The Alternative Olympic Games are nearly upon us.  The reporting done by this blipper has come under some recent criticism with claims of bias toward athletes at other training centers and not enough attention paid to the Cold Spring home training center and the home grown butterfly, bird and mammal teams.  So in an effort to be “fair and balanced”, this morning was spent in the backyard photographing the Swallowtail Wind Sailing Team along with its captain shown here who reports that there will be a bit of a scramble to fix some of their tattered sails before the competitions start on Saturday.  There is still some controversy as to who on the home team will be the standard bearer for the opening ceremonies on Friday which is causing a bit of grumbling.  That seems to be the tenor of these games so far. 
—————————————————————

Today is Day 3 of this Insect macro tutorial that I have endeavored to do at the request of Professor Hobbs.  I hope he knows I will expect to see some amazing shots of Aussie critters once their spring comes along and we start to move into winter.  The last couple of days I was a bit long winded, and for those whose eyes glazed over, I apologize, but it was information, if it was new to you, that required a bit of detail to be understood.  Today I am going to write about my settings for focus and shooting and it shouldn’t take up nearly as much space and time. 

Tip #4:  Focus on the eyes (no further explanation needed, I am sure.) 

Tip #5:  Use Focus peaking and/or Continuous Focus 
My Sonys have a feature, and I am sure many other cameras have this too, called Focus Peaking.  When I look through the viewfinder, the exact areas that are in focus light up in red, white or yellow, depending on what color I have chosen. I usually use yellow because it is easiest for me to see and switch to red when shooting insects on yellow flowers. This is invaluable when one is trying to get the eyes in perfect focus.  Continuous Focus helps to maintain focus if the insect is moving around.  On Sony and Nikon this is AF-C and Al-Servo for Canon.  

Tip #6 Use Backbutton Focusing (BBF).

This probably isn’t for everyone but it works very well for me.  I switched to it early on in my photography life so I got used to it quickly.  Instead of pushing the shutter button down halfway to focus, another button on the back of your camera is assigned “focusing” and  is controlled by the thumb. This eliminates the need to refocus every time you let go of the shutter.  With BBF, you can set focus and it will stay set until you decide to change it.  BBF will guarantee more precise focusing of any image involving fast movement like insects flying. When I decided to try this, I just googled the subject for my camera  brand and model and there were numerous You -Tube videos and articles that explained exactly how to set it up.  You probably won't find it in your manual. 

Tip #7: Shoot continuously in bursts.  You never know what you might get when you do this. This is how I have captured insects in flight.  It’s not because I am clever, but because I got lucky while shooting continuously.   I think it also increases the odds that you will get more shots in sharp focus. This can also help if there is a little wind movement that is moving your subject on a plant around.

Tip #8 - Take lots of shots.  Be prepared to trash most of them. When I am shooting insects, I take dozens of shots until I get some that will have the insect where I want it to be in the composition and in sharp focus. …dozens....sometimes hundreds.  
 
Tip #9 - Study insect behavior.  When you photograph insects often , you will learn things about them.  It helps to be able to sometimes predict what they will do or where they will go next so you can be ready for that perfect shot.   For instance, very early on I learned that Dragonflies and Damselflies are very skittish, but if you wait, they will frequently come back to the very same spot.  While they are away you can move just a little closer and stay still with camera ready.  

Tip #10 Have patience and allow plenty of time. Taking insect shots requires a lot of patience and time.  I happen to find it very relaxing and a wonderful escape, so I have no problem doing it for hours.  The buzzing of insects has really become music to my ears.  Obviously, it’s not for everyone. 

Tomorrow I will write the last installment when I will touch on a few post-processing techniques that I use to help my final images. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tiny Tuesday #62.  I hope to get my favorites posted tomorrow, but it may be Friday because this tutorial has taken a bit of my time.  I have been through them once and there are some really amazing shots so I can't wait to have a second look.