Wasps with 40-150

This article features a selection of handheld images of wasps in flight captured with the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 zoom lens. All of the photographs featured in this article were captured at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) during a 1/2 hour period.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3243 pixels on the width, subject distance 805 mm

Some people find photographing wasps and bees a bit unnerving. This can be especially true in the late summer when wasps can become more aggressive than usual.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3210 pixels on the width, subject distance 880 mm

The summer was quickly slipping away from me before I realized that I hadn’t dedicated any time this year to photographing wasps in-flight. So, I decided to head off to the Royal Botanical Gardens with the hopes of finding a good number of wasps.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 2874 pixels on the width, subject distance 1 metre

Although I have an ‘insect kit’ that I had done some testing with earlier in the season, I thought it was prudent to keep a safe distance from the wasps.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-4000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 2932 pixels on the width, subject distance 890 mm

I decided to use the M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm f/2.8 zoom without any teleconverters or extension tubes. This allowed me to take advantage of the lens’s comparatively short minimum focusing distance, excellent handling, as well as its superior optical performance.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-3200, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3546 pixels on the width, subject distance 870 mm

As I strolled along some of the walkways at the RBG I looked for a good concentration of wasps, as well as a shooting position that would keep the sun at my back. I soon came upon a suitable group of flowers that were being frequented by a good number of wasps, and positioned my stool appropriately.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-5000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 2102 pixels on the width, subject distance 810 mm

Since I wanted to keep a bit of distance between myself and the wasps I chose a focal length of 150 mm (efov 300 mm). I used an aperture of f/8 to create more depth-of-field.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-4000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 2695 pixels on the width, subject distance 890 mm

Even though I was shooting in bright sunlight there was some variance with the lighting in amongst the flower blossoms and foliage. I used Auto-ISO so I wouldn’t have to concern myself with quickly changing exposures.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3016 pixels on the width, subject distance 1 metre

I used my standard Pro Capture H settings with Pre-Shutter Frames and Frame Limiter both set to 15. I shot at 60 frames-per-second which has the first frame locking focus and exposure for the balance of the run. My shutter speed was set to 1/2500. I used -0.7 exposure compensation to help avoid blown out highlights on the wasps.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-4000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 2734 pixels on the width, subject distance 890 mm

Wasps are pretty erratic flyers, but I watched them for a few minutes nonetheless. This helped determine which blossoms would provide the best image opportunities.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3072 pixels on the width, subject distance 815 mm

Rather than shoot willy-nilly at any wasps that were in the general area, I waited until individual wasps approached… or took flight from… designed blossoms.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2000, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3141 pixels on the width, subject distance 805 mm

In many cases I had very narrow shooting windows between the vertical pillars of blossoms. This is where using Pro Capture H proved invaluable as I could capture a sufficient number of consecutive images to get some unobstructed subjects in my photographs.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 2761 pixels on the width, subject distance 1 metre

Preferring action-oriented images, I focused all of my efforts on capturing wasps in-flight.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3016 pixels on the width, subject distance 880 mm

Implementing a more selective shooting approach proved beneficial. I was able to capture a number of good image runs that yielded several dozen useable photographs, in a compressed time frame.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3097 pixels on the width, subject distance 1 metre

Overall, my short visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens was quite productive and definitely worth the time invested.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3084 pixels on the width, subject distance 815 mm

As photographers we can get fixated on specific subject matter like birds-in-flight. We sometimes forget that in-flight images of other species like dragonflies, bees and wasps can also make interesting photographs.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-2500, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3095 pixels on the width, subject distance 765 mm

 Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. Images were produced from RAW files using my standard process. All images were captured using my standard settings with Pro Capture H. These are noted in the body of the article. This is the 1,308 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

OM-D E-M1X + M.Zuiko PRO 40-150 mm @ 150 mm, efov 300 mm, f/8, -0.7 EV, 1/2500, ISO-3200, Pro Capture H, cropped to 3348 pixels on the width, subject distance 870 mm

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