Hmm...I suspect those little insects are hoping to maximize their numbers. :) Your photography is really amazing. Since having been inspired by some of your close work I have tried to get similar shots of things such as the flowers centers. But I just do not seem to have the knack for it. I have been struggling to get good shots that are in focus and not grainy. But alas, I think my old camera would rather do it's own thing. You on the other hand have a wonderful talent and i am very glad you choose to share your fine fotos with us here.

I wish I could do that!

Excellent shot Andréa, these water skaters really show us how to walk on water. I notice you are using the TZ3... the TZ series are really good quality pound for pound.. I still have my Panasonic DMC TZ5 and most of the photographic pieces in my gallery used it.. I do have a Canon digital SLR and macro, telephoto lenses and kit but it's not the kind of stuff you want to drag out with you and enjoy the day if it's not solely a photographic shoot.

Fabulous capture Andrea! impressive composition I can easily see this enlarged and framed in a gallery

Very nice catch, only seen these a few times, but impossible to get a shot of. Well done.

Excellent photo.

Amazing creatures like the water boatman, both using the surface tension for support. When I was a kid we used to put washing up liquid on our finger and tap near them to watch them sink. Quite cruel really with hindsight, but then kids often are eh? I blame the education system for teaching us the science of surface tension :)

A superb capture, do myou enter any photo competitions?

Can't be bothered! quite a few wildlife trusts have used my pics, which is good.

you can feel the surface tension

Superb capture Andrea. God bless.

GREAT SHOT

Awesome clarity in this cool composition of the insect and Duckweed, A. The Water Skater must be a holy insect, because it can walk on water.

We used to call these 'skimmers'. Do you suppose Jesus was a water skater? The second image on flickr is unbelievable. It looks like it is walking on latex.

This is a really splendid image and I like the near perfect reflection.

Beautifully done minimalism!

Love the way they can sit on the water and not sink,your composition is great that duckweed balances it out nicely.

An amazing capture and I like this version best because of the tiny piece of duckweed that you left in this posting!

This composition is brilliant! Love the way the bug is pointing at the duckweed. Nice touch! :) I would call this, "Hematite World."

All 3 of these are fine examples of minimalism; and the 2d flickr really explores the indentations that creatures make on the surface of water. It's positively eerie. This one is pure minimalism, with lots of space between; and you chose two very different creatures to contrast with each other. (I assume the little thing in the upper right is a small bunch of leaves or flowers---they're still creatures if I'm right.) The water skater looks almost like two bugs, one on top of the other. Pure, simple and eloquent. It's always exciting to see how many ways you view the world around you. And the gray of the water ('hematite', as tara calls it) is a good backdrop to the specific shapes of the living beings...