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- Dragonfly, 72mm long
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- Dragonfly close-up in the box
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- Hoverfly (in the box)
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- A delicate winged insect (in the box)
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- A wood brown butterfly
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- A Green Dragonfly (in the box on 5mm squares)
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- Green dragonfly closeup
All photos © Keith West.
Some more photos from Keith West today. They’ve been sitting in my email for some time so apologies to Keith for not getting them uploaded more quickly!
When sending these, Keith did mention some of the equipment he uses:
For most of the close-up work I have a perspex box 21X15X3.5 c/ms, the lid is on the narrow, long side.This enables me to photograph through the top and sides.The camera is a Sony NEX 3 with three interchangeable lenses. The one I use for close-up work is the 18-55mm set tomacro and with two 2 diopter c-u filters fitted. Daylight is the lighting where possible. For most other pictures, it would be the 18-200mm lens.
It’s great to have this sort of insight, especially for people like myself who only dabble in the photography side of things, and wouldn’t know where to start when it comes to creating these fascinating shots. Perhaps the most important points that Keith has to make are these:
All are hand held, no tripod if I can help it. The best asset is being very patient!My camera is always with me when out, away from home.
In short, great nature photos take time, not only to understand the vast array of equipment and the nuances of each camera and so on, but also in the time it takes for nature itself to be ready to be photographed! Finally, to get those pictures, you really need your camera on you because you don’t always know when the opportunity for a great photo will arise. Thanks again Keith!
If there is anyone else out there just dying to get their photos featured on the site then we would love to hear from you. That includes any tips you might have about equipment, technique, or even a philosophy you have about taking photos of wildlife.