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Mooned by a Dragon

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted February 12, 2013390 views13 comments

I photographed this blue dasher early in the evening last August. The air temperature at the time of shooting was 102 F. The lighting on this dragonfly was interesting on the pond's surface provided the background. Fortunately, I was able to get this shot between wind gusts. K10d 300mm DA* f4, 32mm extension shot at f6.3..........Jim

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on February 12, 2013 at 9:33 PM

Nice job in timing the wind gusts, as he is perfectly in focus

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on February 13, 2013 at 1:07 PM

The sharpness in the DF (especially the wings) is outstanding and the lighting is wonderfully soft and warm. This pose is called the "obelisk" and it's one method that dragon and damsel flies use for staying cool on sunny days. They point that tail towards the sun to minimize solar heating on their head and thorax.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on February 13, 2013 at 3:28 PM

Thanks Mark for the info...I love to know details like that.

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on February 13, 2013 at 3:58 PM

Great detail and wonderful lighting! I love the blue water of the pond as the bg.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on February 13, 2013 at 4:27 PM

I like the pose, the composition and the light a lot.

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on February 13, 2013 at 6:47 PM

Jim

DF is my favorite critter subject so I really enjoy this. Can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can go out and capture DF again. I like the obelisk pose, the lighting and fine details in this image.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on February 13, 2013 at 10:36 PM

I like the pose, the superb detail, and the nice bg, Jim.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 15, 2013 at 11:25 AM

Hi Jim ...... I like everything about this post, the fine detail. light, and color , and especially the obelisk pose

Albert Darmo

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Jess Williams on February 15, 2013 at 11:30 PM

The color, the lighting off the metallic-looking surfaces, the pose...everything about this is just gorgeous. But the photo title is priceless. :)

Registered on February 15, 2013, 17 Posts, 53 Comments

Comment posted by Murali Santhanam on February 20, 2013 at 10:45 PM

Great picture of this ballet dancer. How did you manage to get the DOF at F6.3? I feel that by placing the dasher in the right corner there is a whole ot of empty space on the left that is not seen by the viewer. Congratulations on the weekly pick.

Registered on July 31, 2008, 43 Posts, 331 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Hutchinson on February 21, 2013 at 2:51 PM

Congratulations on the Weekly Pick award Jim, well deserved, a stunning shot.

Ian

Registered on September 8, 2012, 9 Posts, 38 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on February 22, 2013 at 7:47 PM

Congratulations on the WP, great classic tail-up pose and interesting light Jim.
Have a great weekend

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on February 25, 2013 at 9:28 PM

Hi,

Thank you for all of the comments and to the editors of for the weekly pick selection.

As Always,

Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments