Blue-faced Meadowhawk

[Allen Sparks]

Canon 40D, Canon 300 f4 IS, Tamron 1.4x SP Pro TC, HH
ISO 400, f11, 1/640s, EC -2/3, natural light

Saw this guy last week. Probably the last dragon I will shoot this year.

[Julie Kenward]

Very nice, Allen! I wouldn't mind a little more room on the left if you have it to give him a bit more "head room" but everything else is very well done. The focus is right where it needs to be with just a few small areas on the outer wings a bit soft. There's something next to the perch on the left side (kind of looks like the wing of another DF) on the upper side that could probably be cloned out. You might also look at popping the whites of the catch light on his eye, too, to get the viewer's attention even more. Really beautiful df image!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Allen. This is a species we don't see up here. I like the pose and the diagonals of the comp. The OOF background with some autumn color tones works well for this late-season dragonfly. If this was mine, I'd probably spend some time carefully cloning some of the spectral highlights in the wing, but overall, this is very well done!

[Ken Childs]

Hi Allen, you did a great job of finding one of these guys on a good perch with a nice BG....they tend to stay low. Exposure and colors look good....a little cleanup of the perch and the the highlights on the wings will certainly take this one to the top! :S3:

As long as there are sunny days with highs in the 60's you should be able to find some of these and possibly other species of Meadowhawks. I've found them here as late as the middle of December.