-rounded photographer), I had the opportunity of joining his group of talented macro photographers who identify themselves as  Macro Focus Seven, during one of their sessions. I would normally spend my friday nights alone in the forest (my wife calls it Macro Therapy) but there are always exceptions, and this was definitely one of them. After all, I have seen some of their work over the years and knew that I would be dumb to give the offer a pass.

Besides being ethical and nature-conscious photographers, what impressed me most about them that night was their positive and inclusive attitude towards "outsiders" like myself who share the same passion and interests, which made me truly feel like I was part of a bigger community. :)

Here are some of the finds that night, thanks to the eagle-eyed crew.

1.Frontal view of a Callirhipis sp., male (Callirhipidae)

 2. Dorsal View

3. Cranefly with mites on its back. Ouch.

4. A dull-colored male mosquito resting on a plant, 10mm. 

5. Another similar-sized male mosquito spotted on the same plant but with a more striking coloration.  Thanks to Fujimoto Koh for the awesome finds!

6. A medium-sized Huntsman Spider (35mm) with a missing Leg I.

7. It scurried away right after this picture was taken.

8. Another beautiful Sparrasidae, slightly smaller but with a beautiful purplish hue. I think David spotted this one. :)

9. Dorsal view.

 10. Yet another! This is probably a juvenile Gnathopalytstes sp. with gold-colorer hairs on its carapace with a body length of 20mm.

11. I found this tiny parasitoid wasp crawling on a tree while the rest were busy shooting a slug. Body length about 5mm.

12. The find of the night! To make it more special, it was my first time seeing one in the flesh! What an exquisite-looking creature, commonly known as the Scorpion-tailed spider (Arachnura sp.) Thank you Nicholas Lee for the find!

13. I could not pass the opportunity to backlight this oddly-shaped spider. I just had to, and I am so glad i did! Bodylength 25mm.

15. You can see where the spinneret is located in this shot. Spinneret is the organ that produces the spider silk that we are familiar with.

16. I found this cluster of eggs, possibly those of a snail under a leaf. With backlighting, it looks like a celestial map of some sort.

17. Thanks Calvin Ang for spotting this juvenile Pancorius sp. (?) and for helping to keep an eye on the very active spider while I photograph.

18. The Diamond-bellied crab spider. One mean-looking spider.

19. A sweet potato weevil with unusual downward-pointing antenna.

20. A googly-eyed female Wide-jawed Viciria spider (Viciria sp.)

Update: I will be joining them again this week, so watch this space!