Emerging Dragonfly - #3

[Steve Maxson]

This is the third image in this series of an emerging Common Baskettail dragonfly. The wings have expanded to about 2/3 of their full size. At this stage, the wings have a milky translucence (in some species, the wings at this stage are a delicate emerald green), but will become clear as they reach full size. As the wings are reaching full size, the dragonfly will also expand its abdomen by swallowing air. 40D, Canon 180 f/3.5 macro, 1/6 sec, f/14, ISO 400, tripod, mirror lock, cable release, macro twin flash set at 1/16 power for fill. I removed some flash-generated specular highlights. Comments are welcome.

[Hazel Grant]

Great contrast with the green background.

[Fabs Forns]

The leftover "suit" looks like a tight fit :)

Amazing detail and it's been very interesting to see the whole documentation, thanks for sharing it!

[Alfred Forns]

Just perfect Steve !!!

Clean bg, lots of detail and great behavior !! Big Time Congrats !!!!

[Julie Kenward]

Another great capture and I am loving the explanations that go with the photos. You might make a bug girl out of me yet!

Only suggestion I have for this one is possibly a bit more sharpening on the actual eye. It seems a little less crisp than the rest of the body. What a great series this has been!

[Dave Mills]

Steve, Excellent capture with an interesting story. The backround, placement of subjects and sharpness are beautifully handled. Well executed!!

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Steve. Pretty much as good as it gets! I do think this one needs a bit more contrast, after comparing it to your last masterpiece, but that's about it. Keep up the good work. regards~Bill

[Connie Mier]

Another fantastic shot in this series. I like how you composed this one very much. Steve, can you describe the time span for these events?
Connie

[Steve Maxson]

Steve, can you describe the time span for these events?
Connie

Hi Connie. I went back to the metadata to get a more accurate time frame. When I first found the dragonfly, the larval skin was just starting to split open and the head was starting to emerge. I would guess that it took me about 15 minutes or so to get everything set up and start photographing. By then, the dragonfly was already as far out of its skin as you see in Image No. 1. The actual Image No. 1 was taken 13 minutes after I began photographing. 14 minutes later, the dragonfly pulled the rest of its abdomen out of the larval skin and Image No. 2 was taken 3 minutes thereafter. Image No. 3 was taken 15 minutes after Image No. 2. My last image of this dragonfly was taken 1 hour and 20 minutes later at which time the wings appeared fully grown and clear and the abdomen had expanded to its full length. The wings were still folded over the back, rather than spread horizontally in typical dragonfly fashion, so it wasn't quite ready to fly yet.
Hope this makes sense. :)

[Connie Mier]

Steve, thanks for taking the time to answer. Given the time frame, your patience is to be commended as well! For some reason I was thinking this was unfolding within seconds.
Connie

[Christopher Miller]

Great shot, Steve! Nice clean BG, and great details and sharpness. Congrats on being able to witness and photograph this event!