More Nature - DA*300 & 1.4HD Teleconverter

I'm persevering with the learning curve with the butterflies and insects - still pleased with the results and really enjoying using the DA*300 now with the Pentax teleconverter. Losing a stop makes it a bit more challenging with movement/shutter speed, but practice is enjoyable. A few of the results below with more on Flickr here

1. Speckled wood on leaf litter



2. Yellow-winged darter (f)



3. Common blue on creeping thistle



4. Common blue and hoverfly



5. Common blue



6. Comma



7. Common blue



Comments gratefully received as always & thanks for looking.

Thank you! The acquisition of the DA*300 was worth every penny - not just for the breathtaking quality of the images it is capable of producing, but for reigniting my passion for both photography and nature.

Excellent images those Andrew and as you say a great lens / Tc combo.

Regards

Karlo

Thank you, Karlo. Out again today so have even more!

Perseverance paying off indeed! I am guessing the 300mm plus TC meant you could safely snap the butterflies before they were off! During the day they are rather 'flighty'. I have been getting up at 'ridiculous-o-clock' before they wake up and going out later in the day when they are slowing done. Trouble then is spotting them in the first place!

Thanks, Andy. Was out again yesterday for a wander with some OK results which I need to have another look at. The TC definitely helps with the extra reach, with negligible, if any, impact on quality. I found myself getting too close at tones, particularly with larger butterflies like Red Admirals, but the blues seem highly vigilant so a definite advantage with them being so small.

Went to try the DFA100 WR macro with it last night but, as usual, the sight of a camera prompted the female stag beetle into evasive flight!

Andrew

These are indeed great shots, especially the timing with the hoverfly. Did you need to crop at all?

You are indeed getting the hang of this. Some nice shots there. As to "seeing them in the first place" I find it useful to stand perfectly still for about 5 minutes just to re-orient my brain to look for tiny moving things instead of the grand scene that it normally perceives. It always surprises me how insect populations seem to grow right before me as a scene changes from target sparse to target rich.

Thanks - I just got lucky with that shot, as happens very occasionally! Most of the images are cropped to some extent the smaller butterflies more than others, but the quality of the DA*300 is such that the images support it.


Thank you, as well! It's definitely a case of 'getting your eye in' so to speak. I do as you do just stand and watch, spotting movements is much easier from a static position.

Hsve been away for a couple of days and managed to find some suitable subjects - results to follow once I've looked at them properly!