Well, that’s an interesting wing position; you caught it on a bend in the flight path! Those curvy wings make this for me, with the bonus of very clear brown patches. The only thing I’m only 99% on is the catchlight in the eyes. I’d be tempted to reduce its size a little. But, hey, it’s a majestic dragonfly shot.
This is a fun action shot and f9 worked well getting most of the dragonfly in the plane of focus. The sharpness is good too. The catch light in the eye is not blown and due to the structure of the eye, it will always be large in size. The curve in the wings and the asynchronous wingbeats are captured perfectly. An impressive shot for sure…Jim
Allen, catching a DF in flight is always a challenge. You’ve done very well here with good sharpness in the body and the frozen wings, showing off it’s ability to move each wing separately (which makes flight engineers jealous!).
Wow Allen…What a shot! The detail in the wings is impressive! I love how the front end of these critters look like helicopters:o) He looks like he’s ready for action! Love it!
Allen: I am absolutely with envy over this shot. I have never caught a DF in flight, especially one so well done as this. How much of a crop is this? Did you just set your focal point center frame and let the camera track or was your camera able to follow and track without hunting for BG details? No matter how you did it the final result is pretty spectacular.>=))>
@Bill_Fach
Hi Bill, this is about a third of original frame. I think the details held up well to the crop.
I had the autofocus area set to the full frame with animal tracking on. I pre-focused on the water close to where the dragonfly had been flying. With the blue sky reflected on the water, the autofocus was able to latch onto the dark dragon for a few frames. I kept bumping focus til it locked into the dragonfly. Many tries yielded this result. I was staking out a kingfisher spot but got this shot instead. Much thanks for the comment!
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Jim_Zablotny
(Jim Zablotny)
selected this as an Editor's Pick
8
Overall sharpness, simple composition, and photographer’s skill in capturing a very difficult subject. I also liked the bend in the wings due to the dragonfly pushing and or pulling its wings through the air.
with envy over this shot. I have never caught a DF in flight, especially one so well done as this. How much of a crop is this? Did you just set your focal point center frame and let the camera track or was your camera able to follow and track without hunting for BG details? No matter how you did it the final result is pretty spectacular.>=))>