I was out in the yard a while ago and spotted this dragonfly that liked this perch in front of our lantana plant. I liked how the flowers were oof and I was able to get a shot of him in this position with eyes showing up pretty good.
Specific Feedback Requested
Anything you can think of that would help. This is almost full frame. I cropped to 8X11 1/2.
Technical Details
Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 100 mm L macro lens, KX-800 twin flash with homemade diffuser. Manual settings at f9, 1/200, ISO 250. Edited in LR very minor (highlights/shadows, that kind of thing.
Wonderful, Shirley. Love how the OOF background colors seems to be reflected in his eyes. Your homemade diffuser works so well in keeping the harsh lighting off his eyes also. Great leading lines with the wings at a perfect angle. Very nicely seen and captured.
Wow! This is wonderful, Shirley! I love how the oof flowers in the bg match the eye color of the dragonfly. I love the composition too! You also got such great detail on the face, with the eyes and the little hairs. Really beautiful capture.
Shirley, the details in those eyes are outstanding…I tried but gave up counting the facets… The oof flowers are a great addition plus the turquoise in it’s “nose” makes a nice change-of-pace. BTW, I’m thinking this is a female Blue Dasher.
Ditto what everyone has said…apart from the ID, that I can’t really help with. It’s definitely not a clubtail, but that’s about all I got for ID. So glad you were on hand to catch this.
Female blue dashers are just as colorful as their male counterparts. The eyes provide some wonderful detail and the soift lighting brings out the eye detail. Well done…Jim
Shirley, I tip my hat off to you. Wow! I’ve only started photographing damselflies and dragonflies a year ago. Although I have been able to get good shots of them in flight, I have never been able to nail the sharpness you got in those eyes. Amazing capture and sharpness!
As for the ID, have you tried iNaturalist? I often get my photos ID-ed there easily and fast.
I do not see anything I could say to help improve this great capture. I only have a wish that you could have captured the full wings. However, when it comes to nature, and especially dragonflies, we cannot always get everything we want.
Good suggestions, @EgĂdio . I did go to INaturalist and their suggestions were; Blue Dasher, Three-striped Dasher, Swift Setwing or Thornbush Dasher. I’m not sure how to distinguish between these suggestions, but I do use INaturalist quiet often.
Thank you, @linda_mellor . I do not really know odonates that well. However, based on the ones that have been identified by iNaturalist, this photo here does not look like what was identified in my cases as Blue Dasher or Swift Setwing. I am leaning towards a Thornbush Dasher if I were to suggest an ID.
