New Dragons, Olympia Fields, IL

[nps474]

It's pretty cloudy out today, no real winners but I wanted to post some shots anyway.

[Ultra Magnus]

Quick question- How the heck do you get dragonflys to sit still long enough to shoot such great photos of them!!??

I was in texas a couple of weeks ago, and saw some wonderfully colorfull dragonflys, but I couldn't get with in ten feet of them!

What lens were you using?

Thanks,
BM

[nps474]

Quick question- How the heck do you get dragonflys to sit still long enough to shoot such great photos of them!!??

I was in texas a couple of weeks ago, and saw some wonderfully colorfull dragonflys, but I couldn't get with in ten feet of them!

What lens were you using?

Thanks,
BM

Haha, yes, getting them to pose for you is the tricky part indeed. It's all about stalking them, which takes time and patience. For these shots I put myself into a grassy area just opposite a small marsh. Then, I would slowly pan my eyes across the tips of the grass and weeds till I spot one chilling out. Then, I very SLOWLY advance towards the creature and snap like mad till it takes off. If you get lucky, some will stay put until your lens almost brushes against them. All these were shot with a SONY A-100 and a 90mm Tamron macro lens.

[GeraldTheMouse]

Olimpia Fields isn't too far from here. :B

But great shots! I like the second one the most, though.

[AgingEyes]

Great shots and thanks for the instructions !!

[Ultra Magnus]

Haha, yes, getting them to pose for you is the tricky part indeed. It's all about stalking them, which takes time and patience. For these shots I put myself into a grassy area just opposite a small marsh. Then, I would slowly pan my eyes across the tips of the grass and weeds till I spot one chilling out. Then, I very SLOWLY advance towards the creature and snap like mad till it takes off. If you get lucky, some will stay put until your lens almost brushes against them. All these were shot with a SONY A-100 and a 90mm Tamron macro lens.

Thanks- I was out in the wilderness recently and ran into a few dragonflies. Getting the camera to focus on those tiny buggers was a challenge, but once I did, I just did like you said and moved in closer and closer snapping away 'til it flew away. I got this one shot w/ mya A700 and 18-200 kit lens (not the best lens). A little while later, I spotted this bright red-ish one, but my buddy's dog (who joined us on the nature hike) spooked it before I could get close enought to fire off one shot.

BM

P.S. This is a pretty decent crop of a bigger picture...

[nps474]

bmadau, I love your shot. Excellent especially considering if this is one of your first outings for dragons. I have not seen this species around my neck of the woods. Love the colors. Did you feel your heart rate increase as you crept up on your prey?

[Ultra Magnus]

More like felt my face turn blue as I held my breath as to not make a sound, though the branches cracking under my feet were far louder than any breath I could take... After looking through yours again, #2 and #6, imo, are really great. I think mine may be a bit over exposed, or maybe it's just the direct sunlight. It was the golden hour, but still pretty harsh I guess. After scoping out that location (btw, there are beaver there, yes, we have beavers in the desert) going at surise would be a lot better for the light than going at sunset. Next time, and maybe I'll get some waders or a small inflatable boat to float out on the water to and maybe get a shot of a beaver...

BM

[Asmarlak]

My Texas Draagonfly

[Asmarlak]

My Texas Dragonfly

[mn shutterbug]

Those are some beautiful dragons, fellas. Since others are tagging along, I may as well too. These are my first attempts. I couldn't find mcu else today so I decided I may as well shoot something. These are environmental shots with my 100-400.

[nps474]

Amazing pics guys! Love to see them, This is my favorite subject, as you can probably tell.