View From The Conservatory


Was sitting in the garden last evening watching a host of moths working our Buddleia and thought I would try to capture some pictures. This proved to be harder than I expected. Every time I tried to take a shot they would fly away. I tried so often that I began to believe they knew what I was doing and yet they weren’t disturbed by my approach to where ever they were settled. Mind you they weren’t staying settled anywhere for more than a second or so, and their wings were constantly on the go, almost like humming birds.

As I experimented it became obvious that they were taking flight each time I used the focus function of the camera, each time I pressed the shutter release just enough to focus and meter. Then it hit me, the little so and so’s were being frightened by the infrared from my camera/flash set up. As a result the following pictures are the best I managed to get.

Moth
Moth
Moths
Moths

I’ll have another crack tonight if they come back. I’ll try manual focus and pre-metering.

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