Violet darter

Dalantech

Very odd to find them perching on anything other than the ground this time of year. This shot was taken near a peach orchard and this guy was feeding from a fallen branch. A good example of why shooting with a diopter can be a good thing -very little detail in a background that's only a few centimeters away...



Once I was sure I had the shot that I wanted I backed up, added 62mm of tubes to the rig, and went back in for a shot at 3x life size. I tried to get a side view, but he had his limits...

Lord Vetinari

Excellent captures
brian V.

Dalantech

Lord Vetinari wrote:

Excellent captures
brian V.

Thanks Brian! It sure would be easier if you'd give me your MPE-65

Tessa HD

amazing!
Tessa

Dalantech

Tessa HD wrote:

Tessa

Thanks Tessa! :cool

Awais Yaqub

These are wonderful great detail and colors

k2butter

WOW, that took my breath away! I am off to check out your blog for tips! I love macro!

Dalantech

Awais Yaqub wrote:

These are wonderful great detail and colors

Thanks my friend!

Dalantech

k2butter wrote:

WOW, that took my breath away! I am off to check out your blog for tips! I love macro!

Thanks for the props! :cool

Skippy

Dalantech wrote:

Very odd to find them perching on anything other than the ground this time of year. This shot was taken near a peach orchard and this guy was feeding from a fallen branch. A good example of why shooting with a diopter can be a good thing -very little detail in a background that's only a few centimeters away...
Once I was sure I had the shot that I wanted I backed up, added 62mm of tubes to the rig, and went back in for a shot at 3x life size. I tried to get a side view, but he had his limits...

Hi John, how lucky were you gawwwwd.
It's a beautiful colour, love the detail in the body and wings too.
But that Face I love that face those eyes,
man you gotta wonder just how much can these guys see with such big eyes... excellent work John .... Skippy
.

Dalantech

Skippy wrote:

Hi John, how lucky were you gawwwwd.

I'm just getting started my friend. It's early in the season for dragons here -not many out yet (too cold at night, temps need to stay above 20c). But I'm already finding them perching above the ground and getting territorial about their "hunting blinds". If yesterday wasn't a fluke then it's going to be an incredible summer for my dragon photography... :cool

Skippy wrote:

It's a beautiful colour, love the detail in the body and wings too.
But that Face I love that face those eyes,
man you gotta wonder just how much can these guys see with such big eyes... excellent work John .... Skippy
.

From the reaction that I've seen so far to those two shots 'm convinced that my decision to shoot more above life size this year was a good one.

If you look at the eyes notice that their is a difference in color between the top and the bottom. The lenses at the top are better at sensing movement and judging distance, and it's that set that a dragon hunts with. If you watch them in action they always attack from the bottom and swoop up to catch their prey. I've noticed the same attack behavior in damselflies as well.

Another interesting but of trivia, and I don't know how the folks with pocket protectors figured it out: Dragonflies use something called "motion camouflage" when they attack. They can move in such a way that the victim thinks that the dragon is motionless, and therefore less likely to avoid the strike...

Edit: One last thing: I thought they were hunting bees yesterday, but didn't see them eating any. If you look closely at the head shot you can see pollen stuck to the hairs around the mouth -and these guys where no where near any flowers...