[aslyfox]

Thanks all! I do think my skill level is still improving, but it's definitely a challenge to keep pushing higher. It's the 80-20 rule I think - trying to get that last 20% is four times as hard as getting the first 80%, so sometimes it feels like you're running in circles. I think the improvement shows more in the aggregate than when looking at single images...

great shots as usual

finally went to Flickr to discover what you are doing different

you appear to be using a front add on magnifying lens and flash in addition to a 100 mm macro lens

and a lot more talent that I have

are you using a tripod or hand holding?

please keep up the great work

[Rondec]

Hollins Mill Dam (Panorama shot with DA *55 and K3)

[aslyfox]

after the rain

shadows and light

spots and drops

fauna and flora

natural light, cropped and pp

[Geodude]

'Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas [ Oklahoma ] anymore.'

Very Nice the series brings back pleasant memories of terrain we saw in the Gran Tetons and Yellowstone this year

Thanks

Yes, that's another part of the country I relish...

[flugfiske]

Kehrääjämittari, feathered thorn, Colotois pennaria. This guy was hanging out on the inner ceiling of our porch. So ofcourse I had to take a pic.

[aslyfox]

bird with fancy top feathers found at the Lied Jungle Rain Forest at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha Nebraska

[Weldon Berger]

bird with fancy top feathers found at the Lied Jungle Rain Forest at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha Nebraska

I think it's a Victoria Crowned Pigeon. Our zoo has a couple; here's their blurb on them:

Victoria Crowned Pigeon - Honolulu Zoo

[aslyfox]

sure looks like it

thanks for the id

[WPRESTO]

Victoria Crowned pigeons are popular in zoos. They are spectacular and apparently pretty easy to keep. Among of the most difficult animals to keep are certain species of rattlesnake. High strung, striking at the glass when someone goes by and injuring themselves fussy eaters, and not very common so it's hard to get one. A zoo in NYC once realized it was within reach of being the first to have at least one specimen of every known species of rattlesnake on display and decided they try to attain that honor. As I recall they made it, but it didn't last very long. There's a book about it that I read many decades back.

[Rondec]

Victoria (with DA *55)

[Geodude]

Fall scenery in the Colorado southwest. The volcanic prominence known as Chimney Rock was used as a backdrop in the movie True Grit, although is was supposed to have taken place in Oklahoma. Autumn in this part of the country is just spectacular. Okay, New Englanders, much of the flora in this part of the country lack the anthocyanins found in your maples and other hardwoods, which tend to limit colors in the SW US to the yellows and russets.

[WPRESTO]

Always been a Yankee, but I would never disparage the stunning glory of of a dense stand of Rocky Mountain aspen in full Autumn yellow. They can be breathtaking.

[Larrymc]

[Doundounba]

great shots as usual

Thanks!

you appear to be using a front add on magnifying lens and flash in addition to a 100 mm macro lens

Yes, as I wrote elsewhere, the Raynox DCR-250 and a 49-43mm step down ring have basically become the lens cap on my D-FA 100mm. I find that the macro magnification range that his combo gives - roughly 0.8:1 with the lens at infinity focus to 2:1 with the lens at MFD - is right where I do 90+% of my shooting. I've been really loving the results too. I also carry a Pentax HD DA 1.4x tele-converter in case I need more magnification (or more working distance), and I (only occasionally) unscrew the Raynox for lower magnification shots (like this).

are you using a tripod or hand holding?

It's all handheld, with an off-camera flash and diffuser. These days, I'm most often using a (cable-triggered) manual li-ion flash - the Godox V850ii - on a L-bracket with a thingamajig that gets the flash horizontal. Because of its li-ion battery, at lower power levels, this flash can actually keep up with the K-3 at continuous high, which makes it easier (though by no means easy) to shoot handheld focus stacks. I also have a Godox AD180 with external battery pack, which can put out more light and shoot longer bursts at higher power levels, but that battery pack is heavy and cumbersome to shoot with.

[savoche]

Some Cape Fox pups in Kgalagadi/Kalahari.

SMC 55-300