Prachtlibellen (Demoiselle?) in front of a small cascade. Sunny days, even with high sun, are good for dragon-flies. I wanted to have a shallow depth of field IOT get the bubbles from the water spray. To get both dragon-flies in the focus area is a challenge.
The dragon-flies are a bit central, but cropping would take away to much of the Bokeh. What do you think?
1/4000s; f: 5.6. ISO 400
Armin, this is pretty cool. I like how you got down low and shot at their level. I wish I could see the DF’s better; they are almost silhouette. I’m wondering, if that wasn’t your goal (because silhouettes are certainly a choice), if you were to work with the highlights and shadows to bring them out more. You might could do a little crop by taking a little off the right side. I think you would still have plenty of the bubbles. Of course that is a personal choice as well. I do like how the DF in flight is flying within the bright area of the BG. Nicely done. I have yet to get an in flight shot of these guys. Great job!
Hi Armin. This is a really cool image of the dragonflies and I love all the bokeh balls. For my taste, the foreground isn’t adding much to the image and there are plenty of bokeh balls to support a crop. If you have the pixels to support it, you might looks at something like this:
It would also bring more emphasis on those cute little flowers poking up that are almost lost in the bokeh.
As always, composition is a matter of taste so take this as one person’s opinion
Armin: Really special result here. I like your original image and also like @Dennis_Plank’s crop. Great technique and a wonderful result. >=))>
Armin,
The photo has an effervescence about it. Its fun and quirky as well, not sure if that is how you wanted it to come across.
The out of focus area at the bottom of the frame and the very bright reflections on the right grab too much attention from the dragonflies that they become almost incidental. I like the crop that @Dennis_Plank suggested. But in addition to the crop I would clone out the reflections in his crop that are along the bottom edge and maybe on the LRC so as to remove any distractions from the dragonflies. The bokeh of the background works very well to accentuate the dragonflies. Maybe some detail in the dragonflies is an interesting idea as well, but as is as silhouettes, adds an air of mystery. Its nice when effort pays off in a good photo.
Prachtvoll indeed! I agree with Dennis’s crop suggestion and Youssef’s reaction to the lower reflections. Great to get one insect resting and one in flight, both sharp. Above all, it’s a pleasing composition, and the bokeh balls, which I love, have me wondering what equipment you used.
Regarding equipment: It was a Z9 with the 100-400/4.5-5.6 at the far end. On that hot day I was standing in the river and held the camera low.
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Armin, this is a view that speaks very well of summer and dragonflies. The oof specular reflections have a very joyful feeling. Getting two dragonflies sharp at the same time is quite a feat. I too like Dennis’s crop suggestion but do enjoy the specular reflections in the water below and how those balance with the bright background above. Based on the stance of the critter on the right, I’m thinking that these are damselflies (often hold their wings up when perched, rather than flat as most dragonflies do when they perch.)
