Will you be dining above or below deck?

[rjlittlefield]

Canon D300
Sigma 105mm macro
ISO 200
1/800 sec
f/6.3
direct sun, no flash
crop by 25%
selective sharpening, more on the aphids than the butterfly & flower

This is another lucky shot. I was so fixated on the butterfly that I didn't even see the aphids, but they make the picture!

I see from the image data that I fouled up and left the camera set for fast shutter. (I had earlier been shooting moving things.) The wind was blowing the flower around, but most likely this shot would have been better with slower shutter and stop down for more DOF. Something to consider for the future...

--Rik

[MikeBinOKlahoma]

Pleasing combination of diners. Ants are notorious for sneaking into photos unwanted, but aphids can too!

You're right, f/6.3 seldom is good enough for macro. I tend to shoot at f/16 or smaller (up to f/32!) aperture. As a result, I tend to shoot with flash a lot, or else use a tripod on a static subject on a VERY calm day!

[S. Alden]

Nice capture Rik. Easy to see how you cold have missed them focusing on on the BF.