180 replies to this topic

[DaveJay]

That looks like a good camera, similar to my fuji but with a better lens by the looks, I wouldn't expect miracles unless you learn more about the settings than I did! You'll get some good pictures though I think just using point and shoot auto settings, congratulations! 

I look forward to seeing the next batch of pictures! 

[Major]

That looks like a good camera, similar to my fuji but with a better lens by the looks, I wouldn't expect miracles unless you learn more about the settings than I did! You'll get some good pictures though I think just using point and shoot auto settings, congratulations! 
I look forward to seeing the next batch of pictures!

Yeah, I wasn't ready to make an investment on a proper DSLR and lens. I'm probably going to try to learn as much as possible about my camera, focusing on the macro skills of it. I'm probably not going to do a proper update or anything until it arrives.

[Major]

Ok, so I got some 15 year old down in Florida to sell me some ytong. He gets it free from scraps. I will be buying three bricks of different sizes. Just have to PayPal him and he will ship it. Pretty excited to build my own formicarium. Also, the place I ordered my camera from (Tristate Camera) said that they were back ordered on lens hoods. I decided not to get it, wasn't a must item anyway. But i put the money towards a warrenty for the camera.

[ZllGGY]

you should just buy fire brick for your formicarium as its way more readily available and you can get it through amazon

[Major]

you should just buy fire brick for your formicarium as its way more readily available and you can get it through amazon

yeah, but its too late. I'm in the process of paying him rn.

[ZllGGY]

 

you should just buy fire brick for your formicarium as its way more readily available and you can get it through amazon

yeah, but its too late. I'm in the process of paying him rn.

 

well more knowledge for the future

[Major]

Yes! My camera and equipment finally came! What I got is a Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Raynox DCR-250, an LED, flash, and two tripods (spider and normal.) My first shots exceeded any expectations I had. It's an AMAZING setup and I love it. Some of my pics below may look a little shaky since their all hand held. Finally, I can update with decent pics. Taking the Raynox off can sorta be a pain, its a tight fit and occasionaly takes the actual camera lens off with it. But it's all worth it. Here's an ironically crappy pic of the setup:





So, here are some pics of Cupid's Army, 8 workers, 2 on their way. They didn't eat for me before, but now they constantly drink the hummingbird necter that Skwiggledork recommended to me. Thanks! They still don't accept protein I give them. But I have a sneaking suspicion that they mostly forage at night. I took all the pics at around midnight, and I was able to catch them foraging a bunch. I think my best pics were of these guys tbh.




Here's a winged Lasius (Brevicornis?) queen that I think is waiting for after hibernation to lay.



Lasius Neoniger that has a small batch of 3-4 eggs.



I can never seem to get half decent pics of my Camponotus Pennsylvanicus since their in a Formicarium. Their at around 50 workers, fair amount of brood.



Here's my dual queen Myrmica sp. that I will be trading for Nylanderia Flavipes and Tetramorium Immigrans. No visible eggs. Only one queen in pic.



Formica Subserica. Down to one queen, as expected. Their growing crazy fast, especially since I brood boosted them. 15 ish workers and brood. I don't like keeping these guys so I see if I can sell/trade them off. If not, I will be releasing them. Not a great pic.




And last but not least, my Brachyamyrmex Depilis queen. She was curled up and twitching slightly, so I just put her out of her misery...
Really small so the camera had a little trouble focusing as you can tell.



Hopefully my photography skills will improve over the time. It's always sitting next to me and I spend a decent amount of time practicing.

[DaveJay]

Excellent! No doubt you'll find different settings to try, lots of experimentation to do. I'm looking forward to the next batch of photos!

[Barristan]

If you see black vignetting like in some of your shots it means that you did not use enough zoom. Also only use the Raynox if you need it. If you don't need a lot of magnification just use the camera without it. This camera also supports RAW format, which allows you to better process areas of your image which are too light or too dark.

 

I hope you'll have a lot of fun fun with your camera

[CoolColJ]

For hand held, you need to crank the shutter speed up to at least 1/160, but preferably over 1/1000, which means you need to get the flash as close to the front of the lens as you can, and angled down to face the ants

[Skwiggledork]

Aww the Bracymyrmex died. I was rooting for that one. Sorry to hear that. The pictures are looking a lot better though.

[Kaelwizard]

I think your "brevicornis" is a crematogaster species.

[YsTheAnt]

I think your "brevicornis" is a crematogaster species.

Doubt it, that queen only has one peitole node and her head isn't shaped like a crematogaster queen's.

[Major]

I couldn't update this weekend I was pretty busy. I still don't have time for an update right now, but I updated my signature, which has my current list. So check it out!

[Kaelwizard]

 

I think your "brevicornis" is a crematogaster species.

Doubt it, that queen only has one peitole node and her head isn't shaped like a crematogaster queen's.

 

Sorry I read the wrong pic description.

[Major]

I haven’t updated this journal in a while. I currently have most of my ants in hibernation. I currently have Prenolepis Imparis. Tetramorium Immigrans, Brachyamyrmex Depilis, Formica Subserica, Crematogaster Lineolata, and Lasius Neoniger. I’m losing interest in ants, it’s been a short lived hobby that I have spent hundreds of dollars on. Which I kinda regret now since I’ve almost completely lost interest. ... Well anyhow, I’ll probably update on after hibernation. I only plan on keeping the Tetra.

Formiculture has been a great experience for me, I’ve met so many new people, had so much help, it’s been great. So many people have helped me. I’d like to thank a few people for making this community such a great place; The Mod Team (Dermy, drew, nurbs, tc, etc), CoolColJ and DaveJ for their great journals, AntsAreUs for answering plenty of question and just being a great friend, ZIIGGY for being a friend, Barristan with some camera help, and all around everyone! I might check in every couple months but really, this will be my final sign off.

A huge thank you to everyone in this community!!!! Thank you for the support on this journal too!


Signing off, -Major...

Edited by Major, October 28 2018 - 3:37 PM.

[Kaelwizard]

NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

[CoolColJ]

[DaveJay]

Well that's not good news, you've already been missed during your absence. When spring comes and your ants wake up your interest might be rekindled somewhat I hope.
You will be missed, but hopefully you'll drop in from time to time, if not I guess I should say it was nice to meet you and I wish you all the best for the future.

[kingz2015]

How does your brick trap work and when/where do you set it up?