Options
Caterpillar friend
JonaBeth Russell
Registered Users Posts: 1,065 Major grins
I started these two milkweed trees specifically to attract Monarch butterflies. After about 6 months, we finally have a caterpillar! I'm contemplating setting up a GoPro on full-time power and get a time-lapse of this critter. But for now, here's a single shot from 2 days ago.
Sony a7rIII + Canon EF-S 18-135, manually focused, hand-held. Shot @ 18mp (in-camera crop mode) and post-cropped to 8mp. Enjoy!
0
Comments
Wow JB, great minds and all that, what great capture.
My spouse planted a milk weed bush in our garden for Monarch butterflies last spring, and we have one visit occasionally this summer.
I was disappointed because we usually had more than that several years ago, but lately just a single visitor once in a while -> Hence the milkweed.
But now our milkweed plant has four Monarch caterpillars - striped just like yours. - https://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Animals/Macros-and-Close-Ups/i-vB7dPKc/A
I don't usually think of insects as nurturing parents, but this shot made me wonder just the same - https://pathfinder.smugmug.com/Animals/Macros-and-Close-Ups/i-XxzNKD4/A
How do you like the Canon EF-S 18-135 on your Sony A7rIII ??
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Great minds indeed! That shot of the butterfly on top of the caterpillar is fascinating. Would you mind if I share it with my biologist friend? He might have a super science-y interpretation to share.
The EF-S 18-135 on the A7r3 is a great combo. It's a lightweight lens, plenty of range, and the quality is solid, in my opinion. I had this lens hand tuned by CPS when they replaced a damaged front element. When it came back to me, it was the best / sharpest lens in my line-up, comparing to an EF 17-40L and EF-S 17-55 f/2.8. The only downside is you have to shoot in crop mode, otherwise you get the scope-circle effect. Canon EF glass does not do this, only the EF-S glass. But, that's not much of a downside in the end, seeing as how the detail is still impressive (to me at least) when cropped all the way down to 8mp.
When using Canon glass, a few of the Sony-specific focusing functions are disabled, and the Canon glass itself is just generally slower than Sony glass, in terms of focus speed. But, in the end, I have 2 Sony lenses (16-35 2.8 GM and 24-70 2.8 GM), each of which was over $2,000, and I have a handful of Canon glass that fills in the gaps for now. Sony is proud of their lenses, and I'm not raking in 'loose change' to support springing for their higher-end zoom lenses anytime soon. lol
Feel free to share my image, I have several of that scene, but this was the best from a photo standpoint I think. I have not edited or uploaded the others, but I am happy to help out if I can.
Sounds like your EF-S 18-135 is working quite well for you
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
I really like the composition and colors in your photo. The background is wonderful, as well.
Tony