Photographing and Videoing Damselflies in Flight using the OM1mkII and the 150-400mm

I this video, I show how I photograph and video Demoiselles in flight. For this I either use ProCapture for the flight shots, or slow motion, for the videos. I am photographing at a local river in Essex.
Music in first part of the video from the KZbin Audio Library :
Track Title : Across the Pier
Artist : Vyen
Second track in the video :
Track Title - Slow Motion
Artist : Benjamin Tissot
Music by www.bensound.com
License code: GYPKBVARYGOD2ONI

[@klackon1]

Another top job Roger.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the very kind comment. Glad you liked it.

[@RichardCookphotography]

Lovely video Roger. Some Fab footage and shots. Well done👍

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for commenting Richard. Much appreciated.

[@iansmith8103]

Wow! Beautiful vids and photos - well done. I particularly liked 7:58 / 8:37. I try to take similar vids and photos here in Australia with various combos of cameras and lenses. You've showcased the ability of the OM1ii and 150-400 very well. Have you tried subject tracking the flying insects? My old G9 and EM1 couldn't, but my R5 and 100-500 does a reasonable job - sometimes!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment Ian. The OM1mkII makes a reasonable job of locking on to the subject but they are so fast, its quite a challenge. The autofocus on the OM1mkII is definately better than my old Em1mkII or a G9.

[@davidosborn3356]

A very beautiful creature and another excellent video Roger. Some fabulous stills and footage throughout.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment David. I was pleased with how this one turned out.

[@RichardBedford-p3q]

Great work, love the LSD quote!

[@rogerhance5883]

I am showing my age mentioning LSD. I suppose all the younger peole use something else now. LDS is from the `pychadelic hippie - flower power` days ! 😂

[@SteveHedgesPhotography]

Hi Roger, great video and fantastic subjects. The last time I photographed damselflies at that location I was in the river in waders which I have to say made getting close to them a lot easier. All the best Steve.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for commenting Steve. My waders have a hole in, so I cannot use them any longer ! 😂

[@photosonthebay9341]

Well done Roger. Very nice photos and video.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Neil. Much appreciated.

[@philparker97]

Great video footage and stills, and an interesting subject!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Phil. Glad you liked it.

[@trevorburton4429]

Thanks for a video full of stunning images Roger. Difficult to believe that they were shot on micro 4/3rds if one believes the critics of that format. Silky out of focus backgrounds with pin sharp insects. Superb.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment Trevor. I think there is a lot of rubbish talked about M4T cameras being no good. Even when cropping in heavily on Olympus M4T shots, they are still very usable.

[@tomking3800]

Roger great stills and video clips loved it

[@rogerhance5883]

Cheers Tom. As always, your comments are very much appreciated. Glad you liked it.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Outstanding stills and video. Maybe I should have another go at this.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Mike. It was you that said I should do a video on it. It was difficult, but didnt turn out too bad in the end.

[@stephenyoung2616]

Great images Roger

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you Stephen. Much appreciated.

[@stephenfinch4534]

Great stuff Roger!

[@rogerhance5883]

Cheers Stephen. Glad you liked it, and thanks for commenting.

[@stevevickers2844]

The boy did good some great footage Roger.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks Steve. Much appreciated.

[@johnpark8297]

Fabulous video Roger, excellent stills and footage very enjoyable to see 👍

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks John. Glad you liked it.

[@alanfearn1101]

Excellent film, yours and Mike Lanes work inspired me to go back and try micro 4/3 rds again I’m glad I did, now having the 150- 400 ( as new ) has opened a new world of possibilities thanks guys 😊

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you for the vcery kind comment Alan. Mike Lanes video are amazing. Glad you have got the 150-400mm. Its an amazing lens and incredibly sharp. Are you in the UK ?

[@alanfearn1101]

@@rogerhance5883 yes in Derbyshire, a regular visitor at Bempton and can’t wait to try birds in flight

[@rogerhance5883]

@@alanfearn1101 If you contact me via my web site, I can give you a discount code for when you buy any OM Systems equipment. It only works in the UK, so thats why I asked.

[@alanfearn1101]

Excellent thanks

[@rogerhance5883]

@@alanfearn1101 My web site is www.rogerhancefrps.com. Use the contact page.

[@CheikoSairin]

Amazing damselflies in-flight observation footage. Thanks for sharing. 1 LIKE for your video. Greetings from Singapore.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the vety kind comment. Much appreciated.

[@creaph]

Bonjour Encore une vidéo très enrichissante. Merci

[@rogerhance5883]

Merci Philippe. Comme toujours, vos aimables commentaires sont très appréciés. Cordialement Roger

[@CamillaI]

Great work Roger I have been trying the same with Butterflies and Dragonflies with the A9III. I think the AF may be slightly better on the A9III. I have recently used expand flexible spot with Insect detect & of course pro capture Certainly a hit and miss subject but great results when it comes together. Thanks for sharing your techniques

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for commenting Mark. AS you so rightly say, its very hit and miss, but when you get a few good `hits`, it more than makes up for the ones that miss.

[@paulinemorris5186]

Great video. I have the same lens and extender so can't wait to have a go. My camera is the Olympus em 1 mark 111. What are your views on this set up. Any advise would be appreciated as I'm a Newby.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for commenting Pauline. The Em1mkIII is a good camera, but to be perfectly honest, both the OM1 and the OM1mkII are in a different league. As an example, the EM1mkIII is a mid range Ford, the OM1`s are Lamborgini`s. So my advice is to get one as soon as possible. Are you in the UK ?

[@paulinemorris5186]

Yes I am

[@rogerhance5883]

@@paulinemorris5186 If you contact me via the contact page on my web site I can give you a discount code for future purchases. (I am an OM System Ambassador) www.rogerhancefrps.com

[@pollymair1113]

Stunning images and footage Roger!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks . Much appreciated.

[@AndyHPhotography]

Another great video and images Roger. I was down at my local nature reserve last week too shooting these with my R7 and 100-500. They are such a great subject matter

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for commenting Andy. Your very kind. I am glad that other brands of camera photographers find my channel helpful, although obviously it is aimed at Olympus/OM System users. Although your a canon user (as I was for a lot of years) you still find something interesting in my videos. That means a lot to me, so once again, thanks for commenting.

[@AndyHPhotography]

@@rogerhance5883 i enjoy your channel Roger and don’t think the equipment makes so much difference nowadays so hopefully we can learn and enjoy whatever the gear 👍

[@rogerhance5883]

@@AndyHPhotography Thanks Andy. I take it you want Mike Lanes channel as well ? Our video`s are similar. Just his are better than mine !

[@AndyHPhotography]

@@rogerhance5883 feel free to drop through his channel link Roger

[@kvsubbarao57]

Excellent stills and video footage.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you. Thats very much appreciated.

[@philiphadley2280]

Another brilliant and help[ful Video Roger.

[@rogerhance5883]

Cheers Phil. Your kind comment is much appreciated.

[@BeaktoLensphotography]

Great video showing a great method. Those in flight shots are incredible too, nothing I have seen before and something I would love to try. Thanks for sharing Roger

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the very kind comment James. Photographing them in flight is very much worth trying, although quite difficult.

[@BeaktoLensphotography]

@@rogerhance5883 I imagine with my 70-300mm ( shortest lens ) the AF just won’t keep up but its definitely worth a try as I have weeks of spare time now. I will send some over if I succeed.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@BeaktoLensphotography You could try using your longer lens to give a bit more distance. You can always crop in during post production. If your longer lens does not focus close enough, try adding extension tubes. Thats what I used to use on my old Canon system. Good luck.

[@BeaktoLensphotography]

@@rogerhance5883 yes the Extension tubes seem to be very popular. My longest lens is a Sigma 500mm and it just won’t focus close enough. Thank you Roger!

[@rogerhance5883]

@@BeaktoLensphotography Extension Tubes work well James. I used to use them when I was using Canon, and have ocassionally used them with my 60mm macro when doing extreem close up.

[@brianclark3597]

Yet another great vidio Roger.

[@rogerhance5883]

Thank you Brain. Your very kind.

[@treebeard909]

I've ben practicing with Pro Cap SH2 and am wondering how many frames you set for pre-shot? I get so many it's really hard to pick the keepers. I have 12 pre shutter and 30 max? is the a better starting point? Thanks!

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for commenting. We are all different in our use of ProCap, and settings may vary. I intend to make a video on this in the next few weeks. Your 12 PreShutter and 30 total is slig the wrong way round to me. Your taking a totalof 30 shots, -12 before,- and 18 after. If it was me , I would have it the other way around. 18 before, and 12 after. Dont forget that you do not fully press the shutter for ProCap until you have seen the action, so thats why you want more BEFORE , and less AFTER. This will account for human reaction time. Hope this helps.

[@treebeard909]

@@rogerhance5883 Thanks for the really quick reply, Roger. I have trouble with that so I'm going to try what you're suggesting. It certainly makes sense. I'm thinking with damsel flies, dragonflies hummingbirds, etc. they go away so fast. You really don't need a lot of after shutter press images. You have helped me out so much with my OM one Mark two. I had an EM one Mark two for a number of years and it unfortunately, went into the lake when my kayak capsized when I was out taking pictures of turkey vulture fledglings. The camera could not be salvaged, but luckily I had good insurance so the replacement was the OM one mark two. But it's so different. It's taking me a long time to figure it out. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing without you. The OM community is so helpful. I used to be a Nikon shooter and the difference is night and day in the communities.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@treebeard909 Glad that I have been of help. Its always difficult getting used to new menu layouts, and even I struggle at times. The OM1mkII menu system is certainly different to the EM1mkII. I think once you get used to it you will in fact find tthe OM1mkII si easier to use than the EM1mkII.

[@wildcat1065]

Another interesting video Roger. Out of interest, when shooting the damsels in Procap which size target area do you use and do you use bird , mammal detection or CF+tracking ?

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment. I used bird tracking. It seemed to work reasonable well, even though they are technically not birds. I had the target area set on large, (not full screen) and just used C-AF (not C-AF+T)

[@Armin_alter_Mann]

very nice pictures! Do like the 100-400 on the long end? Grüße von Armin

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for the kind comment. I am using the 150-400mm in this video, not the 100-400mm. The 150-400mm is very sharp all through the range of the focal lenght.

[@Armin_alter_Mann]

@@rogerhance5883 Tomorrow I will buy the 40-150 2.8 for portraits with soft background (summer-casback)

[@rogerhance5883]

@@Armin_alter_Mann Its a great lens that you will have a lot of fun with.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@Armin_alter_Mann If you have not order this yet, my 10% discount will work with the summer-cashback, so you would end up getting 30% off.

[@d.k.1394]

Wow

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks very much. Glad you liked it.

[@d.k.1394]

You did gud 4 a young boy

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks. I am not young, or so my son keeps telling me. 😂 Or to be correct, he says I have a old man`s body and a young mans brain !!! 🤣

[@boboneill1828]

I've started using f11 and a higher ISO (5000) to try and get more of the insect in focus. Haven't noticed any fall in quality.

[@rogerhance5883]

I think F11 is the maximum I would go to. ISO 5000 these days is fine.

[@kowkl]

what shutter speed are you using ?

[@boboneill1828]

@@kowkl I have only taken static images recently, unlike Roger's fine flight images. I use aperture priority for this, and let the camera decide on ISO and shutter speed. I set the ISO limit depending on the lighting, either 3200 or 5000.

[@rogerhance5883]

@@kowkl For the flight shot anything above 1/3200th sec. Preferably, 1/4000th or 1/5000th sec.

[@keithhider2170]

Great footage and stills of banded demoiselles (not beautiful as stated in the video)

[@rogerhance5883]

Thanks for commenting Keith. You are correct, they are banded demoiselles.