Hummingbird Moth (Hemaris thysbe)

[ktuli]

All,

As alluded to in the insects thread, I was fortunate enough to find myself surrounded by a number of hummingbird moths this weekend. I have seen one or two of these near my house, but they were so skittish I couldn't even get close. These I saw this past weekend were so bold I literally sat in the middle of the flowers as they buzzed all around me - often right by my head. They never hold still for very long, so getting a subject, focusing, and firing off a shot was quite the challenge.

C&C welcome on all of these images - these are basically SOOC except for RAW processing, so suggestions on crops, PP adjustments, etc are greatly appreciated.

All shots were done handheld, manual focus, in manual mode with f/16, 1/250s, ISO 160, Speedlight 580EX II in ETTL mode (wireless control), and my 100mm f/2.8L IS on my 7D.

Thanks for viewing.

- Bill

[KTHXBAI]

It was just only today I was wondering how I could get one of these buggers. I finally got my flowers and humming bird feeder set up and they have just started coming around.

That being said. These are excellent and for manually focusing very impressive. I like the first one and the last.

The only thing I don't like is the flowers that the moth tried to feed from

PP I would try and brighten them up a bit and do and maybe a focal blur, then unsharp mask

[Seriche]

Bill, you did a great job there Odd little beasties, aren't they; half-bird, half-lobster.

Skittish they are indeed. I remember spending hours unsuccessfully trying to focus on them with a compact. I didn't know the best way to do things then - to forget about chasing your subjects, and just have the patience to sit and wait for them to see you as part of the landscape. Exactly as you did

Since going DSLR haven't seen a single one. Our kind adore buddhleia, so I'll be planting some next spring.

Seri

[ktuli]

It was just only today I was wondering how I could get one of these buggers. I finally got my flowers and humming bird feeder set up and they have just started coming around.

That being said. These are excellent and for manually focusing very impressive. I like the first one and the last.

The only thing I don't like is the flowers that the moth tried to feed from

PP I would try and brighten them up a bit and do and maybe a focal blur, then unsharp mask

Mike,

Thanks for the comment. Yeah - unfortunately, I live within the city limits, and even though I am fortunate to have a large wooded area across the street from my house, we are still limited in what we get. These I managed to get at Beechwood Farms on Dorseyville Rd. Definitely a nice place to visit - especially if you're a bird person.

I actually am finding manual focus much easier than AF when doing macro work. I simply get close with the focus ring and then move myself and the camera back and forth towards the subject to get the right focal subject. Takes some practice, and I probably look like a goof, but whatever.

I do agree that the condition of the flowers left a lot to be desired. I was half tempted to pinch off all of the wilting flowers, but since they weren't mine, I figured I shouldn't. I tried to avoid shots that had far too many dead ones, but in reality, if I managed to have a hummingbird moth in the frame and in focus before it flew away, I clicked the shot regardless...

- Bill

[ktuli]

Bill, you did a great job there Odd little beasties, aren't they; half-bird, half-lobster.

Skittish they are indeed. I remember spending hours unsuccessfully trying to focus on them with a compact. I didn't know the best way to do things then - to forget about chasing your subjects, and just have the patience to sit and wait for them to see you as part of the landscape. Exactly as you did

Since going DSLR haven't seen a single one. Our kind adore buddhleia, so I'll be planting some next spring.

Seri

Seri,

Yeah - it was nice to be able to just sit there and have multiple subjects buzzing around me the whole time. All I had to to was swing the camera around and try to get in focus before they took off. Still a challenge, but a thousand times more successful than trying to chase them down!

They are weird little beasties... though that's what I love about them! Thanks for looking and commenting!

- Bill