Humming Bird Hawk Moths

[55bloke]

I've always loved these amazing little creatures, and back in my collecting days, I've chased them all over various fields and gardens, but they were always too quick for me!! Photography has been just as frustrating but, during a holiday in Crete last month, I was finally able to spend a couple of afternoons photographing them, and I'm delighted with the results. Interesting to see the flex of the wings at various points in the stroke. Hope you like?

[Denise]

Very nice photo's. They are a devil to catch and you did brilliantly.
Two years ago I tried with a 4mp compact camera. This is the best I could do.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth Oct 12 (Small).JPG (27.28 KiB) Viewed 731 times

My friend took this one at about the same time with a Canon DSLR. I was in awe and had to eventually buy one. I haven't seen a hummer since!

Hummingbird Hawk-moth med.jpg (39.53 KiB) Viewed 730 times

Denise

[KeynvorLogosenn]

excellent Humming Bird hawk moths Denise!
Especially the last one, I could really make out all it's features, so it must be amazing

These are one of the moths I would love to encounter, but never have.
Where did you find this one?

Mouse

[Denise]

I get them in my garden in good years Emily.
They are really cool.

Denise

[KeynvorLogosenn]

Awesome
I think I will make a really big effort to find one next year, knowing the way they fly.. I could imagine what they would sound like.
hmm, I really want to see if I am right now.

Mouse

[Dave McCormick]

Great pics! I have not seen them since last year... and when I did, both times I had no camera. Only time I had a camera with a hawk moth was either captive bread, caught in a moth trap or the one narrow-boarderd bee hawk moth I mistook for a large bee which I caught 20 seconds of on video.

[55bloke]

Thanks for the comments, glad you like! Took dozens more, but with such a fast moving subject, you can imagine that many of them are of the empty space where a moth was about a thousandth of a second earlier!

[it344x]

Marvelous images - what are the image details?

most impressive

regards
Martin
( http://www.mgnastro.org/wildlife )

[55bloke]

I can't speak for those posted by Denise (the one her friend took with his DSLR makes me green with envy!!) but mine were all taken with my Canon Powershot set at ISO 200, some on auto, and some using shutter speed priority set at 1000th second.