Bubble blowing fly macro

On a nice sun warming morning I caught this fly hanging out in my backyard blowing a bubble.

Bubble blowing fly macro close-up

Different sources report a few different reason why they do this. One explanation for this behaviour is that it concentrates the fly’s meal by evaporation. I was quite surprised that the fluid was so clear.

It took me some time before I classed my macro shots as acceptable. One technique I have started using involves a small off camera flash mounted on the side of the camera with a small soft box attached, triggered by a TTL cord. Setting your manual exposure based on slightly underexposed ambient light. Then adding the flash light as a primary light. The key is managing the balance of the flash and the ambient. The flash can be used as a primary light as the effective area of the flash relative to these small critters is very larger and produced a nice even soft light that wraps around the subject.

Enjoy