most diffuclt thing you have ever photographed?

[jangalang314]

I would defiantely say the moon and smoke photography for the first time

[inkista]

Most difficult I've successfully photographed?

That would be a butterfly in flight. Indoors. In a really crowded glasshouse that was warm and humid enough to keep the butterflies alive (that it took two hours to get into, 'cause the line was so long on the last day of the exhibit).



Nailing focus at 135mm and f/2 on something that's randomly and continually changing its course while trying to get a fast enough shutter speed?--by comparison shooting a bird in flight is freaking easy. There are times you need USM. And I still threw away a few hundred shots where I didn't nail it.

[JFSanders]

Getting a close up shot of a dragonfly that has all of him in focus. As I was in the woods next to the house this morning I spotted Mr. Dragonfly. I had been stalking him for about an hour. While looking for him I would take pictures of other flora and fauna. He sat down on a leaf that was bathed in the proper light and he was facing me. He let me get close enough to set the tripod down and start the focusing procedure. I was thinking to myself THIS GOING TO BE A KILLER! And then for some reason my ankle was ON FIRE! I stood up and looked down. My leg was covered in yellow jackets and they were not happy.

I took off through the woods just like a 300# full grown man shouldn't be able to move. The yellow jackets were just as fast as me until I hit third gear and started pulling away. When I got inside the house my wife said what are those bugs on your shirt? YEP... She beat me with the fly swatter. I am now high on Benadryl! (sp?) I did get a pretty good picture of a spider though.

[inkista]

The things we do for pictures. That's another subject I've never gotten a good one of: tarantula hawks. 'cause I'm just too damn chicken, and I've only got a 60mm macro. This is the closest I ever forced myself (mostly 'cause I didn't know what they were):



To quote from Wikipedia:

Up to two inches (50 mm) long with a blue-black body and bright rust-colored wings, tarantula hawks are among the largest of wasps. A bright rust coloring on their wings is also known as aposematic coloring and warns potential predators that they are dangerous. Their long legs end with hooked claws for grappling with their victims. The stinger of a female tarantula hawk can be up to 1/3 inch (7 mm) long, and delivers a sting which is rated among the most painful in the insect world.