Common Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina)

I often look to the ground when looking to the skies proves unrewarding. Having spent a fruitless couple of hours in a hide hoping for the chance to capture shots of Marsh Harriers, I left and decided to  see what bug and insect life could be seen.

The first results (more to follow in future posts) were of this beautiful Green Shield Bug. Everything worked for me: the bug was happy to remain on one tiny leaf, the foliage behind it was uncomplicated and allowed for an uncluttered composition and the light was absolutely perfect, falling on the main focal point and isolating the background.

The outcome is two shots which reveal a detail in the Green Shield Bug that I hadn't appreciated before and the fabulous colouring in its wings. I am delighted with them.

As an aside, when I was a young boy my parents used to collect Green Shield stamps and I still remember how – when it was time to redeem them – my father would divide up the books with literally hundreds of stamps glued into them so that my sister and I could choose something cool to get. The memories came flooding back as I photographed this gorgeous specimen.

Canon 1Ds MkIII, Canon 100mm L prime macro lens, 1/250th sec, f/2.8, ISO 400

Canon 1Ds MkIII, Canon 100mm L prime macro lens, 1/250th sec, f/2.8, ISO 400