For insect images, I find it difficult to get a pleasing image with Buddleia, as it is almost impossible to get the subject isolated against a nice clean background, the Buddleia flowers are a bit too busy and the flower head is too large.

I prefer to mooch about in strands of tall wild grass, it's surprising the variety of insects that you'll find on these, including Damselflies, Butterflies and a variety of Beetles. I also like Lavender, but prefer the white French variety as this has more subtle flowers and stems, again I find this helps to draw attention to the subject (the insect) rather than to brightly coloured flowers.

The second image works best for me, but not because of the fly, it is for the reason mentioned above, i.e. the tri-colour split.

Regards
David

Lovely photography, all nice and sharp, with uncluttered backgrounds, which is something I look out for in macro images.

The first one is the pick of the bunch for me.

Regards
David

Hare and Damselfly for me, what a great set. The DA*300 is one of the lenses I will never sell, I too love this lens.

Regards
David

Very different and all the better for it. Number 4 is my favourite.

Regards
David

That's an interesting observation and I think another fantastic reason to use a telephoto in such a place. It's one of the main reasons I tend to go telephoto when in busy holiday locations.

I would love to see more work from you Bill with long lenses.

Regards
David

I've been in the Motor Industry almost all of my working life and I too had become tired of cars, although not short of knowledge as I have to keep up to date with everything that's going on. In my latest job I don't have a Company Car and have to buy my own, over the years I've become tired of suffering constant depreciation, so I decided 18 months ago not to buy any more expensive (new-ish) cars and set myself the challenge of owning and running vehicles without losing any money on the car's value. I've since had 3 cars (still got two of them), a Mazda MX-5, a Saab 9-3 Aero and a Honda S2000. The Mazda I PX'd for the Honda, losing £500 in the 11 months / 10,000 miles I had it, the Saab is probably worth £800 more now than the price I paid and the Honda has gone up approx £650 in value since I bought it (un-modified Honda S2000's are becoming scarce and are appreciating). None of the 3 cars has ever broken down during my ownership.

Anyway, I agree with John's post and was also wondering if we set ourselves the photographic equivalent of what I'm trying to do with cars, is there any usable kit out there that would achieve the same end result, i.e. costing us nothing over years of enjoyable ownership?

Cheers
David

These are great and a fine example of using a telephoto lens in a confined space, something I am particularly fond of. I find that using a long lens in an environment like this forces the eye to find extraordinary angles and compositions, rather than relying on a wide angle to encompass a scene.

3 & 5 are my favourites.

Regards
David

Or what about this? link

Regards
David

How does the DA*300 work with the K-1? Not sure if it is a viable choice.

Regards
David

These are great David, all very sharp and well composed. I have to say though I prefer your normal street work where the images are not posed. I think it's very hard with posed shots to make them look natural. I would guess you were working to a tight schedule without the normal freedom you would have if you were just wandering around.

For me the stand-outs are the first shot and 'Luke'.

Regards
David