[rgknief60]

Hummingbird moth

Only seen these at a distance. I've always wanted the opportunity to image one of these. Nice job!

[gifthorse]

Thank you all for the kind words. I noticed that these moths were attracted to Salvia flowers so I planted some in a container on the patio. Then I put a chair near the plants and grabbed a cup of coffee and the camera and waited until the moths arrived. The lens is an smc PENTAX-FA MACRO 100mm F3.5 on a K5ii. Because the moths move a lot, I shoot with a much higher ISO than usual and a fairly small apertures for greater DoF. I have a Vivitar 28mm f2 close focusing lens that I'd prefer but the MACRO 100 lets me maintain a little more distance. These moths can be pretty active just before sunrise so the built in flash works really well at those times. Focusing in low light is a beech but with a little luck you can nail down a few good shots.

[rjonesace]

They also like "Four o'clocks". We planted a batch on a terrace some years ago and there were perhaps a dozen hummingbird moths on them when they bloomed! Very good work!

[rgknief60]

These moths can be pretty active just before sunrise so the built in flash works really well at those times. Focusing in low light is a beech but with a little luck you can nail down a few good shots.

Thanks for all the info, and the additional beautiful images. I'm not by nature an early riser, but knowing their pattern will probably be enough to roll me out of bed next year! My sister a couple blocks away caught one on her Iphone a few weeks back, so I know that they are in the area.

[eyrr]

FA 50mm 2.8 macro

I hadn't tried this lens on my K70. My mistake. Vivid punchy colours and almost 3D effect. (Also great for nightscapes.)

Milkweed pod

[Hippone]

FA 50mm 2.8 macro

I hadn't tried this lens on my K70. My mistake. Vivid punchy colours and almost 3D effect. (Also great for nightscapes.)

Milkweed pod

Great capture with those colors

[NatureHike]

A couple from today that I was pretty excited about. All D FA 100 WR + K-1ii. Cross polarized lighting.


Ruby-throated Hummingbird - turned the polarizer slightly off-axis for this one, it was getting dark and I had been standing there for a long time and didn't want to miss the shot. The hummingbirds did not seem bothered by the flash btw - they kept eating and I was about 3 feet away with it turned down pretty low.


Bella moth


Eastern amberwing


Quartz inclusions or flaws

---------- Post added 09-15-23 at 05:59 PM ----------

FA 50mm 2.8 macro

I hadn't tried this lens on my K70. My mistake. Vivid punchy colours and almost 3D effect. (Also great for nightscapes.)

Milkweed pod

Nice!

[eyrr]

Great capture with those colors

Thank you. I'm really enjoying the colours I get with FA lenses on the K70.

[ivanvernon]

Dahlia closeup with K-1 and Leica vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f 4.0 macro.

[rjonesace]

Auntie would call today a dreary day, rain in the morning and the clouds hung around all day. Walked through the rose garden in one of the city parks. with the Pentax K1mii and Vivitar 100mm macro, 1/60@ F14 ISO 800

[Craigbob]

Our watercolor painting class scheduled for this afternoon was canceled, so I decided to do some more focus stacked macros.
Blueberry:
Pentax K-1 and Pentax 100mm f/2.8 Macro
ISO 100
23 Pixelshift images converted to TIF in RawTherapee then stacked & processed in Affinity Photo v 2.2.



Dried Shitake mushroom:
Pentax K-1 and Pentax FA 50mm f/2.8 Macro
ISO 100
56 Pixelshift images converted to TIF in RawTherapee then stacked & processed in Affinity Photo v 2.2.

[rjonesace]

From Sept 22 ramble in the park. K1mii Vivitat 100mm macro 1/100@F14 ISO 800

[steamloco76]

Isabella tiger moth caterpillar-"Wooly Bear or Wooly Worm
Using my recently purchased from a PentaxForums member Pentax AF160C ring flash, KP, DFA 100/2.8 Macro and HD DA 1.4X. ISO 400, 1/1180th, f22-26. I can see this being my go to macro setup with and without the 1.4X.

[ChrisS]

K10D/ SMC M 50mm f4 Macro

[Craigbob]

Here's a few more food oriented macros from this weekend. All shot with the K-1 and 100mm f/2.8 WR combination. Focus stacked in Affinity and exported to a .psd and processed in Photoshop.

These are links so you should be able to zoom in a bit on them.

https://i.imgur.com/rdSvrH6.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/okdLuUX.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/a0oUnco.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/5JcdRue.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/T45FKMU.jpeg