21/07/2026
Hello folks.. A Hornet Hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) I try to treat macros as mini portraits.. getting the right pose.. the right lighting.. the right background... I got a couple of hours waiting in a parking area earlier in the week.. and what better time than to try and do some macro shots in windy conditions lol.. The wind made it a bit challenging but I ended up with a few shots I liked.. heres one of them.. Shot with the Z8 and the Laowa 180mm macro lens... This was shot in manual mode , f11 1/400th, allowing the auto iso to make sure the exposure was on the ball.. as it was so windy and the insects were very active I had to keep a good control of the shutter speed as well as the F stop... personally I dont stack hundreds of shots or hit the AI make this worth looking at switch... Its been slightly cropped.. had some noise removed, and given a bit of POP in terms of contrast.. shot with available light.. these were particularly tricky due to the wind blowing the plants all over the place .. I found I had to carefully hold the plant stalk below the insect to stop things moving around with my left hand, controlling the camera with just the right hand.. it was fun and the Z8 did a cracking job.. There are lots of ways to get a good shot.. this is just how I like to do it :)
