Photo By Mattias Hammar

“This is the first macro shot that I was really happy with,” photographer Mattias Hammar of Gothenburg, Sweden, confides. “A blue damselfly defending the forest. The photo was taken beside a forest path close to a lake. When I passed, I saw 20 to 30 damsels buzzing in an area covered in tall green grass. I spent an hour failing to get a nice shot of these evasive models before this moment happened. I started to close in on this fellow who didn’t back down. While I was shooting, a light gust of wind brought a small straw in front of him. He reacted by using his legs to transfer it from right to left. I got a series of about 10 images. I was lucky to get the best focus and coolest pose in the same shot.”

See more of Mattias Hammar’s work at mattiashammar.com.

Sony a7R III, Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS. Exposure: 1/500 sec., ƒ/5, ISO 250.

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Congratulations to Marti Phillips for winning the recent Spring In Bloom Assignment with the image, “Springtime, Hyde Park.” See more of Phillips’ photography at martiphillips.smugmug.com.

View the winning image and a selection of submissions below. And be sure to check out our current photography assignment here and enter your best shots!

The post Spring In Bloom Assignment Winner Marti Phillips appeared first on Outdoor Photographer.

For wildlife photographers, super-telephoto lenses are the key to capturing close-up, engaging compositions of subjects safely and respectfully. The advantages of super-tele primes compared to zooms are generally better image quality and constant maximum apertures, but that performance comes at a price, not only in dollars but also in size and weight.

The options for super-tele primes were once very limited and typically very expensive, but in recent years, lens makers have introduced more compact and more affordable choices for mirrorless camera systems. Innovations in optical design, along with some compromises in maximum aperture, have allowed manufacturers to offer alternatives that are easier to buy—and to handle in the field. Here’s a look at the super-telephoto prime lenses available today for mirrorless systems.

The post Super-Tele Primes For Mirrorless appeared first on Outdoor Photographer.