Have you ever tried to photograph a living subject—or even worse, a pair of them—perched on one of your knees? Depth of field is a huge challenge and even trying to frame the subject is complicated, especially when you have a 180mm macro lens on your camera.
Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) are the most friendly dragonflies I have ever encountered. I don’t know what attracts them—perhaps it’s curiosity—but I found out last year that they are prone to perch on me.
Surprisingly, they will even perch as a pair when they are still in tandem, the position that this species uses when the female is ovipositing, i.e. placing her eggs in the water after mating. The male hangs on to the female by the head, presumably to keep other males from interfering with the process.
In my initial attempt to get a shot of the couple, I focused on the male, and the female is completely out of focus. For the second attempt, I tried to twist myself around to photograph them from the side and almost fell over in the process. The female is more in focus, but the male is now slightly out of focus.
As the season progresses, I’ll see if I can find some even more cooperative Autumn Meadowhawks and try to get a shot of one perched on one of my fingertips, as I did last year.
Later in the day, a male Autumn Meadowhawk landed on my leg and I had much better success in getting some clear shots. I used a similar approach, taking the first shot from above and the second one from the side. My pants are a solid tan color and it is interesting to see how it almost looks like I was wearing a seersucker suit.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great job!
Thanks, Dan. I think I need more flexibility training before I try to get shots like that.
Yoga?
Great shots. They really are beautiful creatures, especially when you can see them in such detail. Your story of getting the shot reminds me of trying to get a photo of two dragonflies being amorous when I was walking around a loch back home in Scotland. I was crouching on my haunches and tipped forward. Eager to not damage the camera, I didn’t put my hands down. I, therefore, entirely face-planted into boggy moss and had to walk the rest of the ramble and all the way home completely messy and soggy. But I saved the camera.
Thanks. I like the story and can definitely relate to it. There have been a number of recent occasions when I have landed hard when I tripped as I endeavored to protect the camera, though I must admit that I’ve never done a face plant. That day will come, I am sure.
Well my kids say that one of the reasons they know how much I love them is that I once jumped into a bog to rescue my then 3 year old without even thinking about the fact my camera might get submerged or damaged. But in all non-life-threatening circumstances, I take the hit and protect the camera.
Beautiful shots – Enjoying your site so much!
Thank you, Deborah. I am having a fun time chronicling my adventures through my photos and am thrilled when others enjoy them too.
Truly amazing, the detail you captured Is just truly amazing.
They obviously didn’t want make things easy for you and wanted to be memorable.
Wonderful photos. You must be very attractive to dragonflies, they normally fly away from me.
Nice shot, Mike !
utham