green darner: Green dragonfly on blackberry stock...

randomeyes Loc: wilds of b.c. canada

Green dragonfly on blackberry stock

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Frank2013 Loc: San Antonio, TX. & Milwaukee, WI.

Nice shot randomeyes, what's holding it back from great shot for me is motion blur of eye and wing tip focus. I am sure just getting one of these shots is difficult period.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

After a couple of summers chasing these guys, I decided I no longer have the patience, so kudos on your stamina

I'd like to see a bit more sharpness in its head area, but more than that, the background is too busy and bright for me - distracting from the delicate structure of this amazing insect.

There are quite a few dragonfly images posted to UHH. If you get a chance, take a peek to see how the most successful (IMO) have soft, even light in the backgrounds.

randomeyes Loc: wilds of b.c. canada

Linda From Maine wrote:

After a couple of summers chasing these guys, I de... (show quote)

I take all my wildlife ( and insects) shots in situ, all in the wild, no studio stuff, I take what is given. This was taken hand held, with my new (yippee )Canon 100 mm macro ( non stabilized) the background was a blackberry patch. I had to wait about 10 minutes motionless in the field till one these guys lit, then sneak up (ya right, I'm 6 feet 220) on it. Thankfully it stayed long enough for me to get this shot.

randomeyes Loc: wilds of b.c. canada

Frank2013 wrote:

Nice shot randomeyes, what's holding it back from great shot for me is motion blur of eye and wing tip focus. I am sure just getting one of these shots is difficult period.

Frank, thanks for the kind words. These things are so skittish that a mouse could fart and they would be spooked. No tripod here, just have to put camera on manual focus and rock back and forth without spooking it. It is continuously moving its head while at rest.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Linda From Maine wrote:

After a couple of summers chasing these guys, I decided I no longer have the patience, so kudos on your stamina

The pictures you took with your small-sensor Canon SX-50 inspired me to get a small-sensor Pentax Q-7, which I now use to photograph birds.

randomeyes wrote:

Frank, thanks for the kind words. These things are so skittish that a mouse could fart and they would be spooked. No tripod here, just have to put camera on manual focus and rock back and forth without spooking it. It is continuously moving its head while at rest.

The birds I photograph are less skittish, but that experience gives me deep respect for the skills needed to keep the subject properly composed and in focus {you'll notice I haven't displayed any of those images here} ... I do use a monopod / walking stick to help with stability, though.

randomeyes Loc: wilds of b.c. canada

rehess wrote:

The birds I photograph are less skittish, but that experience gives me deep respect for the skills needed to keep the subject properly composed and in focus {you'll notice I haven't displayed any of those images here} ... I do use a monopod / walking stick to help with stability, though.

It's taken me over 50 years of practice, I live in a fairly wild area of the world so there are a lot of subjects, I just hit 3 score and 10 and still carry a pack with my 7d, three lenses and a tripod, although I am slowing down! I still prefer the old DSLRs.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

That is nicely caught, it is a pity the background is so variable, as Linda mentions, but 't'ain't always possible! Further our previous chat on taking such things, I'll be interested to hear which lens you end-up using the most, 100mm macro or the 100-400mm.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

randomeyes wrote:

Green dragonfly on blackberry stock

Nice catch, nice color, and good general appeal. You have some of the same issues I encounter with dragonflies though. If part of him is deadly sharp, some other part is not. If you discover a solution please share it. I try to get the eye sharp and let the rest do what it will, but focusing on a dragonfly's eye is a joke with eyesight like mine. You've created a pleasing image, and thanks for sharing.

randomeyes Loc: wilds of b.c. canada

minniev wrote:

Nice catch, nice color, and good general appeal. You have some of the same issues I encounter with dragonflies though. If part of him is deadly sharp, some other part is not. If you discover a solution please share it. I try to get the eye sharp and let the rest do what it will, but focusing on a dragonfly's eye is a joke with eyesight like mine. You've created a pleasing image, and thanks for sharing.

No solution to "our" problem yet, these were taken with a Canon 100-400 mm ( I thought I had put on the photos I took with 100mm Macro, but put on the wrong ones) trying to answer the DOF problem, but to no avail. I refuse to capture them and put them in a fridge to make them docile, and shoot in studio. What I have done in the past is crop the photo removing some of the blurry bits,
just showing the head and thorax, which is sharp. I have a few slides where the complete insect is sharp, but that was years ago and if I remember was a happy mistake, sheer luck taken with an old Pentax Spotmatic. I find the cool mornings best, when they are sluggish, you have more time to move around and frame shots etc.