Dragonfly on Astilbe

[Keith Kennedy]

I captured this image in my backyard garden late in the day last summer. The shooting angle was selected to provide a view of the head/compound eyes unobstructed by the wings. The tradeoff is that the abdomen is rendered slightly OOF. I particulary liked the way in which the soft color of the astilbe was complimentary to the color of the insect.


Canon 180 mm f/4 macro lens + 1.4X TC and EOS 30D; ISO 320; Evaluative metering =0; 1/80s at f8; Canon T24 twin flash at -1 2/3; Bogen tripod.

[Fabs Forns]

This is so sweet, that pink glow around the Dfly is precious :)
Thanks for putting a smile in my face, one happy image.

[Bill Keown]

I like the composition and soft colors, the pink working well with the red of the Dfly. It would be nice to have the abdomen in focus which from you description would not be possible with the dof. Nice none the less. The flash has created what appears to be a blurred catchlight on the eye and IMO you could do without with the eye so sharp.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Keith, very nice comp, color combination. Good focus on the head area, and nice light.