Dragonflies and Damselflies

Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
CR Pro
Nov 7, 2013
5,666
8,492
Germany
Emperor Dragonfly this afternoon. I set up the camera at f/11 and 1/800s to get some wing blur to get some motion and better dof.
Brilliant work, Alan. Wonderful combination of sharpness and blurr.
Thanks for the data. what ISO did you get then? ISO1000/1600?
I found that f/11 and about 1/1250 to 1/1600 work for me. Maybe I'll try a slower shutter next time.
How many attemps did you need?

The head in the second was unusually turning towards me, which I liked.
Me, too Alan. It's like a "Oh! Yet another paparazzo! Meh!" :ROFLMAO:
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
CR Pro
Aug 16, 2012
12,356
22,535
Brilliant work, Alan. Wonderful combination of sharpness and blurr.
Thanks for the data. what ISO did you get then? ISO1000/1600?
I found that f/11 and about 1/1250 to 1/1600 work for me. Maybe I'll try a slower shutter next time.
How many attemps did you need?


Me, too Alan. It's like a "Oh! Yet another paparazzo! Meh!" :ROFLMAO:
Thanks Max. Isos were 900-1400, well within my comfort range. DxO PL3 eats noise at these levels, but it does vary with camera. 5DSR and other 5Ds are fine, the 90D is not dealt with as well, Nikon D500/800 files are processed very well. I have been using too high shutter speeds. Ari Hazeghi uses very high speeds and I have been following him. But, I watched a live viewing via my local dealer where Danny Green, who seems a really nice guy, was using lower speeds. He goes around with a 100-400mm II and a 500mm.
 
Upvote 0

Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
CR Pro
Nov 7, 2013
5,666
8,492
Germany
I'm trying to identify these, could it be Coenagrion hastulatum, the northern damselfly?
I suppose you're wrong.
My classification book tells me that the male northern damselfly has a blue and black striped abdomen.

I would identify this as a scarce blue-tailed damselfly or small bluetail (Ischnura pumilio).
The female should be more into orange and the male schould be mostly black with a blue taillight.
To me this female looks more greenisch with some brown or yellow.
It could be a blue-tailed damselfly (ischnura elegans) like mine above, too.
Again the male should have a blue taillight. Colors of the female can differ from pink over violet to brown.
The one in the link to wiki looks almost like yours.
 
Upvote 0

ISv

"The equipment that matters, is you"
CR Pro
Apr 30, 2017
2,569
7,453
I imported 20 pictures into Zerene but only used maybe 10 of them... It's not as easy as it may seem, dragonflies tend to move their wings even when they sit down and any microscopic movement will cause a visible mismatch in the rib structure in the wings.. And also the abdomen expands and shrinks when the dragonfly breathes.

Regarding in flight pictures, some species have a habit to hover now and then while other maintain full speed whenever they are airborn. I've seen migrant hawkers hover for 5 seconds right in front of my camera but have never been able to shoot a black-tailed skimmer, they never seem to slow down.

You can't do this in the field where I am - too windy! Even if they don't move their wings you hardly can get two frames in the same position! There are very rare days when it will depend just on the Dragonfly movement!
 
Upvote 0

ISv

"The equipment that matters, is you"
CR Pro
Apr 30, 2017
2,569
7,453
Here are mine from the weekend... I have also some in fly but after such a perfect photos posted from others I'm ashamed to post them here...
Erik - you are not the single perpetrator but probably the main :D! BTW - you are talented photog (and probably talented engineer) but your ideas about the evolution and how it works are more appropriate for the human society, not for the nature:

"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"

Samples against that: cockroaches, scorpions are not between the more colorful, spiders have some exempts - but all of these are thriving and are able to survive a lot of challenging conditions. It is question not of color but of more (and fast!) reacting genome!
And for Maximilian: if you are already fit for some conditions does not improve your chances for surviving the change of the conditions. You must be adaptable in order to have an advantage/get fit in constantly (despite slowly) changing conditions! In fast changing conditions - good luck (especially for highly complicated organisms/societies)!
People are not between the most colorful species on our planet but they are occupying/and dictating plenty of space on this planet... because they are suppose to be smart :oops:! In fast changing conditions we recently demonstrated that we (or some of us!) are not able to get "fit" fast enough!
On the other hand in the human society the most colorful celebrities and politicians (;)) usually have - but not necessarily, more chances than the others but they still need to have and demonstrate some brain! Otherwise they become celebrities for one occasion or politicians for one term...

Sorry for the long and definitely not complete and very deep philosophizing about something out of photography but it's part of the live - even for photogs (just see the reaction of different companies that produce photo equipment to the changing conditions of the market)!

DSC_7908_DxO.jpgDSC_7934_DxO.jpgDSC_8071_DxO.jpg
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: 6 users
Upvote 0

ISv

"The equipment that matters, is you"
CR Pro
Apr 30, 2017
2,569
7,453
And one more (bad one!): please notice how the head is keeping the horizon! I wouldn't notice this if I didn't got an occasional photo (very blurred) from the previous day, of one doing one of that fast/unpredictable turns that they use to do - same trend of keeping the horizon with the head/eyes!!!

DSC_7892_DxO.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Upvote 0
If you are in a hover at an 80° bank it could be no more than 1.0g.
A hover at 80° bank would lead to an astounding acceleration. :p
But it is possible that the dragonfly was doing a "hammerhead" in more or less 0g. They seem to be pretty skilled in aerobatics..
So much easier to shoot when they are grounded.. Or maybe not :rolleyes:

https://flic.kr/p/2jeGRwf]F36A8241_ZS_DMap_2p_ret_DxO_full[/url] by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156501403@N04/]Erik Astrom[/url], on Flickr
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 7 users
Upvote 0
Jul 29, 2012
17,656
6,352
Canada
A hover at 80° bank would lead to an astounding acceleration. :p
But it is possible that the dragonfly was doing a "hammerhead" in more or less 0g. They seem to be pretty skilled in aerobatics..
So much easier to shoot when they are grounded.. Or maybe not :rolleyes:

I really like this picture. Well done, Erik.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0