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Greetings everyone and welcome to May 2026!

A new month means a new macro competition, and a new results video for last month’s contest. I won’t spoil the surprise by giving you the names of the winners, but you can find out who these talented photographers are by checking out the recently released results video - which you can find here - https://youtu.be/ygRMninLhlA

This month we revisit a topic we last considered in 2025 but I am bringing it back to the competition so soon because it was such a popular and interesting contest. That theme is “Caught in the Act”. As always, you are free to interpret the theme in any way that you wish - but remember that the judges should be able to understand your entries as being thematic. The example shown here is a pretty clear demonstration of one jumping spider, (Colonus sylvanus) making lunch of another, larger salticid (Habronattus sp.,I believe). As you consider this theme you will see that it gives you an almost limitless range of possible subjects and activities. Use the Walls App to submit your entry and remember that you may submit TWO entries unless you have won this contest within the last year, in which case you are limited to a single entry.

Let me also remind you that you MUST use the naming convention described in the Walls App (www.walls-app.com). The title must be attached to the image (I.e. the filename) and not just be the name you enter when submitting the entry. In other words, the image should be named properly in your computer, before the entry is submitted. I will not accept entries that do not have the correct filename attached to the image.

As usual, we have two livestreams this week but I am doing something a little different this time. I think it has been too long since we took a little time to answer the many questions that have arisen in the aftermath of several recent Livestreams covering some unusually advanced and complex concepts. Covering these important technical photography topics is important, but only to the extent that you understand what we discuss. In fact, when I refer to these Livestreams as "discussions" I am referring not just to what I present, but also to your questions that arise I response to my comments during these events. To be maximally effective, your questions should be answered while the topic is still fresh in your mind. I think it is time to correct this oversight and the remedy I propose is to make sure that we set aside one hour of Macro Talk and one more of Macro Talk Too to answer your questions from the preceding month. For each of these sessions we will focus on the topics of the previous three weeks and I will remind you ahead of time what we covered. In today's session, for example, I will answer questions arising from my presentations on slime mold photography, tips for early spring field macro, bias and learning, noise, sharpness, criticism, and using self-criticism to improve our performance in photography competitions. We will start with two of these live AMA sessions each month and modify the schedule as needed in subsequent months.

The link to Tuesday’s Macro Talk is here - https://youtube.com/live/bj0AVaVXrqk?feature=share

The link to Thursday’s Macro Talk Too is - https://youtube.com/live/3imhpQ70XgQ?feature=share

This week is one of those rare weeks that has nothing scheduled. As we have gone to one AfterStack each month and because May has FIVE weekends, we have one weekend with no scheduled Pzoom or AfterStack. Tangent will fall on the last Saturday of May, leaving this Saturday open, with no Pzoom, AfterStack, or Tangent. This could not have come at a better  time for me as I am still recovering from a severe bout of back and hip pain. Having a free Saturday to work on projects and catch up on reading is a very appealing prospect!

And that wraps up my summary of the coming week. Please think about what we have been talking about our the last few weeks and bring any questions you may have to one of our livestreams. Feel free to submit your questions early, to be sure they will be included in one of our streams this week. As always, you are invited and encouraged to make requests for livestream topics. Requested topics will always take priority over what I was planning - Allan Walls Photography is here for you, not for me!

I hope to see you Tuesday or Thursday! Thanks for all you do to support this channel - without you I would’t be here and I wouldn’t be doing this work, and I love this work!

Allan