photoartflightBlue Dasher Dragonfly In Our Garden
I was looking for a Praying Mantis in our gardens to photograph when this male Blue Dasher dragonfly landed on a branch by our carport. Not a great background but decided to photograph it anyway since I did not see any other interesting bugs. To minimize detail in the background carport siding I chose f/8 to minimize the carport detail. Since I was @ f/8 I shot a handheld series of images to retain detail on the dragonfly. I shot 3 images to focus stack on the dragonfly from wingtip to wingtip, then a 3 image series head to tail. After the main image stack, I moved in closer & closer for a few different closer versions since it seemed to be tolerating my being there.
photoartflight 
Realy great macro shots of this dragonfly. My lens is to limited to make captures like yours 😉
Thanks so much! Depending on your lens you might be able to use an extension tube on your lens to get close up images. They usually are not too expensive.
Splendid face close-ups!
Thanks so much Hans! They are fun & interesting photo subjects!
These are wonderful, Reed!
Thanks so much Belinda!
Such pretty aqua coloring. I’d swear it actually enjoyed posing for you!
Thanks so much Eliza! Usually if you get too close they fly off! But this one tolerated me getting pretty close.
Excellent closeups, Reed!
Thanks Steve! They are fun to photograph, especially when they do not fly off when you get close!
Nice close-up shots of this dragonfly, Reed, the kind of shots that I too enjoy taking.
Thanks Mike! Yes, I enjoy seeing your dragonfly images! Yours is one of my favorite blogs to follow!! I started photographing Dragonflies & Damsels at my old home that had a fairly large pond. So it was sort of my private Dragonfly & Damselfly studio! Never knew what I would Damsels or dragons I would find!
It is definitely fun to photograph these colorful little creatures, especially when there is as much diversity in the available species as there is in my area.
Fabulous, Reed, WOW!!
Thanks so much Donna! They are fun to photograph. Especially when they cooperate and do not fly off when you get close!