Carolina Saddlebags

[Joseph Przybyla]

After I mowed the lawn this morning I was sitting on the screened lanai. I saw this dragonfly land on a bush in back of the house. I got my camera and snapped a couple images. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 400mm (600mm FFE)
1/1250 F/11 Matrix Metering +1 1/3 EV ISO 2500 AWB
Post processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC
Cropped for composition and presentation

[Nancy Bell]

I had to look at this closely as there appears to be a solid part in the hindwing that blocks the entire back half of the dragonfly. This gives a bit of an awkward view. These are cool critters and I envy those of you who have access to them!

I just re-read your title and that darkened area in the wing must be the "saddle bags"?

[Steve Maxson]

Nice sharpness within your DOF and set against a clean background. I like that we are looking slightly up at the subject (so often we are looking down instead so it's a nice change of pace). Too bad the colored portion of the wing blocks the view of most of the abdomen - but not much you could do from this head-on perspective. As a tweak, you might try selectively brightening the lower portion of the face just a bit. Overall, this is nicely done!