I shot a sequence of these two (over 19 seconds) and they both look like males. A few shots later the one on top flew away and I lost sight of the other one.
All comments welcome!
Raw file had only slight Highlight adj and a tweak of Texture. Cropped to about 80% of the full frame. Into PS for denoise and about 4 spots on the water removed. That was it. The lens was the 100-400 II + 1.4X.
I would have guessed the one getting dunked is a female. I think that after mating the male often holds on to the female while she lays the fertilized eggs. Maybe this was his way of saying “See you!” to the lady. But this behaviour might be too aggressive for that, so you may well be right and one male is showing the other who’s the boss. I think we need to know if the one on the left is male or female. All that said (!), it’s a very clear shot of interesting insect activity, with nice reflections.
Very interesting activity, Diane. It looks like the one on the right is trying to drown the one on the left. Wonderful details in this action shot, whatever they are doing.
Wow! A really interesting sequence. I have no idea what they’re doing, but it’s interesting behavior with really good details.
Oh! This is a great sequence showing behaviour. I also have no idea what the pair are doing, but I’ve enjoyed the images very much.
The one getting dunked looks like a female, because of the reduced amount of blue, touches of white and more black in her abdomen. The paler eye in #2 also supports female. I don’t have a damselflies of the west book so I can’t ID this pair. It also happens with some damselflies and dragonflies that the female to go completely underwater as she lays her eggs (but I’ve only seen the pair “back down” a stem to do that). The “head dunking” is quite a surprise, with the first two shots looking especially good.
Nice capture Diane and great details. It is amazing the position these dragon flies get into. I need to revisit using the 100-400 ii with the 1.4, it is a nice lens setup to have.
Fantastic series, Diane. I have no clue who is who and what they are doing, but this is an amazing series. Truly great captures.
Awesome behavioral series, Diane.
