Do you ever shoot the same subject at the same time with another photographer and compare the results afterwards? It is fascinating to see how the choice of equipment, individual shooting styles, and angle of view affect the results.
Recently I was walking at Huntley Meadows Park, the local marshland park where I take a lot of my nature photos, with fellow blogger and photographer Walter Sanford when he spotted a mating pair of Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum ambiguum). Eventually they landed on the ground and Walter and I took up our shooting positions. He was seated on his Coleman folding camp stool facing the sun and I was crouching (and eventually sprawling flat on the ground) on the other side of the mating dragonflies, trying desperately not to cast a shadow on the action.
The dragonflies were surprisingly tolerant of us or were so caught up in the moment that they were oblivious to the outside world. We ended up shooting quite a few images during a lengthy session and couldn’t help but note the remarkable endurance of this couple.
I started out in a position where I could capture both members of the couple (as you can see in the second photo), but then I started inching forward in an effort to see how close I could get to them, focusing my camera and my attention on the female. When I took the first photo below, I was pretty close to the minimum focusing distance of my Tamron 180mm macro lens, which is 1.54 feet (47cm). In case anyone is curious about the settings for that image, I was at ISO 400, f/13, and 1/20 of a second and used my pop-up flash.
There is no way that I can handhold this lens at 1/20 of a second, in part because it has no built-in image stabilization). It’s virtually impossible to use a tripod that close to the ground. So what I have started doing is using my camera bag as a kind of giant beanbag and resting my camera on the bag.
Walter took some shots of me in action and kindly agreed to let me use one of the resulting photos in this posting. He also circled in red the mating dragonflies to give you a better idea of how small our subjects were. In case you are wondering what the black object is that is underneath me, it’s my tripod bag—my photography mentor Cindy Dyer has influenced me to carry a tripod at almost all times.
In a final fashion note, I would like to point out that this is not the way that I usually wear a baseball cap. I turned the cap around in order to look through the viewfinder at this low angle. You will never catch me with my hat like that in public and I shudder every time I see a teenager with his hat tilted to the side or on backwards.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Reblogged this on walter sanford's photoblog and commented:
Here is Mike Powell’s side of the story featured in my blog post entitled, “Two sides to every story.”
One minor correction, Mike: I wasn’t standing when I shot my photos; I was sitting on my Coleman camp stool. The small, folding chair enables me to get closer to subjects either on- or near the ground without “crouching/sprawling.” 😉 You *know* you want one! http://www.coleman.com/product/ramblertrade-ii-stool/2000003744?contextCategory=10010#.VEu_PIvF_V0
I may need to get one–I have no trouble getting on the ground, but it’s getting to be a little more of a challenge getting back up.
Great pictures. I like the beanbag/photobag idea. Amelia
Thanks, Amelia. They actually make something like that for taking photos of wildlife from inside your car by leaning your camera against a giant beanbag that conforms to the shape of your camera lens. I suspect that was where I got the idea, though I have used a similar approach when taking a long exposure at night with my camera’s self-timer.
It’s nice to see the photographer on action! Thanks, Walter!
By the way, those were some great shots with your improvised tripod.
Thanks, Sue. At the moment I think that my best quality shots are mostly macro pnes, in part because my macro lenses are of higher quality than my telephoto ones. It may be time to buy a 100-400 like the one that you have.
Whatever it takes to get the shot, and you got some good ones. (Usually, nobody is watching.)
Great action. And good to see you photographing it.
Brilliant photos and great to see the photographer in action too.
Thanks. I often find myself sitting, lying, or kneeling on the ground when I am trying to get shots. My friend Walter is a bit more practical and carries a little folding stool, which lets him get low without getting wet or dirty.
[…] Many times I have to assume equally acrobatic positions to capture the action. Fellow photographer and dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford photographed me in one such pose in an image that I included in a previous posting entitled “My view of the mating dragonflies.” […]
[…] following photo shows Michael Powell shooting the snake, up close and personal, using a field-tested technique I refer to as “Sandbagging the Grinder.” Sometimes Mike uses his camera bag for support […]