I usually try to get close-up shots of dragonflies, but sometimes that is not possible. In those cases, I try to be creative and frame and/or isolate the subject with elements of the environment, as I did with this Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) that I spotted last Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the first one that I have spotted this year.
I really like this composition, despite the fact that the dragonfly is very small in the photo, thanks largely to the undulating green waves of the leaves and the out-of-focus branches in the background. What do you think? Should I have cropped the photo a bit more?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
i think I know what you mean with the cropping, but I still think your focus was the dragonfly and a tighter crop would have done it more justice.
Martin
Martin Tayler
Martin’s bird and nature blog: http://martinsbirdblog.com/
Thanks, Martin. A tighter crop would certainly have drawn more attention to the dragonfly, but I was worried that such a crop might have resulted in a somewhat pixelated image. The ideal solution would have been to get physically closer to the subject.
I like it!
Thanks, Molly. I too like the shot the way that I posted it, but figured that I might stimulate a bit of reaction by asking the question. 🙂
Gorgeous!!!