photoartflightFinally A Blue Dasher In My Yard
Posted on July 29, 2020
Usually we have a few different types of Dragonflies in our yard. But this Summer we have only had Amberwing Dragonflies around. But they were very skittish and very small, so I did not get any good images of them. When I was out looking in our garden for other Praying Mantises I noticed a female Blue Dasher on our Dogwood tree in the front yard. I finally had an interesting Dragonfly in our yard that was very tolerant of being photographed. It was on one of the Dogwood Bracts basically at almost eye level. I was using a 300mm f/4 lens with a 1.4x teleconverter on a Canon 7D. It would take off, fly around then return to the same spot on the Dogwood. I was able to shift my position to get backgrounds in the shade and in the sun. I also was able to try different f/stops and a few image stacks. The featured shot I was at f/11 for more depth of field (so I did not have to do a focus stack) with a sunlit background.
Shifted my position angle for a shaded dark background for a more dramatic look. Same f/11 exposure.
Blue Dasher Female – 300mm f/11, 1250 ISO (busy background)
Female Blue Dasher Dragonfly, angled for a cleaner background, 300mm, f11, Canon 7D
Blue Dasher Female, f/13 – busy background version
Blue Dasher Female – Cropped from below image – 9 image focus stack, 300mm f5/6, 300mm With 1.4X teleconverter, Canon 7D
Blue Dasher Female, 9 Image focus stack, Handheld, f/5.6, (for a smoother background), 300mm with 1.4x teleconverter
Female Blue Dasher, 300mm, f/ 5.6
Cropped version of above image for face detail
Female Blue Dasher Dragonfly, f/11 – 300mm w/ 1.4x teleconverter.
Female Blue Dasher Dragonfly, 300mm, f/5.6
Blue Dasher- female, 300mm f/11
Male & Female Blue Dasher Dragonflies
Posted on August 22, 2019
We went to a local park to see what we could find. Found a few Blue Dashers by the ponds, but most were looking the worse for wear. Then I concentrated on Butterflies that were around. When photographing Dragonflies I usually shoot multiple images at different focus points. This is to keep a smoother background and still get more of the dragonflies body and wings in somewhat sharper focus. It also depends on if the dragonfly cooperates and does not change position or flies off. The featured image I only had time for 1 shot so the tail is softer. The others were 2 images, so somewhat more depth of field.
Female Blue Dasher Dragonfly – f/8, 1/80 sec., +0.33 Exposure Compensation
Male Blue Dasher Dragonfly – 2 image handheld stack to retain more image sharpness from head to tail and still keep a smoother background. Canon 300mm f/4 Close Focusing lens, with 1.4X Teleconverter shot @ f/11 – 1600 ISO
It Is Dragonfly Season
Posted on June 14, 2019
Some of my favorite photo subjects are Dragonflies and Damselflies. Here are a few Dragonflies to start with. The featured image is a photo of a female Calico Pennant. I was using a 300mm lens that has a close focusing capability, with a 1.4X Teleconverter for a combined focal length of 420mm.
Blue Dasher Dragonfly – Female
Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly – Female
Female Blue Dasher Dragonfly Laying Eggs
Posted on June 24, 2015
While I was photographing the Dragonflies and Damselflies at my pond, this Female Blue Dasher flew in and started laying eggs in the pond. The male Blue Dashers kept chasing her and she would hide in the lily pads. She finally got a break and spent a few minutes out in the open laying eggs right where I was setup. I was using a fill flash with a better beamer which helped stop some of the motion blur, mainly on the body, but the wings were moving too quickly even with a flash to stop the wing movement.
Female Blue Dasher
Posted on July 21, 2014
This Blue Dasher female dragonfly had just finished mating and stopped to pose on this dried plant. Then she started flying close to the water before laying eggs. She stayed in this one area working over a 2 foot or so span, giving me a chance to get some flight photos.
