Photo Story 3

     Good evening friends!!

     Today the photo story is about me trying to capture a flying insect for the first time with my DSLR. 

     The actual reason I went to my terrace was to try some bird photography but my concentration was spoilt by these wasps flying around the horseshoe vitex (Vitex negundo) tree. 

     Delta conoideum, the mason wasp.
     This is a mason wasp,so called because it builts its nest using mud. The mud nest which is a shelter for its larva is pot shaped & so it is also known as Potter wasp.

Potter wasp's nest in a citrus tree in my backyard.

     Well, long story short, I've never captured flying insects before & thought I would give a try. There were two of these wasps flying around the tree & I kept clicking, trying a panning shot when these were flying. 

     Mine is just a 120mm lens & I had to be pretty close to get a decent shot. I had to be extra careful not to get stung by those two!!

     There was a time when I got too close to one of these & it flew straight for my hand holding the camera. I got lucky & was able to step back; barely escaping a painful sting.

     I had to click lots of shots as there wasn't much light & I wasn't good at this.

     These are some of my tries in capturing these beautiful insects. I spent well over an hour chasing these around my terrace & got few good shots.

     An hour well spent & got some much needed relaxation (had some adrenaline surging moments but still).

     Time spent with nature is time spent well!!

Photo Story 2

     Common tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius), found relaxing in my garden.

     Hello everyone, Good evening!!
     This was captured from my garden today evening. 
     Around 6PM, I was having tea with my mom & dad, relaxing in our front yard. While enjoying my dad's ginger tea, I was following this tiny one flying around my garden, finally coming to rest on my hibiscus plant. I thought it came for a tiny meal from the hibiscus flowers & will be on its way. 
We were sitting a few feet away chatting & that didn't seem to bother this beautiful bird. It looked like it came there to rest for a while.
     I stood up, went in to get my camera & tried to get near the bird to take photos since I don't have a telephoto lens.
     A brave little one; it was posing for my photographs. I was just a feet away with my scary looking camera gear & this one wasn't afraid even a bit. It was too dark, and I had to resort to using the flash to capture this one; at the same time worried that the flash might scare it. 
     And oh, it proved me wrong & it was like, "Hey girl, will you stop bothering me & let me have some peace. Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep here!!".
     Well, if you grow lots of flowering plants, keep feeding the birds & leaving them water in the harsh summer; even the wild birds might come to relax in your presence. 
     A bit of love from a tiny visitor, happy day indeed.