300mm Closeups at Dunyeats Heath

The Canon 300mm F4 – has a macro setting.  It is not true macro ( i.e 1:1 scale) but can be useful to take close ups of insects from further away.  Especially useful on subjects that are over water, where to get close with a true macro lens you would have to either get wet, or be properly equipped.  On a recent trip to Dunyeats Heath Nature Reserve in Broadstone, Poole, I took only this lens and a monopod to take the larger insects present there.

I was pleasantly pleased to see this pair of Emperors mating on the wing, and being harassed by another male.  They eventually landed nearby and I was able to take this vertical panorama image of them.  (It is two pictures combined).

Hunting / Patrolling in the air allowed me to attempt to take them in flight too.  This the best result from the day of those.

Also present were several Four-spotted chasers.

Some inland.

And some perched in the pond reeds.

Also about were some skipper butterflies – this one perched on a grass stem and posed nicely.

These pair of mating damselflies, provided the classic ring pose on grass.

And spinning round a more unusual look.

Map of Location