aka Sympertrum costiferum - a very later hanger-on eking out the last of the fall warmth (this was early November). This is a two image stack combining a cool head tilt with another shot where the head was in its resting position. This is a male and a little over 1 inch long. The saffron color in the leading edge of the wings is more prominent in the females whose whole coloration is a yellowish green. I know the background isn’t the best for a dragonfly, but he was pretty sluggish and so I took what he gave me and then let him be so he could die in peace.
Specific Feedback Requested
Open to processing ideas.
Technical Details
Handheld
Lr for processing - boosted exposure a little and did the usual S-curve for contrast. A little texture, clarity & vibrance. Sharpening and nr. Used the Calibration panel to boost the blue saturation a bit for better color separation.
Zerene for a quick stack of only two images and a little retouching to get the two shots to blend more seamlessly. Then I fixed the white balance and a few other things it needed. Cropped some distracting bits at the edges.
A wonderful photo, Kris. One key in photography is shapes and you have quite a few in this photo. The color blend with the background and the subject worked out well. I am not crazy about the hole in the leaf on the right, but then again that is part of the story with the age of the leaf. There is a little tan stick on the ULC, that may be one item to take out. The red wing tips I have never seen before, amazing what a photo captures that general public never sees. Well done!!!
Kris, what a nice shot of this beautiful DF. The leaves make for a wonderful BG, so that was nice that you were able to get a couple of shots of him while he rested on the leaves. I like @Dean_Salman idea of removing (or maybe even darkening/blurring) the little limb in the ULC. Truly a nice shot as presented though.
Thanks @linda_mellor, @Dean_Salman & @Shirley_Freeman - I just glazed over that little stick because I was so obsessed with the dragonfly itself. And I should have said there was a metric ton of retouching on this instead of a little. I had to paint in the sharper leaf between all of the veins in the wings on the right. The little guy moved a fraction of an inch and it lined up mostly, but I worked on it forever. Ha. I guess it was so painful I blocked it out.
I think a lot of skimmers have wing structures like that…there’s a word for it, but my dragonfly book isn’t to hand so I can’t remember. Neat things though and I think they contribute to the rigidity of the wings themselves.
