photoartflightBlue Dasher In Our Garden
I noticed a male Blue Dasher on the top of a Gladiola in our garden as I was looking out the window. So I went out to get some images to post. It has been unusually extra hot here in NJ, so we have not gone to any of the local parks lately. As I was inching closer to the Dasher, it flew off, but quickly returned to the same spot. After doing that multiple times it finally stayed on the tip of the tall plant. I guess it began to tolerate me as I was inching closer. I was hand holding my camera, but I shot a series of focus points along the dragonfly for image stacking. The Blue Dasher was close to the side of my home so I was shooting wide open to have a smoother background. This eliminated the shadows under the rows of siding that would have given confusing rows of darker stripes to the background. I was using a Canon R with a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro and a Sigma 2x teleconverter. So with the 2x teleconverter, my wide open f/stop was f/5.6. I manually focused a series of focus points from wingtip to wingtip plus close ups of the face. I was surprised the Blue Dasher did not fly off and allowed me to get right in it’s face, so to speak. So I tried many different focus stacks to see which might work better. Here are a few images from the series.
First focus stacked image, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro, with Sigma 2x teleconverter, 5 images, Canon R @ f/5.6. With focus stacking shooting @ f/5.6, I eliminated the shadows under the rows of siding behind the dragonfly.
Dasher Image (2 images) concentrating on face, legs, plant tip & front of wings.
photoartflight 
A nice meeting face to face. He looks feminine but the beard reveals the sex 😁. Beautiful gentle colors and a very nice light in the pictures.
Thanks Hans! I forgot to say “male” Blue Dasher in the text!
Beautiful shots and I am surprises he allowed you to come so close.
Thanks Greta! I have found that they get used to you, so many times you can get pretty close! Especially if you get closer to them gradually.
Very cool shots, Reed! Amazing!!
Thanks Donna! They are interesting photo subjects. Especially when you get really close!
Very nice, Reed! Excellent colour and detail!
Thanks Belinda! They are fun to photograph!
That first image is a show-stopper… wow!
Thanks Eliza! It is fun to photograph them really closeup! Especially when they do not fly away!