A Small Dusty Wave

 I very much doubt that when you saw the title of this post  you thought that I was referring to a moth but that is exactly what you have got.

The Small Dusty Wave is a small European moth, varieties of this moth are found across Europe from Moscow in the east to Spain and the Mediterranean, even as far south as Morocco and Tunisia (so it is not limited to Europe). They are quite common in England and Wales, they are found in the east of Scotland only and they are rare in Ireland.

Small and dusty is a good description, this specimen has a wingspan of just 17mm typically they are between 19 -21mm and it would be easy to miss it laying flat against the wall of my house.

It was easy enough to get the shot from above but getting the face on shots was quite tricky simply because it was pressed so flat against the wall it was hard to get a good angle. You can see that I used a very narrow field of view thanks to my Canon 100mm Macro lens.

In The Air

I wonder whether you could tell from this first image what the subject of the photo is, those filaments emanating from that mysterious centrepiece, perhaps thread on a spool...?

It is only when you step back and see the object from a distance that it is really obvious what it is, a dandelion seed. Not the whole seed head but a single seed, all fluffed up and floating in the air.

 I took several pictures trying different settings, to try to get the lighting right and also to get a sharp image. It was actually quite difficult and I would say dangerous even trying to get these shots. Dangerous you might ask? and How did you manage to capture this seed in mid air?

Well although it appears to be floating it was actually suspended by a single strand of gossamer and hanging above the stairs in my home. If you look carefully in the final image you can just barely make out the thread of spider's silk but it is not visible in the other images at all. 

To get these shots I used my 100mm macro lens and using a very fast shutter speed and my ring flash I was able to compensate for the fact that I was holding my camera one handed as I used my other hand to support myself against the beam above the stairs while leaning out and standing on one leg. Did I look stupid as I did this? probably. Would I have got any sympathy from my family if I had fallen and hurt myself in the process? Probably not. Was it worth the effort? I should let you be the judge of that but in my humble opinion I would say "yes, definitely".