Hoverflies

Hoverflies

For about a month around August every summer my garden is visited by a large number of hoverflies. For the last few years I have made it my business to photograph them.

I make sure that I have lilies in the garden as they attract the hoverflies and provide a good background for the pictures. If the ones I have planted are not in flower at the right time then a trip to the florist is in order.

I find hoverflies fascinating creatures to photograph and there is always the chance to catch one in flight.

Photographing Hoverflies

These shots were taken with a 100mm macro lens usually fitted with a (typically 21mm) extension tube. I use a ring flash for hoverfly photography and prefer to shoot in open sunshine when the flash just fills in the shadows.

The key ingredient for photographing hoverflies is patience.


Related links:
The Garden Safari - fascinating
Outstanding macro photography: by M Plonsky
Sensitive Light blog entry from August 04: Hoverflies are back
Sensitive Light blog entry from October 04: Thistle do
Sensitive Light blog entry from September 05: Hoverflies 05