Flying Dragons

[Loupey]

I know... I shoot/post flying dragons a lot here But action was slow and all that kept my interest were these fellows hunting and mating all over the pond.

Only the first image here at ISO 400, 300mm, f/6.7, 1/350s.

The others at ISO 800, 300mm + 2x, f/11, 1/250s. #3 and #4 are uncropped.

All hand-held, manually focused

Sorry - not very good - but hey they were at ISO 800 (approaching storm). The sharpest image came exactly 1 frame after #4 here. But the bugger was moving too fast and I clipped almost his entire right wing (his right, my left)

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

WOW Loupey - nothing short of amazing here "AGAIN" - Been a while since I have had time to do alot of looking around here due to work and this is the first post I am treated to!

Not sure which I like better #1 is very cool - and #3 and #4 are just SWEET. Well done once again!

[Knight]

You have to be the King of in flight Dragons Well captured Loupey

[Lava Lamp]

Having tried this myself several times with poor results (the shooting, not the flying) I admire the effort. The photos, alas, are a notch below your usual standard, though the last one comes close.

[Loupey]

Thanks, guys, for the comments!

It was fun and I hope to try again during slightly brighter conditions when I can drop the ISO back down to 400.

Here is the "lost" shot that I mentioned came one frame after #4 of the original post. It is very tough not to "lead" the subject both in tracking and focusing. As you can see, the dragonfly flew perfectly into the DOF but I was just a skosh behind in the tracking. First image is full frame, 2nd is the crop of the same image. Would have been sweet. Thus the use of 3 mad smileys

Still trying to get a show-stopper clear image of one in flight. One holding/eating prey while hovering would be the ideal shot - oh, man!

[mn shutterbug]

That last image rocks. I don't think I'd have the patience to even attempt such a feat. Thanks for showing them.

[Loupey]

Thanks, Mike.

Here are three new ones from this evening. Same place, same technique, same equipment, virtually same settings (still ISO 800 unfortunately).

Was waiting for one to come directly at me. Still waiting for that one and some shots with the sun.

Thanks for looking.

[Bevb]

They get better as they go on Loupey, nothing different here, same great standards and determination to get that better shot, the last images are terrific, i tried this the other day and got so dizzy following this hawker, lost balance tripped over dog, and ended up backside in the blackberry bush, Ouch!

Are the last 2 images with the 2X? i just cant get on with mine, i dont think i have ever got a near to sharp picture with it, especially flight shots.

[Loupey]

LOL, Bev! I hope you, your dog, and your equipment didn't get hurt in the process. I should have put a "do not attempt this" disclaimer on my post

All three of these last images were with the 2x on the 300mm. Strange about your experience with the 2x. Your images without the TC are superb so I think that you must have received a lemon converter. Would be interesting if you can borrow another 2x for a weekend to see if there is a difference. I use mine with my 70-200 as well and the results are highly acceptable (though not as sharp as with the 300mm).

[readingr]

Loupey,

I must try this - but first I must find some dragon flies :lol:

Will try this with birds first - got plenty of them around.

Roger

[scott-devon]

Great shots Loupey. I tried this yesterday and found it an excercise in frustration, man they change direction quickly! I'm sure the fellow coming up the trail behind me turned off to avoid an apparent lunatic after watching me spinning about snapping shots and muttering to myself while taking pictures of what would appear to be empty air from a distance.

Twas fun trying though....

[Loupey]

...I'm sure the fellow coming up the trail behind me turned off to avoid an apparent lunatic after watching me spinning about snapping shots and muttering to myself while taking pictures of what would appear to be empty air from a distance.

That's a very good and accurate description Don't give up - once you get one (or even a part of one) in the frame, you may get hooked.

Stay loose. Swivel from the knees up through your spine. Without moving your feet, you can swivel the camera nearly 360 degrees (almost 180 degrees in bothdirections) and shoot with both eyes open. Good luck and don't fall down like Bev

[Loupey]

Saw a new species yesterday that I had not seen before. Very striking colors but smaller than the others.

Didn't get too many chances and the lighting wasn't particularly good for in-flight shots. Not very good images this time around. Hope to see more of this one so that I can learn its flight patterns (each species flies differently).

There were at least 4 species flying about in good numbers. One lone GB Heron was obivously distracted from being buzzed. I waited a while to see if he would strike at one in mid air. No luck although he did have his head cocked and ready at times.

[mobiek]

Great shots of the dragonflies. Excellent work.

[Loupey]

Thanks for looking, mobiek, and welcome to PR.

I did get another shot of that new one. Still not great as the head is just OOF. This one is cropped quite substantially for me to show detail here.

Work in Progress

[Bevb]

LOL, Bev! I hope you, your dog, and your equipment didn't get hurt in the process. I should have put a "do not attempt this" disclaimer on my post

All three of these last images were with the 2x on the 300mm. Strange about your experience with the 2x. Your images without the TC are superb so I think that you must have received a lemon converter. Would be interesting if you can borrow another 2x for a weekend to see if there is a difference. I use mine with my 70-200 as well and the results are highly acceptable (though not as sharp as with the 300mm).

I think you may be right here Loupey, i have never been happy with the 2X since i first got it, il try a friend of mines and see if there is a difference, but can these be rectified if it is dodgy? and have to ask were these shots handheld with this combo or was a tripod/monopod used?

[Canon_Bob]

Really Really REALLY awesome stuff Loupey! Love the GBH and the Dragonfly. You are inspiring me to give this a try.

[Loupey]

Bev - if it turns out that you have a bad 2x, you could probably have Canon look at it (it's about 1 year old isn't it?). You might have an element out of alignment. These are all handheld. As much as they fly around, there would be no way that I could prevent a monopod from wrapping around my legs. I'd say the hardest part is keeping the camera up to my face for long periods of time. The dragonflies come into range for such brief periods that there is no time to raise the camera. The second hardest part is trying to find a grossly OOF dragonfly (at about 6 to 8 feet) in the viewfinder with a 600mm lens

Canon_Bob - thanks for the kind words! I hope you, Bev, and everyone else here successful hunting as it is very fun, challenging, and addictive. Unfortunately, you may find stationary dragonflies to be a bit boring as a result