Thomas Laupstad

Hi there :) My name is Thomas Laupstad and I recently picked up photography as my favorite activity. I want to show you northern Norway from my point of view. Hope you enjoy the blog!

Macro photo of a dance fly couple mating and eating a fly

15 Comments / Dance fly, Fly, Insect, Macro, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Summer /

This is a horror story from my garden! I was walking around enjoying the nice weather and then I noticed some weird looking large flies. After closer inspection it wasn’t just one fly, it was three! Two dance flies were mating and consuming a fly. So I had to document it with my camera and show it to you.
View the photos large to see more details of natures wonders.

Macro photo of hoverfly on dandelion flower
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on June 24th, 2007. Click image for larger view.

Macro photo of dance fly couple mating and eating a fly
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on June 24th, 2007. Click image for larger view.

Dance flies (Empididae) is a family of flies with over 3000 species. This is possibly Empis tesselata.
They are hunters that capture their prey with the sharp snout, as you can see on the pictures. The males swarm in small groups (thats how they got the name) and each male holds a fly. If a female should fly by, the males offer their prey to her. She chooses the best prey and mates with the male while sucking the fly dry.
Check out this picture of a sawfly eating an insect my other macro pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital single-lens reflex camera
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in northern Norway

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Photo from a warm day on the coast in northern Norway

21 Comments / Clouds, Coast, Evening, Landscape, Mountain, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Scenery, Sea Ocean, Summer, Sunset /

Photo from a warm day on the coast in northern Norway
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on June 22nd 2007. Click image for larger view.

What beautiful and warm day here at the coast in northern Norway. I really like it when it’s 20C and slightly overcast. Anything warmer get to hot for my arctic body 🙂

Here I’m crawling between pebbles trying to make a good composition at ground level while not getting too wet from water seeping in from the ocean. When I take pictures I always think “How can I make this scene/subject more interesting” thus I often find myself in back-breaking positions.

What are your opinions on this photo?


Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital single-lens reflex camera
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 14 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Location: Laupstad, Andørja (Ibestad) in northern Norway

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Macro photo of hoverfly on dandelion flower

9 Comments / Flower, flower fly, Hoverfly, Insect, Macro, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Summer /

Macro photo of hoverfly on dandelion flower
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on June 21st, 2007. Click image for larger view.

This is a hoverfly (Syrphidae), also know as flower flies, that are feeding on a dandelion flower. I have been trying to figure out what kind of species it is and I believe it is a Leucozona lucorum. From the looks of the hoverfly it seems to be mimicking a bee.

Lately my photography have been concentrated on taking macro photos because there are so many insects buzzing around.
When I’m seen outside I’m usually on my knees hunting for new subjects to photograph. I have discovered several new insects that I have never seen before and have got to know the names of several insects.

I have been having some challenges with my macro lens. It is has a focal length of 35mm which means I have to get really, really close to the subject to get a nice close up. To get so close can be really hard with camera-shy insects like hoverflies or butterflies.
So here is my photography tip of the day: If you are buying a macro lens, buy one with long focal length if you want to take insect macros.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital single-lens reflex camera
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Laupstad (Andørja), Troms in northern Norway

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Photo of Norwegian winter landscape in January

16 Comments / Countryside, Landscape, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Rural, Scenery, Snow /

Photo of Norwegian winter landscape in January
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on January 30th 2007. Click image for larger view.

This was shot back in January when I had just got my DSLR camera and had no idea about what I was doing. I quite like the “postcard” feeling to it.

This house is placed directly below a mountain called Ã…-tinden. You can see the mountain here. You can not be afraid of avalanches and live there!

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital single-lens reflex camera
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/4.1
Focal Length: 92 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Ånstad, Andørja (Ibestad) in northern Norway

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Macro photo of a Common Wasp

15 Comments / Insect, Macro, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge, Summer, Wasp /

Macro photo of Norwegian Wasp
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on June 6th, 2007. Click image for larger view.

This is a picture of a Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris). Please correct me if I’m wrong about the species. The species “Norwegian Wasp” looks similar so I’m not 100% sure.

I’m not a big fan of these stingy creatures, but after taking this picture my fear for wasps is getting a little cured. You see the macro lens I’m using has a focal of 35mm and that means I have to get very close to the subject to get a macro photo. The wasp did not seem to care about me at all so no harm done.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital single-lens reflex camera
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Harstad, Troms in northern Norway

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