1/125sec f/22 . Tamron SP 90mm macro lens. Nikon D850. Dragonflies and damselflies were abundant in this meadow just outside London. As they awake they are quite dopey and easy to photograph, and the dew drops are a bonus too! I know that the main abdomen area is slightly more sharp than the head, but played that off against how much of the whole dragonfly was in focus, and was quite pleased to get the area from the head right back to the wings in focus, but any advice on doing this better gratefully received.
Phillip, he sure is colorful, and full of dew drops. Very nice to find one like that. I would much prefer the eyes to always be in focus over the body (even when the body is this colorful and full of dew drops). You were at f22, so you were getting about all the DOF you could squeak out. Some of these folks that are good at image stacking would probably went that route, (I haven’t tried it yet), since your subject stayed so still for you).
I just enlarged your image again, and it looks like it is sharp in front of his eyes, so I’m guessing that maybe the damselfly moved his head some, and at shutter speed 1/125, in blurred slightly. Did you take any other shots that maybe he stayed still, should that be the case? I love how the blade of grass he is on is bowed forward, and lots of dew on it as well.
One of my favourite subjects… aren’t they gorgeous? I agree with Shirley that the eyes should be in focus, so with f/22 just focusing at the back of the eyes, should do that. But from this distance you will not be able to get the entire demoiselle sharp. You could move back a bit but then the background would also become sharper and more disturbing. So I would keep the distance and personally, when they sit still like that, I carefully move the vegetation away with bamboo sticks I carry around with me. You have to move VERY slowly and carefully though, in order not to frigthen them because then they let themselves drop … and not to touch the blade of grass he’s sitting on as that will certainly disturb him and might reduce the dew drops.
Allternatively, I would take a larger aperture (f/5,6?) , focus on the eyes and let everything else blur out. I like that type of photo, but I appreciate this was not what you were wanting as a result.
Philip: Wonderful find and a solid capture. Good points by Shirley and Ingrid. At f22 on a 90mm lens I would expect a touch more DOF. Since I’m a single capture guy myself I’ve taught myself to guesstimate the hyperfocal point and then check it with the DOF preview button. Getting the eyes sharp is the critical spot and I’m very OK with other parts going OOF. >=))>
Thank you to everyone for helpful suggestions and perceptive observations. Somehow I know I should have managed to get the head pin-sharp, but in this case I am also enjoying having most of the dragonfly in focus and seeing it in its context waking up covered in the morning dew!
Phillip, this is one of those shots where there’s no way to get all that you want sharp unless you do a stack. Yes, getting the eyes sharp is the first requirement, but the dew drops along the abdomen and the base of the wings are important as well. The blue subject with green background is a fine combination.
