Unmolested pair ovipositing
Tandem flight to the next spot
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
…for your right
…to procreate!
Ahem, pardon the Beasties, but it seemed fitting and I love that song. Anyway…
In many species of dragon and damselflies, the males and females remain attached after mating while the females lay eggs. The reason is that solitary males will attack the couple so try to dislodge the male in order to mate with her himself. This often involves removing previously fertilized eggs from another mate. Pretty brutal. In the species that separate after mating, the male often follows and hovers around the female to protect her against new males while she lays the eggs he has fertilized. They both will often mate again.
Literally just as I got the camera on this pair of Common Green Darners an intruder came into frame and the fight was on. I have no shots of the pair alone it was that quick. I wasn’t ready for it, but I managed to get this shot of the battle. The mating pair are on the right and the intruder on the left - the males are blue and green. It all happened in a split second, but the pair fought off the attacker and flew away to lay more eggs.
The second and third photos are the same species from earlier during the same outing - this is how the pair travels together so she can lay eggs on floating plants. They are quite graceful doing this when left alone. As you can see though, it’s a dangerous time and dragonflies lead pretty rough-and-tumble lives. Common Green Darners are pretty large for the order - 3-4 inches from head to tail and the wingspan is about the same. When they buzz you, you know it!
Specific Feedback
Am trying to improve my Odonata photography in general. It is similar to bird photography in that these guys are small, tend to move erratically when active and don’t take direction. My strategy is to sit and wait and keep settings ready for quick moving subjects, but since when they land they sit for a few seconds, I don’t know that over 1/1000 is necessary. Thoughts on the composition, processing and camera tech are welcome.
Shutter-priority w/Auto ISO
S-AF w/focus peaking engaged
Animal eye/body detection
Burst mode w/electronic shutter (20 FPS)
Dual IS
Center-weighted metering
Exposure compensation used when needed
Usually have a CPL on the lens for extreme glare mitigation
Technical Details
All handheld in the kayak with CPL attached, but in varying states of being fully on.
#1 -
#2 & 3 -
Raw processing in Lightroom with the usual adjustments for contrast, color and cropping. Photoshop and Topaz Sharpen AI when needed for detail enhancement and distraction removal. The fight shot also has some Gen Fill to extend one side where it was very close to the edge of the frame.
Critique Template
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