A very pleasant evening here in Wiltshire so I headed back to Clattinger Farm Nature Reserve with the main intention of photographing orchids.
Just as I was packing up at the end of the evening I decided to photograph a group of Oxeye Daisies and as I approached I noticed this huge bug thingy hanging onto a Daisy stem. Luckily the little critter was settling down for the evening and allowed me lots of time to photograph it from various angles.
As well as a 'from above wing spread' shot I tried for some more head-on shots as well. Despite there being almost no breeze there was still some gentle movement which made focussing a nightmare. Shutter speed was low as well as I juggled with ISO and aperture in the fading light. I have lots of failed shots due to either movement in the breeze or inaccurate focussing. Depth of field is just millimeters when this close.
This is my first real bash at some close-up insect photography which makes me in awe of some of the quality macro shots I see posted on the forum. It's not easy.
Canon 20D, 70-200 F4 L @ 168mm + 25mm extension tube, ISO 400, f7.1, 1/60th, tripod, slight rotation and crop.
cheers
Sean
p.s. I think this is a Broad Bodied Chaser? Please let me know if my ID is wrong. Thanks.
p.p.s. An extra photo showing the bug in it's environment can be viewed here if you are interested ;
Like this very much, you have done very well indeed for your first real bash, I would be very pleased with this, know what you mean about lots of failed shots
BTW, not an easy angle to ID but I would go for Four Spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata , there is no dark spot on the middle of the leading edge of the wings of the broad bodied chaser.
Great shot- I personally prefer this perspective to the 'all-in-focus-from-above-type' shot. This gives a better impression of the character of the beast. The 'from above' shots are how we are used to seeing them, this shows us something different
As for ID, I think it is a Four-spotted chaser. The reasons I don't think it's a broad-bodied is the body doesn't look particularly broad and the broad bodied only has dark patches at the wing-tips, where as this has spots on the 'elbows' (half way along the wing) too.
My ID comes from the 'Guide to dragonflies and damselflies of Britain,' a laminated single sheet folding guide made by the Field Studies Council and the Natural History Museum (which I think is pretty good).
Great shot Sean. Really shows the 'business end' with those wonderful feathered legs to help scoop up prey in flight and that huge scary mouth. Nice to have a cooperative subject for a change!
Hi Sean,
An excellent start into the world of macro.Love the shooting angle on this one.
I'll look forward to seeing more of your macro stuff as the season progresses.
Discussion
8 repliesA very pleasant evening here in Wiltshire so I headed back to Clattinger Farm Nature Reserve with the main intention of photographing orchids.
Just as I was packing up at the end of the evening I decided to photograph a group of Oxeye Daisies and as I approached I noticed this huge bug thingy hanging onto a Daisy stem. Luckily the little critter was settling down for the evening and allowed me lots of time to photograph it from various angles.
As well as a 'from above wing spread' shot I tried for some more head-on shots as well. Despite there being almost no breeze there was still some gentle movement which made focussing a nightmare. Shutter speed was low as well as I juggled with ISO and aperture in the fading light. I have lots of failed shots due to either movement in the breeze or inaccurate focussing. Depth of field is just millimeters when this close.
This is my first real bash at some close-up insect photography which makes me in awe of some of the quality macro shots I see posted on the forum. It's not easy.
Canon 20D, 70-200 F4 L @ 168mm + 25mm extension tube, ISO 400, f7.1, 1/60th, tripod, slight rotation and crop.
cheers
Sean
p.s. I think this is a Broad Bodied Chaser? Please let me know if my ID is wrong. Thanks.
p.p.s. An extra photo showing the bug in it's environment can be viewed here if you are interested ;
http://www.seanbolton.co.uk/uknp2006/bigbug2.jpg
Like this very much, you have done very well indeed for your first real bash, I would be very pleased with this, know what you mean about lots of failed shots
BTW, not an easy angle to ID but I would go for Four Spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata , there is no dark spot on the middle of the leading edge of the wings of the broad bodied chaser.
Great shot- I personally prefer this perspective to the 'all-in-focus-from-above-type' shot. This gives a better impression of the character of the beast. The 'from above' shots are how we are used to seeing them, this shows us something different
As for ID, I think it is a Four-spotted chaser. The reasons I don't think it's a broad-bodied is the body doesn't look particularly broad
My ID comes from the 'Guide to dragonflies and damselflies of Britain,' a laminated single sheet folding guide made by the Field Studies Council and the Natural History Museum (which I think is pretty good).
Tim
An excellent start into the world of macro.Love the shooting angle on this one.
I'll look forward to seeing more of your macro stuff as the season progresses.
John