
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Blossom and Bug
at the Kiyotaki Fudoin Temple (清滝不動院) last spring
Kyoto, Japan
You probably can't see the cute little stick bug unless you know what you're looking for....

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Continuing in yesterday's vein of revisiting old outings, this one goes back to late in last year's cherry-blossom season where I came across a little stick bug.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
placing his body into the
Plane of Focus

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
He eventually wandered off to a leaf...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
A pair of blossom shots, sans bug...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rim of Focus
The shot above is similar to this one of a less-bloomed blossom. I tend to try that kind of edge-on shot with this lens (a Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5), with other examples that come to mind including this, this, and this. The one above is perhaps the least strong.... I probably shouldn't bother posting it.
This next one is even less strong, but I like it for comparison with its focus just a tad further back so you can see detail on the petals, and get an interesting effect with the filaments of the neighboring flowers...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/1250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Back Focus
( focus is on the back curve of the petals )
Woah! I was shocked at first until I read “last spring”.
Those cherry blossoms were clearly not from Okinawa and anywhere else they shouldn’t bloom yet 😉
Stunning close-up shots! Thanks for sharing!
Lovely! There’s a couple of stick insect species in Japan, but I haven’t seen many. Except for one tree in Tsukuba which was covered with them.
I suppose that you found it when composing a picture?
Yes, while taking the photos that closed the post. I don’t care for bugs, but this little guy was cute. —Jeffrey