I couldn’t find my macro diffuser when I went out to shoot this morning, and since I was trying to get out the door before some rain moved in, I just configured my bracket so the bare flash head was as close to the focal point as possible. This put it a few inches in front of the lens, so it probably had an apparent size about half again as large as in the position I normally use it. I was actually pretty impressed with the results. It could be that it’s just close enough to work well when it’s configured like this, though I was also shooting bugs in flowers for the most part, which might well have been acting as little miniature reflectors. We’ll see; it was definitely convenient to shoot this way, with no diffuser to keep from slipping after every shot.

This is one of the images I got, of a bee-like robber fly (Laphria, maybe thoracica?) who kept turning to watch me intently as I was shooting. It’s a perfect example of a bee-mimic, like so many flies: I thought I was shooting a bumblebee until I got a closer look at the head. The mimicry is defensive for many of them, especially the ones that look like yellowjackets. The robber flies are predators though, and I’d bet that their appearance lets them get close enough to their prey to catch and kill them. Notice the tubular mouth, underneath the moustache-like bristles? They stab with that. And though it’s not apparent in this image, their legs are covered with spines that keep their prey from escaping. Some of the larger robber flies can have a painful bite, and have been known to eat hummingbirds. Fun little flies.