I found water gliders (not their official name) in a sheltered part of the river where the current was quiet. They huddled close to each other, near the shore, and would ease out in small groups like a squadron of tiny spitfires. They were a couple of centimetres long at most. Something that small would normally call for a macro lens, which I have, but because they are also fast, I had to make due with a long lens and a rather drastic crop.
I sat on a rock low to the water, legs stretched out in front of me, feet on their own rocks, elbows rested on my knees. This position gave me a steady look through the camera, and after a few minutes I had a bunch of images and a charlie horse.
When I stood up to stretch, the light that was nicely backlighting the water gliders shifted slightly and revealed a crowd of other bugs, smaller still, moving fast and barely troubling the surface tension of the water with a ripple. I spent more time with them, hoping to get a bug sharp enough that the quality would withstand the crop.
I moved forward for a different perspective and they disappeared. A step back and they reappeared as tiny shadows against the returning backlight, half the size of a grain of rice.
Mathew McCarthy
David and Mathew are photojournalists at the Waterloo Region Record.
Do you have any story or photo ideas about the Grand River? Email David at 
That photo is surreal - very cool shot!
Posted by: Caz | June 19, 2009 at 07:19 PM
It looks like they are walking on glass. Amazing shot!
Posted by: Jennifer | July 06, 2009 at 09:12 PM