Cockchafer Take Off

Another image of a Cockchafer in flight today, this one is probably my favourite.

Getting the shot itself is actually fairly easy if you have a good supply of Cockchafers I'd caught 8 of them in my moth traps the other day and knowing a little about them knew that they are fairly easy to handle and are harmless. First thing in the morning after I've taken them out of the traps they are pretty chilled and dopey. I'd already set the camera up ready to get the images using full manual control, with the camera mounted on a tripod. I took each Chafer individually and placed him atop the rose cutting and simply waited while it warmed up in the bright sunshine. While I was waiting I'd pre-set the focus manually to where I thought would be the sweet spot.
When they take off they always leap backwards into the air, something you can see in this image by the dust flying around in the air off the top of the cutting. You can always tell when the moment is going to happen as they start to twitch and open they're wing casings. So I just stood by and watched with the remote control in my hand and fired a long burst when the take off was imminent.
You have to use a really fast shutter and high ISO as when it does happen, oh my, it's over in a nano second and the chafer is long gone, returned to the wild unharmed, just how I like it........So there you have it, that's how you do it and all done within the confined space of a very small 1000 sq ft garden.
The other versions show some of the near misses......

Thanks for all the comments on yesterday image and the very kind User Awards given, which as always are muchly appreciated.

Ade

Brand:	Canon
Camera:	Canon EOS 50D
Lens:	Tamron 90mm Sp Di Macro Check out Totally Tamron!
Recording media:	JPEG (digital)
Date Taken:	23 May 2012 - 9:50 AM
Focal Length:	90mm
Aperture:	f/5.6
Shutter Speed:	1/3200sec
Exposure Comp:	0.0
ISO:	800
Flash:	Off, Did not fire

Title:	Cockchafer Take Off
Username:	Ade_Osman
Uploaded:	25 May 2012 - 9:39 AM
Tags:	Beetles, Close-up / macro, Cockchafers, General, Specialist / abstract, Wildlife / nature
Votes:	64
	Variant - Tests