agapakisnikos's Favorites

Is it me, or does this millipede have longer legs than would be normally expected?

The cave of Selinitsa is also known as the cave of Katafyghi Aghiou Dimitriou. It is the type location of the cave cricket Dolichopoda unicolor and is also home to a large number of bats.

The Great Pothole of the Asteriou Monastery on Hymettus is home to a large population of Dolichopoda sp., these spiders, some horseshoe bats and various other invertebrates.

This cheeky chappie was caught on his web using 68mm of extension tubes with the kit lens, focused manually at 55mm, and a ring flash held off camera, above, for lighting in an otherwise pitch black environment. The spider's body has a width of about 5-6mm. The frame is as shot, reduced to 1600 pixels on the long side for uploading, after being tagged and tweaked for levels in GIMP.

I am happy with the transparency of the body, the hairs, and the fact I managed to get the eyes in focus.

Millipede from the pothole of the Prophet Elijah. Shot on a D3100 with a reversed 28mm Nikkor f/3.5 AI and an off camera ring flash held by Jenia. Additional lighting from a Phaethon Cave Lamp.

The subject is a Acanthopetalum (Callipodida: Schizopetalidae), and magnification is greater than 1:1

Text drawn from Flickr automatically:

The sinkhole of Kopaïs is one of the many sinkholes draining the old lake Kopaïs.

It is home to a colony of bats and a large number of Cave crickets (most likely the endemic Dolichopoda vandeli, first described by Boudout Saltet in 1970 and named in honour of Albert Vandel). This is a smallish individual, female (ovipositor not visible in the frame, but it was there).The length from the antennae to the end of the frame is about 15-20mm.

Like the way we get to see all her mouthparts (or at least a large proportion of them; the detail in the eye and the splash of mud on the first leg. Everyone gets muddy in Kopaïs!

Shot on a D3100 with sole source of light a tethered ring-flash held to frame left. 55mm Nikkor Micro AI f/2.8 on a 2x TC on 68mm of tubes. Levels (and sharpness) tweaked in Gimp.

Please note I am happy to receive critique through the comment box.

A cave cricket of the genus Dolichopoda found in the great pothole of the Asteriou Monastery (Μεγάλο Βάραθρο Μονής Αστερίου) on Hymetus, outside Athens. Image was shot at about 0.6x magnification (135mm Nikkor AIS micro on a Kenko 2x TC on 68mm of tubes shot at about 1.5m away - aperture is set at either f/8 or f/11).

The 135mm is nice and soft, as always.

Strobist info: off camera (tethered) ringflash to the camera left and fill from a no-name vivitar clone to the right with a paper towel diffusing 'filter' fired off a firefly slave.

A cave cricket of the genus Dolichopoda found in the great pothole of the Asteriou Monastery (Μεγάλο Βάραθρο Μονής Αστερίου) on Hymetus, outside Athens. Image was shot at about 2x magnification (55mm Nikkor AIS micro on 68mm of tubes on a Kenko 2x TC shot at about 0.4m - aperture is set at either f/8 or f/11).

The main subject here is the antennae and how they join the head - very much remind me of lobster antennae...

Strobist info: off camera (tethered) ringflash to the camera left and fill from a no-name vivitar clone to the right with a paper towel diffusing 'filter' fired off a firefly slave.

A cave cricket of the genus Dolichopoda found in the great pothole of the Asteriou Monastery (Μεγάλο Βάραθρο Μονής Αστερίου) on Hymetus, outside Athens. Image was shot at about 2x magnification (55mm Nikkor AIS micro on 68mm of tubes on a Kenko 2x TC shot at about 0.4m - aperture is set at either f/8 or f/11).

I like the way we get texture in the animal's right eye. Also like the way he is looking at me: reminds me a little of Brundle at the end of the fly, pleading with Geena Davis.

Strobist info: off camera (tethered) ringflash to the camera left and fill from a no-name vivitar clone to the right with a paper towel diffusing 'filter' fired off a firefly slave.