Loving the beautiful beard and throat shots here, thanks for starting this thread Paul!
I find the beards so fascinating, and some really look like thick caterpillars! I also find them very useful for IDing, I take them for clematis pistils too as so many are unique. I hope everyone here imports their images from this thread. Super easy to do!
I don't use a tripod even though I own one, I just make sure the focus is locked in for what I want in focus. Thank goodness taking digital allows you to instantly see if you have to shoot again.
