Beginner Damselflies, butterflies and a surprise!

[GarethB]

Still practising whenever I can get the opportunity....some of my humble offerings so far....

I thought this was the ubiquitous Painted Lady, turns out it's a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta).


red admiral 2 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

The Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum).


Common Blue Damselfly 4 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

....and a stack (forgive the artefacts!) of two images, of these two up to some shenanigans!


Damselfies mating by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

The star of the show....a Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum).
This was just hanging around in the back garden....I rushed to get the camera, and panicked somewhat, so they're not the best quality, and they're quite heavy crops too, but what an incredible insect....I find them fascinating, and felt immensely privileged to get a photo of one.


Hummingbird Hawkmoth 1 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr


Hummingbird Hawkmoth 2 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

Many thanks for looking folks!

 

[gilbouk]

Didn't know there were Hummingbird moths in the UK? Nice photos

 

[Jannyfox]

Didn't know there were Hummingbird moths in the UK? Nice photos

Oh yes, had them regularly for the last 2 years and have seen them here many years ago. All the insects in my garden this year (and I have lots) have been very flighty and I haven't managed to get a photo of anything yet.
The hawk moth shots are excellent, especially the second. They are so hard to catch but fantastic creatures.

 

[GarethB]

Didn't know there were Hummingbird moths in the UK? Nice photos

Thanks Gil, for taking time to look and comment.

Oh yes, had them regularly for the last 2 years and have seen them here many years ago. All the insects in my garden this year (and I have lots) have been very flighty and I haven't managed to get a photo of anything yet.
The hawk moth shots are excellent, especially the second. They are so hard to catch but fantastic creatures.

Thank you Jan, for the positive comment.
I quite agree regarding flightiness - I've only been photographing insects for a few months and it's proving to be tricky, plus it's been quite breezy lately too....which doesn't help.

 

[Dale.]

Some very nice photos of what are not always easy subjects. Well done!

 

[GarethB]

Some very nice photos of what are not always easy subjects. Well done!

Thank you very much Dale, I appreciate the encouraging comment.
I'm really enjoying my journey into insect photography immensely, though still have an awful lot to learn...not least in the realm of post processing.
The Hawk moth images were (and still are) quite dark - I pushed them as far as I dared, but I'm still quite pleased with them.

 

[Cobra]

That's a cracking set Gareth well done on the hawk moth in flight too

 

[GarethB]

That's a cracking set Gareth well done on the hawk moth in flight too

Many thanks @Cobra
I couldn't believe my luck with the hawk moth....I knew I would only have a few seconds, so I just leaned on the shutter and hoped!!
Later I realized I hadn't quite nailed the exposure, so much faffing in post ensued....I was only just able to rescue those two shots!
Hopefully I'll be better prepared next time, but you never know when you might need a particular setup!
If only I could afford a dozen separate camera setups to cover all eventualities!