I spent another couple of hours at a site near Reculver this morning from 5.45am where on arrival I could see a good number of spider webs covered in dew which was encouraging for my 'dewy' shots of the damselflies. It was actually quite chilly this morning and even the coat and hat joined the party this morning as I made my way to an area which still holds good numbers of Common Blue, Blue tailed and Emerald Damselflies. The wind was pretty still this morning making it a little easier and making the dew last a little longer as it wasn't getting blown off everything. After setting up the tripod and camera I set about finding a few subjects to photograph. I soon found a few Emerald Damselflies and due to their bigger size, set about getting a few more photos of this lovely sight. Thankfully I was able to get the tripod into an area and fire off a few shots. Despite the sun not being on the subject and not that much light around, I think they actually work better than the ones with the sun on them.
Female Emerald Damselfly
As well as the satisfaction of getting the shots its nice to capture a photo that not many eyes get to see a close range. I soon wandered again and found a few Common Blue Damselflies and decided I would try some more images of the damselflies hiding behind the grass stems. This species more than the others I see has a tendency to hide well and will move around the stem as you watch them. I soon found a few and set about getting a few shots.
Common Blue Damselfly
They remained hidden which was good and a few shots worked well but I cannot help but feel that there is more to offer with this shot. Can I get closer? Can I get a sharper, image? What about the background are all questions I have in mind with this shot and I will be back for more I'm sure. After the sun appeared in the area and the damsels dried out and flew off I made my way back to the car where on the way I saw a few Common Darter, 2 Migrant Hawker and 1 Black tailed Skimmer. Home for 8.45am for tea and breakfast, not bad at all!
Common Blue Damselfly
Some more top class work there Marc, a lot of thought and imagination has gone into those images :-)
ReplyDeleteAs for your questions, well I dont think closer is necessarily better, as for sharper images, I dont think the camera can cope with a small target like a Damselfly, you need to be so close, but then the depth of field is lost! Such fun trying though :-)
As you say, its fun trying and just occasionally you get that reward. I'm certainly loving this type of challenge though.
DeleteI doubt if you're ever going to better these 'dewy' images Marc, the top two are well above the excellent marker and I'm not sure I ever saw this subject matter handled better.
ReplyDeleteFantastic Marc!
ReplyDeleteCheers Alan and Pete. There is so much to learn about the photography of dragonflies, I think iv'e just skimmed the surface. Learning all the time though.
DeleteMarvelous.. Congrats..
ReplyDeleteWell done Marc,I agree with Pete.
ReplyDeleteNice Tip,early Mornings is the best time.
John.
Good heavens, what incredibly beautiful !!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat this beautiful damsels in the drops and so lovely bright and sharp.
A very big compliment!