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Dragonfly

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razormac

razormac

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I couldn't get close and he (or she) was moving almost constantly, but I managed to get two halfway decent shots. Taken with my D5000 and 55-200mm handheld.







 
Trying to wait for a dragonfly to pose takes a lot of patience. I was shooting them yesterday and found that I could get within a few inches of them if I just moved close to the branch they landed on and stayed there. They would fly away for awhile, then circle around and come back and land on the very same twig! I couldn't believe it.

I used my D70 with a manual focus/manual shutter and aperture MicroNikkor 55mm f3.5 lens. With my head about 3 feet away from the dragonfly, I could keep my eye on the viewfinder while very slowly moving the camera within a foot of the little guy while constantly focusing. I could barely see the focus, but well enough to snap the shutter when I felt I was close enough. Had to guess at the composition, though.





--



'Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to behold the sun.' Eccl. 11:7

http://wordydave.zenfolio.com
 
Very nice.

In my case I was on an observation deck overlooking a river valley. I got tired of taking scenery shots but the only living things within view were a buzzard (who didn't hang around long enough for more than one distance shot, and the dragonfly.

He never got within 10 feet of the deck so I had to be content with using the zoom and hoping for the best.
 
Nice shots.

I think critter photos are kind of like fishin'....you have to have A LOT of patience!

I wonder if some type of "lure" would work? Not sure what dragonfly's like to eat.
--
Coming to you from the beautiful Ozark Mountain Country
where if you're too busy to go fishin', then you're too busy!
 
I feel your pain. I find Dragonflies very frustrating. I see many great shots of Dragonflies but I never can get close enough. They come into our backyard during the summer and fly around the pool occasionally laying eggs, but they seldom land. The few that do land do so in a high hedge and even with a 300mm lens I can’t get a decent shot. I have much the same luck with bees.
--

While amateurs change the camera’s settings; many Pro’s prefer to change the light.

Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/
 
Brooks P said:
I feel your pain. I find Dragonflies very frustrating
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more. I have only a few halfway decent dragonfly shots.
D70 28-200mm 1/800s f/7.1 at 200.0mm



--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
 
WordyDave said:
I was shooting them yesterday and found that I could get within a few inches of them if I just moved close to the branch they landed on and stayed there. They would fly away for awhile, then circle around and come back and land on the very same twig! I couldn't believe it.
Click to expand...
Nice shot! I found the exact same technique worked for me when trying to shoot some Uinta Ground Squirrels a week or so ago. These little guys are so naturally curious you can approach them a few feet at a time, then watch as they scurry away, only to reappear about 10s later. Repeat a few times and you'll be close enough to fill the entire frame!!!
 
Nice sequence.
Thanks

It's probably not the case, but it sure seems like since I got my new D5000 the animals and bugs are keeping their distance. The overlook where I got the dragonfly pictures has been a reliable haunt for turkey buzzards--have seen many up quite close and personal (until I got the D5000).

That and we have had an unusually wet spell with many rain days (I'm a fair weather photographer), hence my frustration in not being able to get any closer to the dragonfly (which looked to be an interesting subject).

Regardless, the pictures you all submitted give me hope. I'll keep trying. :)
 
That’s right, rub my nose in it, pour sand in the wound ; ) Gee, I’d be ecstatic if I could get a shot like that.

Ever try photographing a Dragonfly as it zooms by you only a few feet away? That is what I would have to do to get that close to a Dragonfly in my backyard – shoot it as an DIF – and it isn’t easy, d@mn near impossible, heck, so far it has been impossible.

--

While amateurs change the camera’s settings; many Pro’s prefer to change the light.

Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/
 
Brooks P said:
That’s right, rub my nose in it, pour sand in the wound ;~) Gee, I’d be ecstatic if I could get a shot like that.
Click to expand...
Sorry, Brooks - and thanks!
I really do have only a few decent and lucky dragonfly shots, though.
Brooks P said:
Ever try photographing a Dragonfly as it zooms by you only a few feet away?
Click to expand...
Tried. Miserable failure.
I find bees in flight a heck of a lot easier than dragonflies.
I remember a spectacular shot posted here of a DIF, but I forget who did it.

--
Patco
A photograph is more than a bunch of pixels
 
I got one marginal inflight shot which I didn't post. I say marginal because you could tell it was a dragonfly and count the wings, but that was about it.
 
Here it is.



 
I've got some just about like that, or did. I'm fairly lenient when it comes to keepers, and I have a lot of trash in my HD folders -- primarily because I'm to lazy to take the time to go through and delete all the rubbish, but I do have my limits.
--

While amateurs change the camera’s settings; many Pro’s prefer to change the light.

Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/
 
This thread was started by razormac and he/she did not ask for CC and none was offered by the other posters. The discussion centered on people’s experiences trying to photograph what can be an elusive subject. I was somewhat afraid that I would hijack the thread with my reply to Patco, but was relieved to see that didn’t happen. I know you are new to this forum so here are a few suggestions if you want CC.
  • As a general rule of thumb, you should start your own thread if you want CC on a few of your photos; don’t hijack somebody else’s thread.
  • You need to ask for CC; just posting pictures does not guarantee that you will receive any CC.
  • Posting nine very large images is too many and is against the forum rules; keep the number around three or four.
  • The thread started off with the title “Dragonfly”, yet four of your nine photos are of a Housefly. Keep the pictures focused on one topic, such as one subject like Dragonflies, or one photographic issue like underexposure, DOF, focusing, etc.
--

While amateurs change the camera’s settings; many Pro’s prefer to change the light.

Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/
 
As the OP, CC is always welcome (though like most people I prefer it to be tactfully given). I don't mind someone taking the discussion down different paths as I am trying to learn. The only caveat is if I was asking for help in a particular area and got diverted.

It is He if it matters to anyone (don't know why it would, Mike to my friends).

The main point (if there was one) to my post was the observation that all the critters had somehow learned that I had a new camera and were avoiding me. I do appreciate and envy the excellent shots posted by others here, and hope to be able to share some of similar quality someday. If the critters and weather will cooperate. :)
 
The main point of my post was that on this and other photography forums there is sort of an unwritten etiquette, that when followed keeps people’s feelings from being trampled on. I don’t start that many new threads; out of more than 8000 posts I have only started 151 threads and most of those were back in 2002-2003 when I was new to digital. I don’t mind if one of my threads gets hijacked, but many people do and I have read many a post from people asking other forum members to NOT hijack their threads.

I see it all the time, someone starts a thread and it is going along nicely and then someone changes the subject and there are fifteen or twenty replies completely off topic and generally only of interest to the two or three parties involved in the hijacking. I have been guilty myself, but if I see that it is going to persist I apologize to the OP and try and steer the tread back to the original topic.

As for CC, I generally don’t give it unless it asked for, and I will write what I think about the photo. I’m not going to tell someone that their photo is an utter piece of dung, but I’m also not going to tell them that it looks good when it doesn’t. Generally I don’t comment unless there are good points and I think that some constructive criticism will be received in the same vain as it is being offered.

Now, back to your Dragonflies, or more specifically critters avoiding you. I think there is a lot of merit in that and I believe it whole heartedly. There is a neighborhood Red-tailed hawk that will fly over my yard when I’m out working, barely above tree top level. This darn bird will then emit a shrill cry, just to attract my attention, and circle the yard. By the time I am able to get my camera, the bird is either gone completely or but a mere speck in the sky. Even a couple of my neighbors laughingly tell me that the RTH has my number and is taunting me – I am convinced they are right. But it isn’t just that darn RTH either, I have touched Hummingbirds in the back yard, but I’m lucky if I can get within 30 feet of them if I have my camera. Much the same with bees, and no I haven’t touched any bees lately as I’m allergic to their sting, but I swear they will not settle down when I have my camera.

--

While amateurs change the camera’s settings; many Pro’s prefer to change the light.

Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/
 
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