11/6/2023 0 Comments Human macro photography![]() This mark in the leaf made me think of a butterfly balancing on a tightrope 2.3 sec at f/16, ISO 200. The next day, both salamanders had sunk to the bottom of the Encrusted Comatricha by Barry Webb When I saw a pitcher that had two salamanders, both at the same stage of decay floating at the surface of the pitcher’s fluid, I knew it was a special and fleeting moment. Pitchers typically contain just one salamander prey at a time, although occasionally they catch multiple salamanders simultaneously. On the day I made this image, I was following researchers on their daily surveys of the plants. For a plant that’s used to capturing tiny invertebrates, a juvenile spotted salamander is a hefty feast! This population of northern pitcher plants in Algonquin Provincial Park is the first to be found regularly consuming a vertebrate prey. Typically, these plants feast on invertebrates – such as moths and flies – but recently, researchers at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station discovered a surprising new item on the plant’s menu: juvenile spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). Instead of drawing nutrients up through their roots, this plant relies on trapping prey in its specialised bell-shaped leaves, called pitchers. Here there is no rich soil, but rather a floating mat of sphagnum moss. Northern pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) are carnivorous, allowing them to survive in nutrient-poor bog environments. Samantha was the Overall and ‘Animals’ category winner of CUPOTY 04 (2022 competition). Canon EOS 5D Mark III, Laowa 15mm f/4 macro lens,1/100sec, ISO 1250. ![]() The final image is the result of combining more than 100 separate Pitfall by Samantha Stephens To expand the depth of field, which is very shallow using a microscope, each of the nine images consist of several frames combined in one output image in Helicon Focus. To capture it properly, I made a panorama consisting of nine images stitched together during post-processing. ‘It was challenging to show more than one or two “twigs” of algae, because even a 4x microscope objective shows too small a part. However, by combining polarised light and darkfield techniques I managed to get a colourful and interesting picture. Although it has natural beauty, it doesn’t look great using bright-field illumination. I took a sample of Batrachospermum (a kind of red algae) from a small river in Wigry National Park, Poland. Marek was the ‘Micro’ category winner of CUPOTY 04 (2022 competition). Pentax K-1, Olympus 4x S-plan Apo objective, 1/5sec, ISO 100.
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