I can see good reasons for your first prize -- 3-way or not. It's an excellent image; great light and lots of emotional value. Congratulations!

That did for me! The DCR-250 would reduce my MFD from 47 cm, to ~ 12 cm. Not terrible at least.
Much Obliged... 73 … ~jessM

Specs for the Tamron 180 mm macro state that m.f.d. is 0.47 METERS. Can anyone calculate the mfd with a Raynox DCR-250 attached or cite a table?
thanks... 73... ~jessM

Bill, I had to look that one up -- to find that there is a sexual dimorphism in this species, the diagnostic key being the clypeus, with is yellow (or probably sometimes ivory) in the male. See the upper left inset photo here, in which the clypeus is yellow:
https://cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/bmc_05/bmc05images/general/a04-1.jpg
This dimorphism occurs in lots -- if not all -- bees as well. Here's a diagram of insect "faces."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clypeus
I'm willing to bet you're right about size difference though, as it's pretty common among insects.
Thanks for the nice catch.... 73... ~jessM
PS: If I'm beginning to sound like a field biologist, just ignore the sign. My undergrad training was in biology, but the rest of it was in mammalian physiology and biochemistry, all pretty much useless in this hobby … :-(

Thanks, Bill. I also captured a little one exiting -- almost adult size, btw.
Wish we had a wasp (or a Lady Bird beetle) to eat up these mealy bugs.

This little lady, Pachodynerus erynnis, developed a new application for my tripod, which has a sort of perforated top. Mason Wasps find holes like this, paralyze a caterpillar (e.g., cabbage looper), place it in a hole, lay an egg on it, then seal the hole with mud. Here she is with a bit of mud in her mandibles. Nikon D7100, Tamron 180 mm macro lens, SB-600 speedlight at 1/4 pwr on camera. f/9.0, 1/2500-sec, ISO 1000

Thanks. It's a fine shot, and you're a good hunter!
73... ~jessM

I think -- not certain -- that this unit can function as an optical slave, at least via IR signal. See Nikon's discussion:
https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/eu/BV_article?articleNo=000041908&configured=1&lang=en_GB

Good luck!

Great capture! And absolutely sharp. I'd be grateful to hear about the lens and range to the bird.
Regards.... ~jessM

Thanks for this image -- it's just about perfect. I might be tempted, in Lightroom-Develop, to monkey with lightening the shadows a bit more in the foreground; certainly not anywhere else! I'd leave the near boat just about that dark. The sun reflection on the water with the sharp shadow of the occluding structure and tree on the other side of the water, lends emotional value, I think. I'd be careful to leave the foreground cables and their supporting posts essentially black. Come to think of it, Photoshop might be a better post-processor; with PS it might be easier to isolate those posts/cables and beyond, so as to leave them just as they are in this shot. Sorry to be so wordy, but I find this shot fascinating. The mood is wonderful!
Regards... ~jessM in Port St John.
PS: Something about this scene reminds me of a watercolor seascape. Look at the yellow sun color bouncing off those white mid-level clouds and the reddish light shining through the big storm cloud beyond the masts... great stuff!

Agreed. Perhaps another plus would be not needing to look through the viewfinder. My main problem with flying bugs, or even one at rest within a busy field of view, is locating it through the viewfinder in time to focus and fire. Never had that problem in portrait or landscape work... Of course one would need pretty good depth perception to work that gadget. … :-)

Thanks for the response... 73... ~jessM

I must opt out Manuel, as I have not a lathe or equivalent machine to do the job.
muito obrigado y 73 …. ~jessM

Zundapp5, have you published the building instructions anywhere?
73.... ~jessM

My apologies: The magazine I was referring to was the now extinct "Grosbild Technik," AKA the Linhof magazine. It was too good for a bad reference.
And again, thanks for the beautiful images.... ~jessM

We lived in Ogden 5 y, and I always regretted not going there. Gorgeous images. Most look like the view camera work we used to see in Der Grosbild. Thanks for sharing!