Southern Hawker

[Jonathan Ashton]

Camera on bean bag lying prone, sun hat and a glass of beer!
Canon 1DX Canon 100-400 L IS & 1.4TC III ISO 640 Manual mode 1/160 f16.
ACR & PSCC
I dropped to f16 in the hope of getting the wings in focus but no dice, if I moved further back the background became even more evident.

My wife spotted this dragonfly just after it had emerged so I sat down with a beer and watched it open out, straighten up and spread it's wings. Once wings were opened it flew off in less than two minutes. I managed to move some foliage to get a clearer view - it was originally under the lily pad, (I have images but too messy!) just before opening its wings it climbed to the rim of the pad. It was just magic seeing the colours develop and watching it pump up it's body.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Wow Jon, love the story behind this image. I have never seen that, your description makes me want to be more observant. Nice colors and detail on the dragonfly. Thank you for sharing.

[Steve Maxson]

Sounds like you had fun with this one, Jon - and had the appropriate accessories too! I like the shiny fresh wings and that you can also see the exuvia just behind your subject. You might try toning down the specular highlights in the lower left portion of the frame as they are drawing my eye. Very nicely done!

[Melissa Usrey]

Wow! She's beautiful! I would love to capture translucent wings like that!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thank you for your comments everyone.