Friday 2 October 2015

Flying Migrants

Anyone into their dragonfly photography will tell you that its a big challenge to capture most dragonflies in flight and with some species, almost impossible. However, there are a few species that with a bit of patience and many shots taken, are possible to capture in flight well. One species that often cooperates is the Migrant Hawker and thankfully every autumn, they provide a good challenge and test the photographer, often to the point of frustration. I have spent many hours trying to capture this species in flight and so far my shots vary from 'quite pleasing' to 'another one to delete'! I have struggled this year to capture a nice clean detailed shot with clean background, the dragonfly at a nice angle and perfect lighting but trawling through the archives provided me with a few shots that inspire me to continue this challenge and see what I can achieve. On another theme, when I returned home from work tonight, my eldest daughter come up to me and showed me a photo she had taken this morning on her phone of a dragonfly on the path just around the corner where we live. To my amazement, it was an immature male Red veined Darter. I have seen them at a site about a mile away and wonder whether it has appeared from there, a good chance I suspect. Maybe the weekend will deliver a chance of a Migrant Hawker in flight shot but I just hope for some nice weather and light winds where I should be able to capture a few shots of the dragonflies which remain on the wing. 







Migrant Hawker (male)

10 comments:

  1. Great to have your youngster bringing you home a photo of a dragonfly that she's taken, lovely to see that interest in a youngster.

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    1. Yes Derek. Normally doesn't take much notice of what I do although she does look at my photos so great that she was interested enough to take a photo.

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  2. Great in flight shots Marc. Such a shame the season is drawing to a close. Looking forward to next year already!!

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    1. Thanks Phil. Its been a great season. Really pleased with the adventures I have had. Will have to start finding the nymphs again soon as winter approaches.

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  3. Marc,
    A bit of competition from your daughter then ? I hope she comes home one day with a flight shot of a Red VD :-)

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    1. Certainly a good find. Maybe I can find another at my site if I have a good search over the weekend.

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  4. Great shots, all of them. How close are you when take these?

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    1. Thanks Wilma. For most of these I was probably a couple of metres away.

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  5. Great shots of your daughters, brilliant images.

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