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ok, so my first attempts at getting an insect frozen in flight...ummmm,

lets just say this was one of a...uhh....few attempts :)

Any advice, comments, etc greatly appreciated.

This is quite good. Not completely sharp, but it is so hard to capture small flying insects in flight and manage to get everything completely sharp. As is, I think this turned out well enough. One hint: (taught to me by an entomologist) try photographing these insects early in the morning before the day has gotten warm or try again in the late afternoon, not long before the sun goes down. At these times, insects are generally slower and thus easier to photograph.  If you have the time to sit and watch insects in their natural environment, you will begin to see patterns of behavior and this can help you capture better images. Finally, I also use as high a shutter speed as I can while still obtaining maximum sharpness. Of-course you will always trade off depth of field for faster speed, but after some practice you will learn what works for you.

@irene.....your commentary is spot on I think....one day soon I will get myself out of bed and make a point to hit it in the AM...others have given me this advice here on PN so far...but I have yet had the opportunity...but will certainly make it a priority!!  I started to get sickly actually while shooting on saturday and had to give up...actually had a stomach bug or something and so had to give up all of my efforts for the weekend...although I am starting to feel a tad better...

Thanks for the advice and praise! Take Care! 

PS - I will indeed have to experiment with various shutter speeds/apertures (and ISO's I suppose) 

Hi Ellery, very good progress in something very difficult! Best regards.