Nubbins II | Crawling Concrete Look closely! That concrete appears to be crawling away. Note: I post an image everyday at hankconrad.com.
| 6/06/2015 | Crawling Concrete |
| Gear | Nikon 1 V3 with a 1 VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 lens |
| Exposure | 97mm (262mm) f/5.3 1/250s 0.33ev 900iso |
Labor Day Potpourri | White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar This caterpillar hung around the picnic table all afternoon. A simple click seemed in order. Hopefully, it’ll turn into a beautiful moth. For the whole story with all images, see Labor Day Potpourri | a 7 Image Story.
Labor Day Potpourri | a 7 Image Story The Labor Day this year saw another unusual holiday. These images were captured just because they happened to be along my travel path during the holidays. My travel paths were again close to home. Social distancing gets much easier when you’re hiking or paddling alone.
Bubble Bee on Thistle Midwest thistles can grow to be very big plants; big weeds to most folks. When the thistles bloom, bees come around to pollinate. This bubble bee was very busy pollinating several blossoms on this six foot high thistle.
Spider Web Early morning dew on a spider web can make for an interesting image. It’s a dumb luck simple click.
Pug Guarding Dock Anybody want to go swimming before it gets too cold? All we need is a life jacket. Pugs aren’t the best swimmers.
Storm Coming After a nice Labor Day outing on the lake, a storm appears to be coming over the horizon.
Great Blue Heron This Great Blue Heron really blends in to the drift wood as it stands along the lake shore.
White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar This caterpillar hung around the picnic table all afternoon. A simple click seemed in order. Hopefully, it’ll turn into a beautiful moth.
Monarch Butterfly Monarch Butterflies are not as plentiful as they once were. They need milkweed plants to complete their life cycle. Unfortunately, the milkweed population has been decreasing for a number of years. Female monarchs only lay eggs on milkweed plants since monarch caterpillars only eat milkweed. The milkweed plant provides both food and shelter for a caterpillar. After emerging, the adult Monarch eats nectar from a variety of flowering plants.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Labor Day Potpourri.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Nikon 1 V3 for Insects | American Dagger Moth Caterpillar This caterpillar seems intent on going straight up; looking forward to becoming a moth. Must take a lot of energy even for a relatively light caterpillar. For the whole story with all images, see Nikon 1 V3 for Insects | a 7 Image Story.
Nikon 1 V3 for Insects| a 7 Image Story The Nikon 1 V3, and the V1 before it, captures a wide variety of image types quite well. With the right lens and a little patience, it will capture really nice insect images. The camera body and lenses are relatively small and light to carry. On a local hike to capture wildlife and/or insect images, only one or two lenses will likely be required. One goes on the camera and the other in your pocket. See my walkabout kit list below. Now, I’m not a serious insect photog and do not own a macro lens. Still, I like to capture insect images when the opportunity arises. Of course, without a macro lens (called micro lens in the Nikon world), those really close 1:1 magnification images are not possible, no matter what the camera body.
The V3 is my preferred carry camera for capturing daily walkabout images. It handles much like a DSLR in continuous mode. Although a bit noisy at higher ISOs, the image quality is quite good, particularly for posting. The 2.7 crop factor helps improve images where getting closer is not an option. Thus, the V3 allows me to capture wildlife, landscape, and some insect images on my walkabouts.
In a nutshell, what makes the Nikon 1 V3 suitable for capturing insect images::
The V3 presents a few more challenges over my DSLRs! The Nikon 1 V3 requires a bit more camera discipline than a my DSLRs. The controls sometimes move during normal handling so the photographer must often check to ensure the settings are correct. Panning in low light can be demanding and a high ISO generates a good bit of noise. The small camera frame, attached to a long, heavy telephoto lens, does not seem balanced; making handling a bit tricky. The Nikon AFS 70-300mm works nicely, whereas, the AFS 70-200mm; not so much. Also, care must be taken not to break the camera mount with a heavy telephoto lens. Always carry it by the lens or the FT-1, not the camera. Higher ISO images sometimes require a pass through noise reduction in post processing. Changing the battery and/or the MicroSD card in the field takes some time and care. Build quality is more consumer than professional. If dropped, it can break.
What’s next? Nikon appears to have discontinued the Nikon 1 V series; too bad. A V4 camera could have addressed several V3 issues to become a really great camera. It’s not yet clear what my next walkabout camera will be; maybe another V3.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Nikon 1 V3 for Insects.
Click any image below for a slide show!
My Nikon 1 V3 walkabout kit fits into a very small Lowepro camera backpack. The camera equipment includes a Nikon 1 V3 Body, Nikon FT-1 Adapter, 1 VR 10-30mm f3.5-5.6 PD-Zoom, 1 VR 30-110mm f3.8-5.6, AFS 50mm f1.4G, and a AFS 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR. The supporting equipment includes a Nikon Speedlight SB-N5 Flash, LitePanels MicroPro Hybrid, Sennheiser MKE 400 Directional Mic, Sun Sniper Shoulder Strap, Extra Nikon EN-EL15 Battery, Nikon MH-25 Charger, Extra SD Cards, Lens Cleaning Supplies, and a Headlamp with red & white light. A small MeFOTO tripod has its own bag. Find more Nikon 1 V1 and V3 experiences posted under IMHO. On local walkabouts, I usually only carry the camera with a lens and one other lens in my pocket.
American Dagger Moth Caterpillar This guy seems intent on going straight up. Must take a lot of energy even for a relatively light caterpillar.
The American Dagger Moth Caterpillar crawling along, looking forward to becoming a moth.
Caterpillar The biggest of us and the smallest of us all have a place.
