Yesterday was my first chance to try out my new lens, a Tamron 180mm macro, and I managed to get some shots of a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland.
This was my first encounter with this moth, which I have admired in the photos of others, and I took a lot of photos of it, using a variety of settings. I think that I got my best shots when I set the ISO to 800 and underexposed a bit, which kept the shutter speed up pretty high, although the images are a little grainy. I still have a lot of photos to go through, so don’t be surprised if I come up with an even better image to post. However, I am so happy with this image that I want to share my excitement.
I had previously used the Nikon version of this lens with a friend’s camera and was impressed enough that I eventually decided to get one for my Canon. The lens does not have any built-in image stabilization, so it probably gives optimal results when used on a tripod or when there is a lot of light. However, I was impatient to use it, so I shot handheld when shooting this moth and probably need to work a bit more on my technique for steadier shooting.
I am pretty sure that I’ll be posting many more macro shots from this lens in the future—I plan on having a lot of fun with it.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Great shot, they are the coolest moth, mine had a bumblebee pattern..:-)
I think that I have to agree with you,Ed, about them being the coolest moth. I had been hoping to see one for quite a while and it finally happened.
Nice! That’s a tricky little moth to get a good capture. I set my shutter speed at 1250 and an ISO of 800 and I still got some blur in the wings …they are so fast.
Thanks. It took a lot of chasing and a lot of shots for me to get a few images with the wings frozen in place.
Great start with the new lens. I look forward to seeing further pictures taken with it.
Thanks. I have a few more photos to post from yesterday that remind me of why I like a macro lens.
Mike,
How close do you need to get to get a shot like that with that lens? Did you crop much?
Beautiful shot, by the way.
~Kyle
I did not crop have to crop very much with this particular shot (I was trying to get as close as I could as the moth hovered around the flowers, but the nature of the garden was such that I could not walk among the flowers, so I was at the mercy of the moth). The minimum focusing distance of the lens is 18.5 inches (.47 meters). It was kind of cool that I had to back up later in the day when taking shots of butterflies in order to keep from cutting off too much of their wings in the images.
Beautiful start to your new critter lens. I hope you thoroughly enjoy using it though I find macro has its own set of challenges. I suspect you are more patient in dealing with them.
Great shot, Mike! I’m sure you’ll have a great time with your new lens, I look forward to see your shots.
Wow, your new lens is a winner. Great photo.
Thanks. There was a lot of luck involved in getting that shot, but I think the new lens helped a bit.
Great shot Mike – I know how difficult these guys can be!
Thanks. I started shooting as soon as I spotted this moth and it hung around long enough (moving almost continuously) for me to change camera settings several times. I was determined to get a decent shot and persistence paid off.
That’s a great shot. I’ve never seen this moth-or never paid attention when I did.
Thanks. They are pretty big and act just like hummingbirds. I had never seen one until this week, but I knew immediately what it was when I encountered it, because of the photos I had seen previously..
Great shot, Mike. You stopped the wing action nicely.
Thanks, Sue. It took a lot of shots to get one with the wings stopped and relatively in focus, but persistence is one of my strongest traits.
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fantastic shot of a beautiful moth!
Thanks. They are truly amazing (and this was this only time that I have seen them).