Yesterday was an absolutely perfect day outside and I spent a half hour after work looking for cool bugs in the pond to photograph. I found a great diversity of pond critters, but one of the things I was most excited to try my hand at photographically were the springtails I found hopping about on the surface. Those little buggers are SO small that they’re really terrible to photograph in the tank! EVERY flaw in the glass shows up, every smudge, and the springtails get sort of trapped in the surface tension near the walls of the tank. This is my favorite shot so far:
Less crisp than I’d like for sure, but it only makes me more determined to get a better shot next time! It’s always good to have new photographic goals. Besides, it gives me a good excuse to watch these little guys some more. :)
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The Dragonfly Woman 
These things are amazing, I first noticed they were actually living things when I investigated “iron filings” moving on some water. Did you see many different types?
Just one type that I pulled off the surface of the pond that day.
Beautiful.. and I know what you mean about the challenge to get a sharp picture.. sometimes even a little blurry showing movement is a story.. c
Agreed!