I have not been fortunate like Mark to have the dragon fly face me. I have returned several times to go for a shot but I have not even seen it there. I guess I will have to settle for this. The dragonfly is on a reed at a local park pond here in Knoxville.
I know a capture showing the eyes and face is preferred but I really like the colors especially the markings on back of the head.
Specific Feedback Requested
Anything feedback to improve is appreciated.
Technical Details
Canon 6Dmkii,
70-300L @ 300
F-11
Iso 200
Shutter 1/200
Cleaned up in Denoise AI
About a 75percent crop.
I toned down the brightness of the perch and the vertical reeds on the left.
A really wonderful look at this df - head on or not, Brian. Terrific colors in both the insect and his environment, and nice details - particularly in his wings. The only suggestions I have are to eliminate the oof leaf in the URC, and possibly the leaf in the Lower middle, but those are minor. Well done.
Brian, it is a fine look at this dragonfly. The face-on is nice, but nature doesn’t always cooperate, so we take what it gives us. I like @terryb suggestions. At least maybe toning down the bright leaf in the middle, I find that to be a distraction from the beautiful subject. Nice shot.
Brian, this is a fine look at the Eastern Pondhawk. You’ve got good sharpness through the body, head and eye. (While the tip of the abdomen is slightly soft, you have to look very carefully to notice that. The perch is also good with having it sharp from the frame to beyond the df looking good. I like the environment on the left, those leaves add some nice alternative colors and tell about where these df’s hang out. On most dragonfly shots, you’re limited by where it’s perched and where you can set up. For this view, you can’t get lower without having the wings hide the head and moving to your left would make getting the entire df sharp much more challenging. When you say a 75% crop do you mean cropped to 75% of full frame or cropped to 25% of full frame…from the posted size info, I’m guessing that you cropped to 75% of full frame?
Oh a beauty! These guys are often fond of particular perches so if you can position yourself nearby, they’ll come right back. Getting them head on is up to you though since they don’t listen. The color looks natural here and it shows how different each species can be from the rest.
