Dawn Dragonfly

[Jay Bernstein]

Canon 7D on tripod
Tamron 180mm Macro
ISO 500
f.8.0
1/320 sec
windy
Sitting nervously in a swamp where alligators lurk along the shoreline, i waited patiently with my camera focused on 1 flower bud waiting for this one dragon fly to land. it was very windy and whenever they did land ( alit?) it was only a split second or the wind was causing the flower stem to sway too much. after 40 minutes and 100 shots I managed the attached. I know we generally want a frontal view with the head but the wings were exquisite in this shot.
Comments and critique welcomed and thanks for taking the time to look!
Jay

[Patrick Sparkman]

The wing structure is very nice. You noted the facing away position, and I think the image would be much stronger if it was facing the camera and the eyes were sharp. I would probably have cloned out the plant stem that intersects the insect. I like the color of the background, but it looks noisy and blocked. Do you have any where the insect is facing the camera?

[Jay Bernstein]

Hi Patrick, Thank you for your comments.
I am attaching the best shot of the same subject I had with eyes facing forward to the camera. Well I got one eye at least!
Jay

[jack williamson]

Extremely fine detail in the wings in the first shot. The BG is noisy but I like the colors. Agree with getting rid of the stem that touches the DF.

Jack

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jay. Beautiful patterns on the wings of this dragonfly and you did well considering the windy conditions. Good comments by Patrick and Jack above. Usually, as you note, the image will be stronger with the insect facing towards us, but for a dragonfly, this view can also work - if the head is sharp (maybe f/11 would have done the trick here). I think your comp would be stronger if there was more room on the right side of the frame than on the left - to give the dragonfly more room to look into. With this background it would be fairly easy to add canvas on the right if you are OK with such things. :S3: Keep them coming!

[Ken Childs]

I know the general rule is to try and and have the subject facing the camera but I'm a big fan of this angle on dragonflies. There's no better way to show the intricate patterns in the wings and this Halloween Pennant has some great patterns to show off! I agree with the others that the bit of foliage touching the dragon's abdomen has to go. I also agree that some more canvas on the right is needed and that the head needs some selective sharpening.

[Jay Bernstein]

I just wanted to thank Ken, Steve Jack and Patrick for all your tips. I reworked the canvas, I moved the image to the left to give more room to right which I thought was a great idea and I got rid of the troublesome straggler off the main flower. Im not sure if my sharpening of the head was done with great results.
I also agree with Ken about showing off the wings, I guess its a matter of taste and preference.
thanks again everyone!
Jay

[Mat Bingham]

Love the wing colours. Agree with your comments about the eyes and facing away but you can only work with what you have. I know how frustrating the wind can be. Don't know whether its just me but I find dawn an excellent time to photograph dragonflies as the wind seems to often drop for a short while.

[Jay Bernstein]

great tip Mat and Thank you!
Jay