Glow worms

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Originally Posted by matc

hey guys
recently got myself a canon g12 and have been having fun playing around with it.
I have been lucky enough to find some glowworms in an abandoned train tunnel that you can get right up close to .
Im not so much interested in the glowing lights on the roof thing as there not that thick , but I want to know how I could have taken this pic in total darkness and the whole thing to be in focus .
bearing in mind that you kind of need to find them turn off lights real quick and point and shoot in there general direction as once they get light ie torch light on them they tend to scatter pretty damn quick

and this one is the tunnel entrance on the walk out

Great photo, that first one is matc, is that Karangahake Gorge? Personally I like the beads better than the glow worms, you captured their strings really well. They don't "scatter" they just switch off

Lisa, it's a pity you didn't get that shot, I was waiting to see whether you managed it, get tips for when I visit a local glow worm cave. Looks like you had a fun time all the same.

PS- and I can see the wind turbines in your watermark

[CurlyCorry]

Originally Posted by mshockley

Waitin' to see how the Glow Worms turned out......

ME too!! i've never seen a glow worm... cept the ones made for kids, lol

[matc]

some interesting glow worm trivia ...

The strands that hang down from the nest are made up of worm mucus , and get be as big as 40cm long .

when they catch an insect in there string they wind it in like a fishing line with there mouth parts.

they are considered an endangered species

The light they give off is a cold light, being that it generates no heat ( which I always thought was a scientific impossibility , the light without heat thing )

soldiers in ww1 would read there maps using glowworm lights made by placing them in jars.

Glow worm light does not show up in either the ultra violet or infrared light spectrum.

They generate over 6 million dollars a year in tourist revenue in Australia.

I had never seen one up close till I found them in the abandoned train tunnel and decided to do a bit of research on them.. interesting little buggers really

To get the whole thing in focus would I be better off trying to film them under torch light where I can get the focus right ( but they do run away real quick )

or

any tips for pre setting settings and then do a sneak attack with the flash

[matc]

well I went back to the tunnel for another go.

The adventure starts here .......



Glowworms again .....






Some other bug that likes living in the dark , think the orange balls on its leg are eggs that it was planting in the rocks.

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Great captures matc! I like the 3rd one best, you really nailed the threads this time. Eeuw, I wonder what that pink striped thing is in #3. And that looks like a dragonfly in the 4th shot. TFS

[matc]

cant put more than 4 up in 1 go

so...........

as with everywhere there's always a less pleasant occupant.



quite like this one .



and that's it

[matc]

the pink striped thing is what a glowworm actually looks like .
funny how`with the kids toys they are green and cute not pink and slimey

[buglady]

matc; well I went back to the tunnel for another go.

Some other bug that likes living in the dark , think the orange balls on its leg are eggs that it was planting in the rocks.

Hi matc,
It looks like a dragonfly or damselfly and my understanding is that they lay their eggs under water so the nymphs commonly known as mud eyes can feed on water creatures until they are ready to metamorpose into an adult which they do by climbing up the plants out of the water and shedding their skin or shell one last time. I've seen a dragonfly do this and spent an uncomfortable time on the ground near the pond photographing it. Most fascinating!

I was surprised when I saw that bug in your cave shots because of what I know about them but thought their might be a pool of water in there. Curious.

[matc]

hey buglady
Your actually pretty spot on with the water thing.
I did think it may have been a dragon fly originally but I have only ever seen them zipping around in the daylight round dams or other such areas with bodies of fresh water.
But the thing that made me wonder was that it was literally 200 metres up a tunnel with absolutely no light ( apart from the glow worms ).
and yes its a very wet tunnel , I think that it may have had something to do with why it only lasted for 20 odd years before they gave up on it and it just got forgotten about.
Nowadays it just sits there but it does serve a purpose of sorts its used as a water storage source for a nearby colliery.
not sure how far it actually goes or how much water it holds but you get as far as you can walking and take about 3 steps in the water and that's about enough to go over the top of gumboots . When you shine a light out from there eventually the water meets the roof