Hoverflies

I ran my first 'Macro and Close-Up Nature Photography Workshop' yesterday at Thorndon Park in Brentwood, Essex. Everyone seemed to have a great time, learned at least something, and spent an afternoon grubbing about in the undergrowth, finding out just how many subjects there are for a macro lens!

One technique I touched upon, and one participant tried his hand at, was getting hoverflies in flight. It's tricky, very hit and miss (mainly miss), but good fun when you have a bit of time to spend on it.

My method is this. Switch your camera to manual focus, and prefocus the lens on a spot about 10 inches away. Use a flashgun that you can set to manual and using trial and error, get a correct exposure (I use ISO200, f/13, 1/125s). Now, holding the camera at arms length approach the hovering Hoverfly, estimate when it's in the frame and in focus, and shoot!

Good ones can look like this:




Most come out like these... :)









It's just a bit of fun...