July 12, 2004
Flitty Fliers of Floyd
Oh dear. Another self-imposed frustration: photographing dragonflies!
They almost always don't cooperate. And they almost always ALMOST cooperate.
Okay. There it's landed on the spire of an orchard grass plant! This perfect specimen is nicely composed against a fairly uniform background in wonderful backlight in the morning sun but it's ten feet away. You crash your way clumsily through the chest-high wet pasture for the approach; you double-check your camera to be sure you've taken off the lens cap this time. You can't shuffle your feet any closer in the tangled grass so you lean a little farther, a little farther yet, closer and closer to fill the frame, breaking into a sweat with the exertion of both the concentration and the tai-chi-like balance with energy. There it is. Just a slight adjustment in the viewfinder so the right wing is in the frame. You've almost got it now, and…
I wish you could see the ones that got away.
Here's everything you never wanted to know about dragonflies and damselflies. Don't fail to take a look at the photography section!
Posted by fred1st at July 12, 2004 05:36 AM | TrackBackI love your photos. The dragonflies around here have a cute personality. When I am out walking in the park, one will sometimes come along beside me, just out of arm's reach and keep pace with me for about 5 or 10 seconds. I feel like I have an escort.
Posted by: Terry at July 12, 2004 11:28 AM
I certainly know how difficult it can be to get cooperation from six-legged subjects.
Try pixelizing a tiger beetle without first capturing it! Creep up to within five feet -- it flies 15 feet -- creep up to within five feet -- it flies 15 feet -- REPEAT -- (and they never seem to tire out).
We appreciate your toil in capturing such consistently wonderful photos for us to enjoy.
Posted by: Insectophile at July 12, 2004 10:54 PM