Dragonflies and Damselflies

Maximilian

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I spent a couple of hours standing in the water today trying to catch a sharp four-spotted chaser in flight. Almost did it :p
I got some sitting ducks and a swimming dragonfly also, will post more tomorrow
Great work, Erik. Love it. Hopeful to come close to that one day.

Dragonfly. It never fails that when I label a photo that I misspell the name. EOS R and Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC.
Really nice, CFB. And looking at the portait thread, this must have been a female - of course ;)
How close could you get with that 45 mm Tammy? (By the way: it's sad that you had to part with your RFs :cry:)
 
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Okay, so you believe you have seen everything? What about a swimming dragonfly? :p
I have absolutely no clue why it ended up in the water, maybe a mishap when it was going to catch an insect?
Anyway, it kind of paddled with the wings to a reed where it climbed up and was airborn again within seconds..
Unidentified species, possibly downy emerald?

https://flic.kr/p/2jczrBZ]F36A5194_DxO_full[/url] by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156501403@N04/]Erik Astrom[/url], on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2jczrAX]F36A5195_DxO_full[/url] by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156501403@N04/]Erik Astrom[/url], on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2jczrFr]F36A5197_DxO_full[/url] by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156501403@N04/]Erik Astrom[/url], on Flickr
 
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Ozarker

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Great work, Erik. Love it. Hopeful to come close to that one day.


Really nice, CFB. And looking at the portait thread, this must have been a female - of course ;)
How close could you get with that 45 mm Tammy? (By the way: it's sad that you had to part with your RFs :cry:)
I was probably 18” away. Huge crop.

Well, still have my RF 85 for now. I am very impressed with the Tamron and it’s close focus distance. A real bargain. :) Lemonade out of lemons. :)
 
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Maximilian

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Okay, so you believe you have seen everything? What about a swimming dragonfly? :p
...
Unidentified species, possibly downy emerald?
Great catch, Erik.
Looking at thorax, abdomen and wings I would give you a (y) on your guess of a downy emerald (Cordulia aenea).
The only thing that gets me puzzled are the dark eyes that are supposed to be greenish.
But maybe this is because of the light situation and backlight.

Here is one I caught a few days ago:

downy_emerald.JPG
 
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AlanF

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A Four-spotted Chaser being buzzed by a Common Blue Damselfly. Taken at a distance (6m) with a Sigma 150-600mm C on a 5DSR. The Siggie is an under-rated lens. My copy with a demanding sensor holds up well against 400mm DO II + 1.4xTC for sharpness but does lose out for speed of AF.
3Q7A0303_DxO_dragonfly_damselfly-ss.jpg
 
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Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
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... Sigma 150-600mm C on a 5DSR. The Siggie is an under-rated lens. My copy with a demanding sensor holds up well against 400mm DO II + 1.4xTC for sharpness but does lose out for speed of AF.
Congrats to your great copy. Of course it also takes some skills behind the VF - but only some ;)
 
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I am always facinated by the rally striped compound eyes. :cool:
I agree, I think Charles Darwin got it slightly wrong:
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that has the most spectacular color scheme... :D

A blue metallic finish, for example, doesn't seem very functional..? But it definitely looks great! :p

https://flic.kr/p/2jcQwXx]F36A4039_ZS_DMap_7p_ret_DxO_full[/url] by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156501403@N04/]Erik Astrom[/url], on Flickr
 
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Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
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I agree, I think Charles Darwin got it slightly wrong:
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives.
I am sure ;) you know the original phrase "Survival of the fittest" doesn't have its origin in Charles Darwin but in Herbert Spencer whilst discussing Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species".
And once again it is about being precise in phrasing when it comes to science - which I quite often miss :ROFLMAO: - because the phrase "the fittest" fits the best :p

But you are totally right
It is the one that has the most spectacular color scheme... :D
A blue metallic finish, for example, doesn't seem very functional..? But it definitely looks great! :p
The beautiful demoiselle is one of the most beautiful and fascinating damselflies.
Every time I see one - luckily there is a huge population nearby - I think "This can't be evolution! This must be some paint shop pimp up!" :ROFLMAO:
 
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And regarding evolution and survival of the fittest, why on earth has the four-spotted chaser got a transparent body? Most species (except very small insects and microorganisms) don't..
I am an engineer and I know that you make transparent designs only to prove that you actually can :p Otherwise it is simply not effective, it implies so much restrictions about which materials, internal components and chemistry you can use..

https://flic.kr/p/2jdb7kN]F36A4615_DxO_full[/url] by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156501403@N04/]Erik Astrom[/url], on Flickr
 
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