Continuing my quixotic quest to photograph dragonflies in flight, I went boldly out into the wild, armed with my trusty 100mm macro lens, and managed to capture this cool image of a dragonfly as it hovered over the water.
In previous attempts, I used longer telephoto zoom lenses, which increased the number of potential subjects but gave only mixed results. Using a shorter, fixed focal-length lens, I had to change my strategy a little and try to get closer to the subject.
I noticed this dragonfly hovering about the water to the side of the boardwalk on which I was walking. I crept as close as I could and tried to shoot as close to straight down as I could (the boardwalk was at least a foot (30 cm) above the level of the water and it looked like the dragonfly was hovering almost level with the boards of the boardwalk). I was really sensitive to my shadow, because I have learned that nothing scares away an insect faster than casting a shadow on it.
I used autofocus and was a little surprised to see that my dragonfly is in pretty clear focus, although the shutter speed was not fast enough to stop the action of the wings. I shot this handheld and really tried to pay attention to my technique, because my macro lens does not have any built-in image stabilization. As I thought about it afterwards, I realized that the auto focusing on the macro lens (using what Canon calls an ultrasonic motor) is much faster and better than the focusing on my Canon 55-250 or my Sigma 135-400mm zoom lens.
I have been having some difficulties identifying this dragonfly. The coloration of the tail looks a little like a female Blue Dasher, but the beautiful blue eyes do not seem right for the female. The tip of the tail should be a help, but I can’t seem to find one that matches it.
Although I can’t identify the dragonfly, it’s my best shot to date of a dragonfly in flight and I’m pretty content with it today, though my quixotic quest is likely to continue this weekend.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
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Posted in Arachnids, Art, commentary, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, spider art, spider webs, webs on June 1, 2013| 9 Comments »
Temperatures were forecast to soar yesterday, so I arrived early at the marsh—about 6 o’clock— and was treated to many stunning examples of spider art. The early morning light and the dew made it possible to get these shots.
I had thought that it was a bit early in the season for spiders to be active, but I was thrilled to be proven wrong. I never fail to be impressed by the handiwork of the different kinds of spiders and how they are able to adapt their webs to the environment.
I shot some webs with my macro lens and others with a telephoto zoom. In virtually all cases, I focused manually and used my tripod.
Only a few of the webs had visible spiders and I chose to highlight one of those in the first image, which is a close-up of the web shown in the final shot. The webs themselves are not perfect and have gaps and breaks in some places, an appropriate metaphor for the lives that most of us live.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
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