Lately I've been so focused on photographing birds that I haven't actually gotten out to do some insect photography. I love photographing birds and other wildlife but there's something about getting really close to insects and seeing just how detailed they really are that is exciting to me.
We thought that we would head out to one of my favourite insect hotspots, the Brueckner Rhododendron Park in Mississauga, Ontario. Mid May to mid June also happens to be the peak blooming time for the rhododendrons. This park is stunning with all it's flowering gardens scattered throughout. Once these beautiful flowers have bloomed, other flowers take over showing off their beauty.
I packed my macro lens, DSLR and flash and off we went. I also took my telephoto lens just in case I saw some interesting birds that I wanted to photograph. Although we did see some birds (Barn Swallows, Goldfinches, a Purple Finch, a Baltimore Oriole as well as many Canada Geese and Mute Swans), I focused primarily on insects.
Unfortunately it was quite breezy at times making it extremely difficult to shoot insects at very close range. I would set up for my shot, get the insect in my viewfinder, only to have the wind pick up and blow the flower and insect right out of my sight and out of frame! In order to make it a little easier to photograph insects, I had to find locations that were protected from the wind and then I had to locate cooperative insects! All in all it was a great day out and I had a lot of fun looking for and photographing insects. I hope you enjoy these select few photos from our outing.
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| Fly |
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| Hoverfly |
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| Hoverfly |
Inchworms (aka loopers) are the caterpillars of the moth species belonging to the family Geometridae. There were many present at the gardens. Even had some crawling on me when I was done shooting!
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| Inchworm |
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| Inchworm |
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| Inchworm |
