This is from the archives, 5 years ago. I was looking for a different set of images and found this one instead. (Hope I can find the other ones when I have time…) I guess they save time by mating and depositing eggs at the same time.
Canon 7D2, 100-400 II + 1.4X, ISO 800, 1/1250 at f/10. I was obviously on a tripod because it is a focus stack,probably with manual focus which is faster than moving a focus point. Minimal work other than that, minor BG cleanup.
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Diane, this is a fine catch of this mating pair. Stacking movement like this is a challenge that you’ve met well here, with good sharpness in the bodies of both damsels. The movement artifacts in the wings look like movement, not stacking artifacts, which is a real bonus. The quality of their reflection is another bonus. I do think that reducing the brightness of the water (whether that’s an overall exposure reduction or a wide scale burning-in) would be good.
Great photo Diane. The angles of the damsels along with their reflections add nice lines to the composition. The blue coloring is quite striking and pulls my eyes right to the focal point. Nicely seen and captured.
Diane: What a good find both originally when you spotted this pair and when you rediscovered them in your archives. I can’t really add much to what Mark said except kudos for a fine image.>=))>
Diane, I am amazed that you were able to capture enough images to focus stack on these little guys. I agree with Mark’s comments. So glad you found this in your archives. It would be a shame to let it lie dormant on your hard drive! As Bill said, great find both times.
Thanks everyone! @Mark_Seaver, the focus stack was done manually in PS and the wings are as captured on each frame. Their bodies didn’t move significantly between the frames so I was able to make a clean mask to remove the OOF parts on one frame.
Can’t wait for next summer, armed with the R5 and 100-500 + 2X!! (Has anyone else noticed that dragonflies and damselflies get smaller each year?)
