I have been working at this for a couple years now, yesterday I finally got a sharp shot of a dragonfly in flight. This is a very common D-fly, the "Green Darner". It's the big honkin' blue green species- you are all familiar with.
Getting a shot in flight is super hard. Green Darner in Flight by Mark Kasick, on Flickr
I've shared this elsewhere. The common question is how did you freeze the wings. That's easy. They call that motion blur. The hard part is focus. Most of what camera companies hype is bullshit, for stuff moving this fast you need to move a single AF point directly on the subject. If you are off by a tiny bit, the camera will try to focus on something 300 ft behind the subject. Instant blown shot.
Psfft, I take pics like that with my eye-phone, lol Years ago a roommate tried getting that shot for the longest time and could never get a still wing shot like yours. Congrats on getting it and stunning photo
I met a guy last year at Wright Woods when it was flooded this time last year. He pointed out this gorgeous metallic purple dragonfly saying he was trying to do exactly what you did here. Worst part, the whole place was totally flooded. He waded in jeans and gym shoes about knee deep following this thing and never got it.
Your pic is phenomeonal. So many colors you don't normally see in the second it takes one to whizz by. The wing detail is incredible too.
Last time at Skokie Lagoons I watched 2 Green Darners flitting around in the bushes. They finally found each other and sailed off joined together to keep the species going. Adult dragonflies live only about a week - most of their lives are spent as nymphs crawling around in the mud under water. Wonder if they have any idea that procreation means death?
Woohoodude11 said:
He pointed out this gorgeous metallic purple dragonfly
Probably some type of Pond Skimmer. Maybe a Slaty?
BTW - just occurred to me that the reason my buddy always out fishes me is because he fishes more than I do. While he's busy casting and catching I keep getting distracted by nature. Hmm...
I googled those and it doesnt look quite the same. It looked like this with a chrome finish. I haven't seen anything like it since. Probably why the guy was getting himself soaked chasing a bug.
I put together an album in flickr of a dozen or so dragonflies. A few are doubles. If you click on a shot, then click on it again you should be able to zoom in. Details are pretty cool on some. https://flic.kr/s/aHsmo4LhKq
I googled those and it doesnt look quite the same. It looked like this with a chrome finish. I haven't seen anything like it since. Probably why the guy was getting himself soaked chasing a bug
Last time at Skokie Lagoons I watched 2 Green Darners flitting around in the bushes. They finally found each other and sailed off joined together to keep the species going. Adult dragonflies live only about a week - most of their lives are spent as nymphs crawling around in the mud under water. Wonder if they have any idea that procreation means death?
Fake news
Yes, the larva to adult lifespan is disproportionate but the adults live up to a couple months- species dependent.
The female mates with multiple mates and lays eggs from them. Apparently male dragonflies are not into sloppy seconds (sorry moderators), so when they actually copulate the male actually has the ability to remove the previous dude's spooge (again, sorry moderators). So, when he finally puts his sperm in her only his genes will go in the next set of eggs.
This link got buried. The video is well done. It will enhance your outdoor experience.
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