Macro – Page 2 – Photos from Northern Norway: A photo blog

Macro picture of Goat Moth Larva (Cossus Cossus)

3 Comments / Insect, Macro, Nature / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 17th 2009. Click image for larger view.
Here is a close up picture of a Goat Moth Larva (Cossus Cossus) that we found last spring. This larva is found in most of Norway, but not further north than Nordland county. The larva often lives in old trees with leaves where it can live from two to five years before it crawls out. The goat moth larva can grow up to 10 cm long and the specimen in the picture is the largest larva I have ever seen. If you look closer at the picture you can see that the larva has some pretty big jaws. I did not dare hold it because it was pretty aggressive and bit straws that we put in front of it.

Spring is soon coming so hopefully there will be many opportunities to take pictures of cool insects and other buggers.
Check out my other photos of insects here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway

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Macro photo of big ice crystal – Cold period in southeastern Norway

28 Comments / Ice, Macro, Norway Norwegen Norge, Snow, Winter / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera January 5th 2009. Click image for larger view.
We have had a very cold period here in the southeastern part of Norway with temperatures down to -18C (-0.4F) and the cold weather created tons of beautiful ice crystals. Here I have photographed a big one that the sun shone on creating nice, shimmering light. I recommend that you click on the image and view it large to see more of the fantastic details in the snow crystal(s).

Note: The photo of the ice crystal was taken in the southeastern part of Norway.
Check out this image of ice crystals forming on a branch.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway

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Picture of Yellow foot, Winter Chanterelle, Funnel Chanterelle (Cantharellus tubaeformis) – Tasty mushroom

5 Comments / Autumn, Forest, Fungus, Macro, Mushroom, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera September 18th 2008. Click image for larger view.
This autumn has been a really awaking for me when it comes to edible mushrooms (and toxic ones). I did not know much about mushrooms except for golden chanterelles and fly agarics. A friend wanted to learn more about mushrooms so we picked up a book at the library describing edible mushrooms. We went out into the forest and found several types of yummy mushrooms.

In this photo you can see Cantharellus tubaeformis (known as Yellow foot, Winter Chanterelle, Funnel Chanterelle and Yellow Legs in English) mushrooms. Funnel chanterelle was the mushroom that we found in largest quantities and we could easily fill a basket in an hour. The funnel chanterelle has a very pleasant taste and we used it in a lot of dishes. It is so great to be able to go out in the nature and harvest all the delicious goods from her 🙂
We actually found so much funnel chanterelles that we were able to dry a good deal. I photographed the whole process of drying so stay tuned to my RSS feed if you want to learn how to dry mushrooms.

Note: This photo were taken in the southeastern part of Norway. This photo should not be used to identify unknown mushrooms to check if they are edible or not. If you are not certain about a mushroom do not eat it!

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Flash used
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway

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Picture of Terracotta Hedgehog (Hydnum rufescens) mushrooms – Edible tooth fungi

4 Comments / Fungus, Macro, Mushroom, Nature, Norway Norwegen Norge / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera September 18th 2008. Click image for larger view.
In this picture I have photographed some Terracotta hedgehog (Hydnum rufescens) mushrooms. They are closely related to the more common Hedgehog mushroom (also known as Wood hedgehog), but the Terracotta hedgehog have a more red and yellow color on the upper side of the mushroom. These tooth mushrooms are pretty easy to identify due to their teeth, instead of gills, on the underside of the cap, but there are some non-edible mushrooms with the same kind of teeth so this is not an entirely safe sign that the mushrooms you find are edible.
We found a lot of both Terracotta Hedgehog and Wood hedgehog mushrooms this autumn, and I think they are really delicious food! We eat them plain with just some salt or add them to different dishes.
Note: This photo were taken in the southeastern part of Norway. This photo should not be used to identify unknown mushrooms to check if they are edible or not. If you are not certain about a mushroom do not eat it!
Check out my other mushroom pictures here.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Flash used
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway

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Macro picture of Meadow buttercup flower (Ranunculus acris) covered with rime frost

4 Comments / Autumn, Flora, Flower, Ice, Macro, Nature, Norway, Plant / Thomas Laupstad

Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera October 14th 2008. Click image for larger view.
The winter is getting closer here in Norway and some nights have been below the freezing point. If you get up early before the sun starts to warm up the place you can discover that the landscape is covered with rime (frost).
Here I have photographed a Meadow buttercup flower (Ranunculus acris) that was covered with rime and I think it looks quite beautiful.
The Meadow buttercup flower is probably one of the last flowers I will be able to photograph in the wild this year, but the dark seasons will hopefully bring many photo opportunities too.

Check out this picture that I have taken laying down in a buttercup field in the beginning of summer.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flash used
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 35mm F3.5 Macro
Location: Fjellstrand in Nesodden, Akershus in southeast of Norway

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