Macro photography at Askham Bog | wildflower photography | Yorkshire wildlife photographer

I’ve been enjoying the macro photography of late and decided I need to get out with the camera again to see what i could find. A quick walk around Askham Bog revealed a few butterflies and insects to photograph as well as a few wild plants such as the beautiful water violet but, on the whole, it was fairly quiet due to the slightly cooler temperatures and stiff breeze. I tend to travel light when doing macro photography in the field, taking only a 200mm maco lens, 16mm fisheye and a 24-70mm for general shots if required. I tend to use mainly the 200mm f/4 micor Nikkor lens and the 16mm f/2.8 fisheye where possible for most of the shots. I love the working distance and the soft, shallow DOF of the 200mm macro and prefer over the shorter Nikon macro lenses such as the 105VR lens. Water violet was a beautiful plant that I’ve not photographed before, but as it grows in water or deep wet mud, it was tricky to photograph and I think I would have benefited from an even longer lens, maybe the 300mm or even the 500mm with some extension tubes. The following shots show the water violet, small white, female large red damselfly, cranefly and a common hoverfly called ‘the footballer’ because of it’s stripy coloured strip. Jack-by-the-hedge or garlic mustard finishes off the set.