“WhenChrisandI spokebeforehand,hehad
genuineconcernsthathewouldn'tbeableto
achievesharp,handheldimagesofinsectsdue
tohiseyesightandinexperience.Atfirst,he
struggledtogetcloseenoughtotakedecent
photosduetotheskittishnatureofhissubjects.
However,witha bitofpractice,hequickly
learnthowtostalkhissubjectswithmore
stealthandtogetintopositionwithminimal
disturbance.Theconditionsdidn’thelp,with
thegustyweathermakingit hardertoframe
andfocus,butthatstilldidn’tpreventChris
fromcapturinga handfuloflovelydamselfly
close-ups.A greatstarttotheafternoon.”CHALLENGE 1 Proverdict
PERFECTLY PAR ALLEL
With the camera held parallel to the
subject, Chris captures a great image
with the subject sharp throughout.
Exposure: 1/250sec at f/8 (ISO 1600)He grabbed his Nikon D750 and attached
his Sigma macro, checking that image
stabilisation was switched on and also
increasing the ISO to 800 to generate
a workable shutter speed.
For his first challenge, I simply wanted
Chris to capture an eye-catching, pin-sharp
portrait handheld. With so many damselflies
flitting about, Chris wasn’t short of options
but they weren’t hanging around to pose
either. Every time Chris moved forward to
get close enough, they'd quickly dart away.
I offered Chris a few tips: damselflies are
very sensitive to sudden movement, so I
told him to bring the camera to his eye in
one steady and deliberate movement and
avoid casting his shadow over the subject.
When shooting handheld, you have to
accept that more times than not your
subject will disappear before you fire the
shutter, but you have to persist. Chris did
exactly that and he was soon taking photos.
I also explained some insects are
territorial and may return to the same leaf
or reed again and again so staying put
and still may be the best course of action.
Chris noticed an emerald damselfly was
doing exactly that and so he stayed nearby,
camera at the ready, waiting to take photos
each time it came back. This tactic worked
well and, after several attempts, Chris
was able to get close enough to capture
a number of frames. I told Chris to try to
keep both eyes and tail on the same plane
of focus to ensure he recorded his subject
sharp throughout. With depth-of-field
wafer-thin, I told Chris not to be stingy
with the number of shots he took. Even the
tiniest movement can be the difference
between a sharp or soft shot. I suggested
Chris put his camera on continuous
shooting mode and take short sequences
of three or four shots to help ensure he
captured at least one pin-sharp result each
time. This certainly helped and Chris was
soon feeling enthused by the number of
good shots he had taken. Time for lunch
and an obligatory Cornish pasty...1 ) Chris gets close to the water’s edge in pursuits of damsels.
2) Reviewing camera settings and depth-of-field.
3) Increasing ISO sensitivity to generate a fast enough shutter
for handheld shooting. 4) The body is sharp, but the head and
eyes drift annoying out of focus. 5 ) The subject’s eyes are
sharp, but the body and tail are now out of focus.October 2019 Digital SLR Photography 71