[WillW]

April 15, 2009 at 12:49 pm

Hi Noely

Yes – definitely golden plover and some are coming in to summer plumage (black bellies on them). the only really confusable other species would be grey plover which are more solitary and coastal and always have black ‘armpits’ (a black area on the underside of the inner wing) even in winter plumage – it can be clearly seen on a number of these that the underwing is a uniformly light colour.

Hope this is still useful (i realise this post is a bit old now)

Will

[WillW]

October 9, 2008 at 7:08 pm

I like this shot. Although the main flower could be sharper, I like the composition and the way that the other flowers seem to be radiating out from it, and the balance of colours. I also like the fact that it’s a normal (and not a perfect) specimen just pushing forward for its ‘ta-da’ moment!

Will

[WillW]

October 5, 2008 at 7:09 pm

I really like the third one as well

In particular I like the ‘solid’ look to the droplets – and the lighting is great. All three are great shots though

Will

[WillW]

October 5, 2008 at 7:05 pm

thanks eshortie

The first one was taken at 1:1 and is hardly cropped at all – so there would still be lots of scope for going in further without losing detail.

Yes – i’m still undecided about the last one – though I still quite like the colour of the abdomen and the pattern of the wings against the silver of the wooden post

thanks for commenting

Will

[WillW]

October 3, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Lovely shot John

It’s particularly good that you’ve managed to get the damselfly (Common Blue Damselfly by the way) all in focus from the head to the end of the abdomen. Something i never seem to manage. Also the background has a bit of interest in it but not so much that it detracts.

will

[WillW]

September 19, 2008 at 4:25 pm

Is the ‘mist’ in the centre of the shot the remnants of the blow hanging in the air?

Lovely shot

Will

[WillW]

September 1, 2008 at 7:32 pm

Lovely shot of a damsel – and kind of sums up our summer! I like the water drops on the perch and on the damselfly itself and well set off against the plain background.

It’s an azure damselfly and a pretty late one at that.

Nice shot all round

Will

[WillW]

September 1, 2008 at 11:58 am

Thanks very much Martin. This is very much a night-flying species of moth – i come across them because i do ecological studies which include running moth light-traps. The stuff you get is amazing and always astounds people the first time they realise that these beautiful beasts are flying out there every mild night.

Will

[WillW]

September 1, 2008 at 11:53 am

I agree – a great set. i particularly like #3 – the combination of the shape and focus of the web, the sharp spider and the soft background. I agree with Rob, it would be nicer to see them larger.

Will

[WillW]

August 22, 2008 at 10:48 am

Thanks very much for the reply. Yes – I should have tried to push the aperture. I tried to think of why I didn’t but i think the truth is that I took my eye off the ball and didn’t notice that it had dropped down to 6.3 on the close shot. Also, with my 105mm, its quite long when focussed to 1:1 and I try not to let the shutter speed drop too much to avoid shake. Many thanks for the input on PS Elements aswell – that’s very useful and…. decision made!

cheers again

Will

[WillW]

August 11, 2008 at 9:55 am

I think these shots are simply fantastic. Speaking as someone who works in the wildife field (I am currently doing a dragonfly / damselfly survey of monaghan for example) and who takes a few shots, i am left amazed by the quality.

Although i know that emerald damsels in particular are not that hard to approach, the ability to approach them so close (for the shots of head and thorax – to within a few cm I would guess) and then get the shot so sharp when the grass will be moving and (I assume) no opportunity to use a tripod is very impressive – even with the use of the bamboo trick. And that’s all before you get to the technical bit of taking the shot.

really impressive stuff. I will steel myself and still put up my pics of dragonflies and damselflies even though they are several orders of magnitude away from these!

By the way Dave – the macro flash settings you posted before are working well for me. Thanks. i will post some results some time.

Will

[WillW]

July 29, 2008 at 9:26 pm

Dave I think you’re doing that lens great justice. the grasshopper (possibly male common green?) shots could hardlay have been taken with anything else. I’m really impressed with the DOF at that level of magnification. The damselfly (female common blue damselfly if you are interested) must have taken some stalking – even more impressed that you were able to get round the front and the side without it lifting off.

Great shots again

Will

[WillW]

July 28, 2008 at 8:14 pm

Thanks Dave

yes it went very dark this afternoon. the problem is that if it was sunny i probably wouldn’t have been able to get that close – all the more reason to get to grips with the flash.

Will keep on persevering!

Will

[WillW]

July 28, 2008 at 7:10 pm

Wow – these are as good as any close ups I’ve seen of a butterfly (looks like a small tortoiseshell). it’s great to see all the individual scales on the wings.

It’s 2 and 3 for me. 2 has great interest in the underwing pattern and 3 has great focus on the eye plus the additional interest of the ginger colour on the top of the thorax.

really great shots

what where they taken at? – 3 or 4:1?

Will

[WillW]

July 27, 2008 at 7:01 pm

thanks very much folks

I agree on the background on the first one – shame since I quite like the symmetrical stance of the wasp. the background is simply a product of me having a new falsh for one day and not understanding it!

Dave – very useful tip on ring flash techniques (in this and other post). many thanks, i will try tomorrow.

On the subject of the dragonfly – it’s very difficult to get the real dragonflies (rather than the damselflies) in a head on position since you would need for them to be at the top of a stem. If they are at the top of the stem then they tend to be fully alert (and up to temperature) and almost impossible to approach. the photo above was in dull conditions and low down in the foliage. Damselflies are easier like the blue tailed damselfly below (I realised that I had messed up all todays shots by forgetting my camera was set on ISO400 – oops). One of the reasons I like head on photos of dragonflies is the two-tone eyes.

Of course there are tricks to taking photos of dragonflies but I don’t like them so i’ll keep stalking them naturally and trusting to luck!

thanks again

Will