"Painted" Dragonfly

[Bruce Enns]

This is a Twelve-spotted Skimmer photographed last summer in Montana. I really liked the "painted" look. Natural light, no PS filters apart from USM. Canon Rebel XT with 100-400 IS L lens.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Bruce,
I'm torn on this one.......as I usually like to se the face/eyes of the dragonfly...but you've captured a great BG and thi one emphasises the beauty of the wings! I'm going to leave you with......maybe a hair more DOF....to get all the wings razor sharp............but not at the expense of the BG. Very nicely done,
roman

[Robert O'Toole]

I like the image. Subject is great and the BG and light is very nice.

Ideally your camera position higher should be as high as possible, on the tip of your toes or standing on a rock to get the wings as flat as possible. If this isnt possible you can bracket focus with a shot like this to get everything sharp. As is the focus is too far the D-Flies rear end, I think you should have placed the focus on the wings.
Also I find that using the D-flies wings to set the horizon rather than the true horizon or the perch looks best.

Robert

[David Kennedy]

...Also I find that using the D-flies wings to set the horizon rather than the true horizon or the perch looks best.

I would probably argue that's more a personal choice than a rule to follow. Angles can help break up an image and make it more lively. Sometimes leveling the wings for the sake of making them level appears very "forced" or contrived, especially when there are other elements that, in reality, truly were level but are thrown askew by choice. Just pointing out that it's more personal taste than anything.

Cheers,
David

[John Cooper]

You sure get some stunning Dragonflies over there. This one is no exception - love those wing patterns!!
Even when you go to all the trouble to line the subject up with the film/sensor plane, you often have to contend with the two sets of wings being on different planes!!!
I think you have done a great job here but Robert makes some good points.

[Bruce Enns]

Thanks very much for all the comments and critiques. I'll have to wait a bit to try out some of Robert's suggestions. It's a while before it's dragonfly season again around here.

Cheers!
Bruce

[Robert O'Toole]

I would probably argue that's more a personal choice than a rule to follow. Angles can help break up an image and make it more lively. Sometimes leveling the wings for the sake of making them level appears very "forced" or contrived, especially when there are other elements that, in reality, truly were level but are thrown askew by choice. Just pointing out that it's more personal taste than anything.

Cheers,
David

No arguing from me, I agree with you that angles can make the image look great. :)

What I am trying to help BPN people realize that with an image as posted the image appears to be leaning over and as such is distracting and appears ‘off’. If this image was a bird posed on the same perch posted in the avian forum the first reply would be to suggest a rotation. And no one would argue the point (I find this to be the case with many issue not just a leveling).
It will always look better to have a level bird or dragonfly, or any subject square to the frame edges and have the perch at an angle that the opposite composition.
Angles can be an attractive part of a composition. If you have a minute just take a look at my dragonfly gallery on my website, most have angles and diagonals as part of the composition.
You are also right that it is truly a matter of taste. :)

Robert

[Mike Moats]

Hey Bruce, I think you did a nice job on this, I would have liked to seen the wings on a diagonal. Well done.