Some very special shots here today.

Many ask how to get the shots and I say practise on small things first.

I will show you both small and big here, first insects and then birds, finally a very big shot.

When I bought my first camera, a little Canon Powershot 450 in 2002, as I had to take photos of the @papilloncharity work, I asked a pro friend for advice. Kai Ling is a brilliant photographer and he told me to practice on the small things first. Especially dragonflies as once I could get them clear, then the bigger things would be easier.
I hope this would help some members.

She is a female Nomad (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and a very beautiful lady.

This lady in flight is called a female Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa caffra)

And this gentleman is her husband, he is also a Carpenter Bee.

Now for things that are a bit bigger.

By now many of you know the Southern Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris Chalybeus)

This guy is called a Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis)

The Yellow Bishop can rotate his head at 180 degrees and here he was looking over his back.
I have never seen one flying in reverse gear hahaha,

Or maybe the big and the small together and both had their left legs lifted in their camera shot pose.

Finally a vey big shot as our mountains had a lovely look today.

So next time that somebody asks me about how to get clear shots, I will simply direct them to this post. There is of course some other tricky stuff involved such as the correct settings on the camera and for me the most important issue is to be unobserved by the targets and I cannot over emphasise the need to stand still. Any sudden movements and the target will simply disappear.
I forgot to mention that lighting is also important as on clear days with the sun at one's back is the ideal for most of my shots.
Patience also plays a big role in success and the best always is to study the habits of the targets first.
As I said before, I hope that this will be of help to someone.

And That's All Friends!

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60HS Bridge camera.

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