Dragon on the Edge

A dragonfly balancing on a leaf edge ...

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR
f/7.1, 1/640 secs, ISO 400

The Solitary Bee-eater

Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR
f/7.1, 1/8000 secs, ISO 400

Leafy Curves

Leafy Curves

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR
f/7.1, 1/640 secs, ISO 400

The Black Lored Tit

Black-lored Tit, Parus xanthogenys

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/7.1, 1/200 secs, ISO 400

Small Wonders

Small Wonders, or the joys of close up photography

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/7.1, 1/400 secs, ISO 400

The Coppersmith

Coppersmith Barbet, Crimson-breasted Barbet or Coppersmith (Megalaima haemacephala)

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/6.3, 1/160 secs, ISO 400

Drongo At Dusk

Bronzed Drongo, Dicrurus aeneus

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/7.1, 1/200 secs, ISO 400

Cro(w)file

House Crow, Corvus splendens

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/5.6, 1/3200 secs, ISO 400

Bronzed Drongo, on bottlebrush tree

Bronzed Drongo, Dicrurus aeneus

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/8, 1/160 secs, ISO 400

Girgit on the bottlebrush

Garden Lizard, or Girgit

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/6.3, 1/320 secs, ISO 400

A mug shot of a girgit ... which is Hindi for a Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor), a common garden resident. This fellow was sun bathing on a bottle brush branch ... and got curious when I approached and disturbed the siesta.

Overlooked

Overlooked ...

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/8, 1/250 secs, ISO 500

One of the true joys of close up / macro photography is discovering and highlighting things that are all around us, but almost never taken note of. Once the eyes set in, and you prowl around with a camera and an appropriate lens, a whole different set of things start to catch your attention in the same patch of the garden that you normally stomp across.The closer you look, the more you find.

Beetle on Basil

Beetle on Basil

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/8, 1/250 secs, ISO 500

Beetle in search of a vantage point to launch off, on a Basil (Tulsi) plant. The 70-300 VR makes for some good close up shots, and turns into a nice macro when combined with close up lenses like the Canon 500D close up lens.

The Blue Tit, with a V1 (3)

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Nikon 1 V1 + FT1 + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/5.6, 1/125secs, ISO 400

I am very happy with this combination ... more than the D300s and the 70-300 VR ... where the reach is just not sufficient in most cases involving birds. This combination may have limitations (as imposed by the use of FT1) but  by letting me get much closer, I feel I get better results. That is not to say that a proper tele prime on the D300s would be a laggard by any stretch of imagination! But till that time comes this should help fill the gaps well :)

V1 shoots the Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major (male)

Nikon 1 V1 + FT1 + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/9, 1/250secs, ISO 160

I shall hunt this fellow till I get a SHARP one of him! 810mm can be challenging ... I guess good practice for when I can get a real big gun :)

Here are some more attempts with this combination (which looks like this) ... Blue Tit #1, Blue Tit #2

Red-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer (1)

Red-vented Bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/5.6, 1/200 secs, ISO 200

Purple Sunbird, Nectarinia asiatica (female)

Purple Sunbird, Nectarinia asiatica (female)

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/5.6, 1/250 secs, ISO 320

Hibiscus (1)

Hibiscus

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/5.6, 1/30 secs, ISO 200

Wild roses (1)

Wild Roses

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/8, 1/125 secs, ISO 800

Himalayan Bulbul, Pycnonotus leucogenys

Himalayan Bulbul, Pycnonotus leucogenys

Nikon D300s + Nikon 70-300 VR @ 300mm
f/5.6, 1/200 secs, ISO 800

High Speed Chase

High Speed Chase

Nikon D300s + 70-300 VR + Canon 500D Close Up Lens
f/10, 1/250 secs, ISO 1600