Canon 40D, Sigma 150mm macro, Tamron Pro 1.4 teleconverter
ISO 400, 1/200, f14
This was one of my target species to photograph last summer. I love the red hearts on the abdomen and the wing pattern. They usually perch low in the grass which makes getting a smooth background difficult. This was my best shot. I still didn't quite manage to get the tail tip real sharp (maybe next year!).
Beautiful exposure on this one! I agree with more tilt and I would like to see how it looks with the tips of the stick/grass cloned out.
Come up for that springtime visit we talked about and you'll get plenty of chances to shoot this species. If you're here early enough in the day, there's a good chance you'll catch some emerging from their exoskeletons.