Dragonfly

[Dawn Currie]

I've always been fascinated by dragonfly photos, but had not attempted to shoot them myself. Now that I have, I have even more admiration for those who have successfully captured these amazing creatures. Trying to focus on something so delicate suspended on the end of a tiny reed is a real challenge (just finding it in your viewfinder is the first difficult step). Here's the best of my first attempt. I really liked the monochrome nature of this insect against it's environment. I hope I didn't over-sharpen it in post-processing, my priority were those wonderful wings.

Technical data: Canon 450D, 75-300mm at 280mm, ISO 200, f/10.0, 1/400 sec, about 50% crop (original included the entire dried flower, but it was OOF and distracting), sharpening on subject, NR on background

[Norm Dulak]

Dawn:

I think that the composition and colors of this image are excellent. And I agree that the lacy wings of the dragonfly are most attractive. But I'm afraid that I also think you may have over sharpened the image a bit, because I see a sharpening halo on my monitor.

You might consider reducing the sharpening a bit in a repost. But there are certainly elements of ths image that are otherwise excellent.:)

Norm

[Ken Childs]

Hey Dawn, you've captured some great earthy tones in this image! The dragonfly, perch and BG all perfectly compliment each other! :)

The biggest problem I see it that it appears your focus is locked on the wings which leaves most of the bug and the perch a tiny bit fuzzy. I think if you'd upped the ISO to 400 you would have been able to go to f16 and not lost much SS and this would have given you greater DOF. I know from experience that these things can be flighty but if given the opportunity, I would have taken a small step to the right so you could capture a bit of the face. There are some bright areas on the perch that could be toned down and the comp looks good as is but if you have the canvas, a little more space on the right might look good also. As Norm mentioned there is some haloing showing so maybe you did try to over-sharpen it. The wings do look go so you succeeded there I don't think that is enough to carry the entire image. This is a great effort and you're well on your way to figuring out what it takes to capture these flying dragons. One word that is really important to remember. Patience! They don't usually make it easy on you. :)

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Dawn. Excellent comments above for you to consider. You captured a really nice combination of colors and I agree about the oversharpening - the halos around your subject give it away. It's pretty difficult to get both the wing tips and the body in focus at the same time with one of these critters. I think most folks would suggest that you try to have the body (especially the head) in sharpest focus - and let the wings fall where they may within your DOF. :) Keep working with these and I hope to see more of your images.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Dawn,
Excellent advice given above on both the DOF and the PP'ing. Another thing to think about in the field.....that even though they are flighty......they do tend to be creatures of habit and often return to perches if not too close or moving around too much. Looking forward to more of your images!

[Dawn Currie]

To everyone, Thanks for all the great feedback - sorry I haven't replied earlier, life has been hectic! I can't wait to get back out in the field and start putting the advice to practical use. Regards, Dawn