My First Dragonfly

[Gail Cordes]

This image is from my first outing looking for dragonflies. I was surprised to find a red one. I don't know what the ID is. He kept returning to the same perch so I was able to get several images.

40D with 300 f4. Evaluative metering at ISO 200 with EV -2/3 and f7.1 at 1/640th. This represents about 65% of the original.

Thanks for looking. All comments are welcome.

[Nick Palmieri]

Hi Gail, nice job. Good BG, and nice DOF. Very nice detail in the wings. These guys are addictive aren't they??? I just started shooting these guys as well and I used an extension tube to allow me a little closer.

[Harold Davis]

if you can get them full frame like this, will have a lot more detail and be A LOT easier to process. this looks great considering the crop. you did really well!! they are addicting. the extension tubes help tremendously, especially with that lens!

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Gail,
This is a very nice catch indeed, I like the details and the pose, would have liked to have seen a lower capture angle and your subject bigger in frame...a good aid for your lens combination would be a 1.7 tele converter coupled with a 20mm extension tube...this is not too expensive and would give you about a 60 to 70 percent fill in the frame...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Great suggestions and can add .... these usually will return to the same perch over and over, just sit tight and wait from them ... btw I find the red ones difficult to approach !!!

Try making several shots with different apertures to see how much you can get away with without bringing in the bg .. using the dof preview button always helps !!

[Christopher Miller]

Very nice dragonfly, Gail. Great suggestions already given. I'm not sure what the minimum focusing distance is with your gear, but I'd suggest getting as close as you can so that the dragonfly fills more of the frame.

[Gail Cordes]

I would have been using an extension tube except it was in the photo pack which we left on the living room floor!!! Maybe another day.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Great advise given, I like the image. Crop some from the top, love the expression.

[Mike Milicia]

Nice first dragonfly!
Great detail and background.

Would like to see the tail more in focus. Could shut down a bit more if the BG allows it
or position the camera more parallel to the body if possible. Getting closer is also a
good idea but then getting adequate DOF becomes even more difficult!