As I sat on the patio early this afternoon, camera and Monster Lens in my lap, appreciating the coolish breezes and the respite from the high temperatures we had last week, a lone Flame Skimmer dragonfly (female, I think, based on its brownish orange color) landed on a twig near me. I was ready…or at least I thought I was ready. It was only after the flame skimmer had skimmed off and I had downloaded the photos to my computer that I realized I had neglected to return the Vibration Reduction switch back to the “on” position. I hand held the Monster lens but I didn’t remember that I had turned off VR when I last used it yesterday afternoon. Once I realized that I had no VR to offset my shake while hand holding the camera, I decided I was pleased with the relative clarity of this shot without any help from the VR feature.
What did I learn today? When I put my camera down, I should always return settings to the setting I’m used to using. You’d think after all this time that would have become my habit, but obviously it has not. Another reason to love this lens: despite my stupidity, it still does a pretty awesome job.
Focal Length 400mm (effective 560mm on the D7100), ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/320
