Dragon by Mike Busby Photography

I wasn't planning on shooting today, but this guy was hanging out on the fence. I got the camera and when for a shot.

He took off whenever I got too close, but he returned to the same spot after I left. So, I got close, he  left, and then I took a knee close to his landing site. He returned within a few seconds and landed within a few inches of the camera.

Dragon - Mike Busby Photography - f8 @ 1/750th, ISO 400 - Nikon D810 and Tamron 180 Macro

Although I was close, the depth of field was too narrow for very much detail. So, I took several shots while focusing throughout the body, and then merged the sharp areas together. 

Years ago I disable the autofocus from the shutter release button. I use the AF button on the back of the camera to focus, and then trip the shutter when I want. For an image like this, I'll focus once on the mouth, and then slowly move my body forward while shooting. The focus moves with me and effectively focuses through the subject.

It's an old technique, but its current incarnation is called back button focusing. A Google search will bring up how to do it. However, do not believe the claims that it will improve sharpness. It provides additional control for focusing and nothing more.  

More work can be seen at

Busbywc.com

Mike@creativeart.works