Widefooted Treehopper
This morning I experimented with my Nikon 1 V1 and Tamron 60mm f/2 macro lens using a speedlight. I improvised a diffuser with some diffusion material from work, but what I really need is a twin flash system. To do insect macro photography right, I should probably get a DSLR with a larger sensor and a higher quality macro lens. I could do it, but I'm still not sure how committed I am with insects. For documentation purposes, the Nikon 1 V1 does a fine job with bugs and other crawly critters. And just like bird images, the Internet is saturated with exceptional insect photography. Why create more? Well, it's fun. It's a hobby. I would walk through the conservancy even without a camera, but capturing nature images along the way adds a unique type of enjoyment. But do I really want to haul another camera around while I'm birding? Once migration picks up, I probably wouldn't bother carrying a second camera. There are those slow times, though. So, do I plunk down $3.5K for the gear or not?
Mining Bee (?)
Black Swallowtail caterpillar
White-faced Meadowhawk
White-faced Meadowhawk
Brown-belted Bumble Bee (male)
Grasshopper (unidentified)
Red Milkweed Beetle
Goldenrod Leaf Beetle
Punctured Tiger Beetle
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Aug 6, 2013 7:00 AM - 12:00 PM
40 species
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Red-winged Blackbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2013 Mike McDowell