p a t c h r i s

This is the 3rd post about the wasp/hornet (please tell me what it is!) nest that's been progressively built at the rear of my home. I tried to get an even closer shot and selected Large, Fine & 2x Telephoto settings on my Sony A330 dSLR. Looks like the details are more pronounced this time around and the nest texture looks simply amazing. I'm sure more could be done with a macro lens (and a higher resolution sensor), but I'll have to settle with what the kit lens has to offer. For uploading to this blog, I'm trying a maximum height of 800 pixels, which matches my laptop's display resolution of 1280 x 800. See if it's a good size to post. Not wanting to encourage further nest building (I've cut them down twice), I resorted to using bug spray on them and totally removed this nest. Will this be the last of them around here for some time?

Days after I used a grass shear to trim this nest off, the stinging bugs (no, they haven't stung me yet) are back at it again at the same site. This time there were four of them and they didn't seem as docile as the other two I shot earlier. Oddly I had been having less and less space available on my 2Gb card although I deleted all the images. I figure it's got something to do with the Apple/Microsoft Fat16 file formatting and I used Disk Utility to wipe the card clean. That was After. However, before that, all I could muster was a Large image setting for Jpeg on the camera in Program mode with ISO800 instead of RAW. I was a little apprehensive about going near the insects as they might have gotten agitated and give me a sting or two. The nest is stuck on a sort of old phone cable and the breeze gives it a little sway from time to time, so that doesn't really help. Makes me hanker for a SAL75300, so I've got to restrain myself. Maybe if there's a good sale going...

If you're not into insects, then the sight of bees, wasps or hornets building a nest in the vicinity of your home might send a chill down your spine. I had to go close in order to take this shot, with the sting of the lower wasp rather visible. I particularly like the detail on the yellow band on the bug. Could have done better with a RAW shot and perhaps a SAL75300, but the latter translates into more investments to this very new Sony A330 dSLR which has been fantastic so far. Needless to say our two friends here were evicted shortly thereafter.