Today kicks off a new year of another Project 52! It was my 365 Project in 2010 that ignited this all-consuming passion I have with photography and I’m totally hooked on doing these annual photo projects. I found the 365 Project to be too demanding, but I love the weekly pace of P52. I knew that I wanted to continue a new one this year after completing my 2011 Project 52.
Being part of many P52 Flickr groups and friends with so many photographers, there is an endless supply of inspiration for starting this year. Many themes are focusing on beginnings or resolutions for this first week but I was crazy busy with redesigning my blog and taking care of my sweet little boy. He had a really rough start back to school then ended up sick and was out on Thursday or Friday. So I took my camera with my macro lens outside yesterday and went hunting. (On a side note, I have started not one, not two, but three other new personal projects <and I’m feeling so excited, inspired, and just plain giddy about so much to look forward to>… one of which I will share on February 2nd!)
Sooo, long story short, ::snort:: I took some shots of our trees, looking up the trunk toward the sky. I got some interesting perspectives. Then I looked down and saw some abandoned ant piles. I knew they weren’t fire ants due to the formation of the nests, and upon further examination, I discovered they weren’t abandoned at all. The tiny red ants were so small, they were barely visible to the naked eye. I can tell you that I got a little shiver of anticipation as I slowly laid down on the ground in front of them.
This is when I wish I had the 105mm instead of the 60mm or at least some extension tubes. It was near dusk, so I had to crank up the ISO. I tried to stop down on the aperture, but had to open it back up to keep my shutter speed fast. They little guys move so fast! I didn’t get the perfect shot I had in my head, but I’m pretty happy with this capture. I wish I could give you some scale on how small this little guy is. The leaf in front is from a pear tree, so it’s maybe 2 inches long. The ant couldn’t even be 0.5mm long. I was amazed by how translucent his head appears and the cilia on his abdomen. Gosh, I love macro! I may just make my 2012 P52 all macro shots. 😉
