Dragonfly in flight

[Melissa Usrey]

170389

I've been spending my weekend mornings and evenings at a local lake (more like a pond) to try and hone my skills. One thing that has eluded me is the Dragonfly, either staying still long enough on a twig or catching one clearly in flight. This photo may not be technically perfect, but I am proud of it. I took this after sunrise and the green background is simply the reflection of the trees on the pond in a shaded area. This pond is a huge challenge for me. The light is constantly changing and the reflection of the trees and distant homes makes shooting very difficult.

Canon 1 DX mk II
Canon 400 II DO f/4
ISO 5000
1/2500 sec.
400mm
f/4

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Melissa - Congrats on getting one! The colors are very nice and it pops against the green bg. I like the bit of blur in the wings. The view from above also adds interest as opposed to side on. Sounds like the challenges of the pond are good for practicing and honing your technical skills.

TFS,
Rachel

[Melissa Usrey]

Thank you Rachel! The birds (variety) are fairly scarce right now in S. CA and will be until fall migration, so I'm having to settle for the ubiquitous ducks, frogs, and dragonflies.

[John Mack]

Like the contrast between the blue and green. Keep on practicing and you will probably even get some better ones.

[Melissa Usrey]

Thank you!!

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Melissa,
I really like the parallel position you captured of this dragonfly and the wing positions are nice too. I know this is a tough subject to capture - congrats on this catch. I'd run noise reduction on the BG.
Allen

[Melissa Usrey]

Thanks Allen! Yes, I know I need to reduce the BG noise more. You should have seen it when I started processing!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Melissa you did well to catch the dragonfly I know it is not all that easy. I would suggest try getting the exposure as near ideal by using Manual ISO and Manual Mode, a good staring point might be to take a reading off grass or something like that. Just take a couple of images of dragons and check the histogram and under or over expose accordingly, this tip will minimise the noise.
I sense the crop may be a little too large because there is not too much detail in the dragonfly. Keep at it you are certainly heading in the right direction.

[Melissa Usrey]

Thanks Jonathan! I always shoot in Manual mode but I did have the ISO on Auto because of the constantly changing light. The DF was originally much sharper but very noisy so reducing dulled it. I'm going to try again and experiment. I think I know the way to capture them now - I just have to get the settings right. They are not my favorite subject, but due to the dearth of birds around right now, I have to take what I can get and it's good camera practice!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Melissa I am a big fan of AUTO ISO but I would not recommend it for inflight shots because the background will be constantly changing - hence the camera will keep adjusting the ISO.

[Steve Maxson]

Nice job of capturing this colorful darner in flight and parallel to the sensor, too - not an easy task! As noted above, running another round of NR selectively on the background would improve this image markedly. :S3:

[Melissa Usrey]

TY Jonathan. I'm going to practice again this weekend. There's so much going on at this pond (well, other than the ubiquitous ducks just hanging around) that I'm turning my camera this way and that. I'll try metering the light at an average spot (as neutral as possible) and try Manual ISO to see how that works. Because I'm shooting mostly at the water, should I be using a polarizing filter? I don't because I'm concerned about lessening of light.

[Melissa Usrey]

Thanks Steve!!!