Final Shot: Our Favorite Reader Photo of the Month

 

© Robert Dunham

Landing Pad
While Shutterbug reader Robert Dunham dreams of shooting the vast landscapes in Montana, he has found “great wonder and satisfaction in shooting macro” at his North Carolina home. He combines his two favorite pastimes, gardening and photography, by “taking a bunch of gear to the garden and splitting time between the spade and the camera.”

That gear typically includes his Nikon D800 or D300 along with a Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 lens and a Nissin MF18 Macro ringlight. The day Dunham captured this amazing shot of a translucent katydid nymph started like any other. He had his Nikon D800, macro lens, and ringlight at the ready.

“I was all set up at f/36 to max my depth of field (at the expense of needing an ISO of 1600),” Dunham said. “I walked the garden paths and scanned for whatever scene appeared to me next (there are usually several stories unfolding at once) when I spotted this tiny katydid nymph landing on a tansy flower.”

Not knowing how long the creature might stay on the flower, Dunham quickly found his position and framed the shot. While he acknowledges that it was probably “somewhat accidental” that he captured the nice pastel green out-of-focus background, he will “gladly take full credit for that too.” To see more of Dunham’s work, visit dunhamartphoto.com.

(Editor’s Note: Every month we will feature an image in Final Shot from Shutterbug’s online Galleries on Shutterbug.com.)

 

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