Dragonflies and Damselflies

[Maximilian]

I've been on vacation so it took me some time to proceed these pics of two white-legged damselflies from earlier this month.

First is a male, second one took me some time to ID at all, as it is a very freshly hatched and immarture female.
Both 5D3+100-400L II + 1.4TC @560 mm

f/10, 1/1000, ISO1600


f/13, 1/250, ISO800

 

[Maximilian]

And with this damselfly I'm still unsure how to ID.
It seems to be freshly hatched and immarture female azure damselfly.
If anyone knows better, please let me know
5D3+100-400L II + 1.4TC @560 mm
f/10, 1/800, ISO1250

 

[Click]

Beautiful shots. Especially the first and second one. Well done, Maximilian.

 

[Maximilian]

Beautiful shots. Especially the first and second one. Well done, Maximilian.

Thanks, Click.
The second one is my fav.
Because I think it is really vivid with wing veins and body quite sharp.
And I don't know how short the time is to get a white-legged damselfly with these "colours"

 

[Maximilian]

I love dragonflies, but it seems that dragonflies also like me (and my family).
We had our first vacation to Rhodes since the pandemic started and right on the first day this dragonfly landed on my son's toe.
That one was shot with the cell, so quality is not the best. First time ever that I saw dragonflies on the beach.


After that, I started the "hunt". As I was travelling light, I only had my 200D (old diamond AF, meh!) with me.
But I also had the EF 70-300 DO which I bought years ago for its compactness.
And even though its optical performance is always discussed, I found myself quite positively surprised.
Especially now, as I used it the first time for dragonflies.

Even more difficult than the AF performance of the center point of the 200D was the determination of the species.
It took me three days and the remote help of my friend and his friend in Germany to find out that these are
black pennants (selysiothemis nigra). More pics to come later.

200D, 70-300DO, @300 mm, close to MFD (1.4 m), some cropping was needed.

This is a male black pennant (f/11, 1/1000, ISO800):


And this a female (f/11, 1/1000, ISO800):

 

[Click]

I really like your last picture. Great shot!

 

[Maximilian]

I really like your last picture. Great shot!

Thanks Click.

Question:
Do you see any nervous DO bokeh? Me not.
And I think I have pics with even more detail on the dragonfly.

I thought about selling the 70-300 DO, but I missed the point where the prices still were good.
And seeing this IQ, I think I'll keep it.

 

[Maximilian]

Some more female black pennants (selysiothemis nigra).
These were really tricky with the center AF point and about 5 - 6 Beaufort at the beach.
The amplitude of the stems was more than the wingspan of the dragonflies.

200D, 70-300DO, @300 mm, close to MFD (1.4 m), some cropping was needed.
(f/11, 1/1250, ISO800).
Last one is 1:1 (600x900) detail of the second, not bad for that "old" DO on a 24 MP APS-C sensor, isn't it?

 

[AlanF]

Some more female black pennants (selysiothemis nigra).
These were really tricky with the center AF point and about 5 - 6 Beaufort at the beach.
The amplitude of the stems was more than the wingspan of the dragonflies.

200D, 70-300DO, @300 mm, close to MFD (1.4 m), some cropping was needed.
(f/11, 1/1250, ISO800).
Last one is 1:1 (600x900) detail of the second, not bad for that "old" DO on a 24 MP APS-C sensor, isn't it?

View attachment 204315View attachment 204316View attachment 204317

That's a pretty impressive lens - you have a good copy. Some lenses are at their best close up.

 

[Click]

Great shots, Maximilian.

 

[Maximilian]

Here's my last set of black pennants (selysiothemis nigra).
And one can see the "bad sides" of my DO. If you look at the highlights on the wings, you can see the typical nervous behaviour of the DO in OOF areas.
Again
200D, 70-300DO, @300 mm, close to MFD (1.4 m), some cropping was needed.
(f/11, 1/1000, ISO800).
The last one is 1:1 (600x900) detail of the second, showing the highlights.
But that pic is still one of my favs, as you almost don't recoginze that flaw in the original pic. And I love highlights in the wings

 

[Click]

WOW Great shots again. Well done, Sir!

 

[Maximilian]

WOW Great shots again. Well done, Sir!

Thanks Click.
I am pretty much pleased, especially when I think about the gear I've used and how long it will take until I'll get a chance on this species again.

 

[ISv]

My first shots of Dragons for may be ~2 years... I was feeling "rusty" for the DIF: as every sport it needs constant practice...

 

[Click]

Very nice shots, ISv. I especially like the first picture. Well done.

 

[Maximilian]

My first shots of Dragons for may be ~2 years... I was feeling "rusty" for the DIF: as every sport it needs constant practice...

These look very well, especially when you call yourself "rusty".
Quite interesting IMO the first time I see emperors ovipositing in tandem position.
Normally I see females alone.

 

[Maximilian]

Back at my home grounds, I came across these redeyes.
5D4, 100-400L II + 1.4x, @560 mm plus cropping.

 

[Click]

Very nice pictures, Maximilian.

 

[ISv]

These look very well, especially when you call yourself "rusty".
Quite interesting IMO the first time I see emperors ovipositing in tandem position.
Normally I see females alone.

How did you ID the species? These are from Hawaii, not Europe...

 

[Maximilian]

How did you ID the species? These are from Hawaii, not Europe...

Hi ISv!
The emperor dragonfly (anax imperator) is a cosmopolite and quite common in a lot of regions in the world, especially Europe and Asia.
They also live at my ponds here in Germany.
I just saw it and said, "emperor, cool!".
Now, as you are asking me and making me rethink .
Of course, it could also be another subspecies from the genus anax and I just don't recognize the differences.
Please correct me if I am mistaken.

Here I have posted a female ovipositing at my local ponds.
And here is one of my best of a male (?) resting.

Edit:
I was curious:
Giant Hawaiian darner (anax strenuus) is a Hawaiian endemit. But looking at pics on the web it has a much more backish abdomen than yours.
It is particularly common at higher elevations.
I suppose, yours is a common green darner (anax junius) as this is the common subspecies in northern America and Hawaii, too.
But at a fast glance I couldn't tell the difference from anax imperator.