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Dragonfly on a Waterlily

The heat and humidity in New Orleans is nothing new for a native Houstonian. Still, I could feel myself starting to sunburn as I waited for the right moment - f...
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The heat and humidity in New Orleans is nothing new for a native Houstonian. Still, I could feel myself starting to sunburn as I waited for the right moment - for a dragonfly to land on a flower facing toward me.
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NIKON D5100

settings

Aperture 63/10 ISO 800 Shutter 1/4000 Focal Length 5000/10

location

New Orleans, Louisiana, US

upload_date

Sep, 2022

Views

938

Likes

+41

Awards

Contender in the Photography Awards

Chatter Award

People's Choice in Flora-up close Photo Challenge

Achievement in Originality

Top Pick Award

Peer Award

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Superior Skill

Outstanding Creativity

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

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Top 20 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

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Top 30 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo in June of 2022 at the New Orleans Botanical Garden in the City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. There's a waterlily garden right outside the tropical plant house that was full of colorful waterlilies and lots of dragonflies buzzing around.

Time

It was a hot, sunny, humid late morning in June. My mother and I were there on a short, 3-day trip over a long weekend, having driven over from where we live in Houston.

Lighting

The lighting was overall not great, because it was late morning and the sun was out, creating harsh shadows. But there were some clouds, so I just waited around the waterlily garden probably for a good twenty minutes, taking shots any time a cloud rolled over the sun.

Equipment

I was using my Nikon D5100 which at the time of this photo I'd had for 10 years. The lens was my indispensable 200-500mm Nikkor telephoto lens with the UV filter I purchased with it. The bright outdoor light made using flash unnecessary. Using a tripod probably would have been easier if my intention had been to photograph only in a handful of spots for longer periods of time, but I was moving around to look for the best angles, not to mention the main point of the visit was to see as much of the gardens as possible, not to spend all my time in one spot. A tripod would have just been one more thing to carry around, on top of the 6 pounds of camera and lens combined and my bag.

Inspiration

As my mom and I were exploring the gardens, my original intent had been to photograph birds. I'd seen a few, but not as many as I'd been hoping for. But I noticed the brilliantly-colored waterlilies with dozens of dragonflies flying around them, and I knew I had to try to get some photos of the dragonflies perching on the flowers.

Editing

I cropped the photo just a little to bring attention a little more onto the dragonfly and a little less onto the flower so that viewers would see it more in the context of a dragonfly perched on a brightly colored flower instead of a flower that has a dragonfly perched on it. I also increased the brightness and the saturation of the colors, because the photo was taken when a cloud was covering the sun - this makes the contrast between light and shadows less harsh, but it also means that flower petals and dragonfly wings don't shimmer and colors are a little dimmer. And I decreased the contrast some because even though a cloud had rolled over the sun, the white center of the flower was still very bright and a little washed out in the original photo. I also cleaned up the excess noise - a higher shutter speed to make the dragonfly come out sharp and clear meant my ISO needed to be a little higher, which meant a little more noise, especially in the flower petals and in the negative space.

In my camera bag

My bag contains my Nikon D5100, which is currently my only camera body as I save up for my next one; my 200-500mm telephoto lens, which is indispensable for photographing birds; a wide-angle lens which I like to use for landscape, travel, and street photography; the more basic 55-200mm zoom lens I bought with the camera in 2012; lens hoods for all 3 lenses; a large microfiber lens cloth which is very useful for cleaning not only my camera equipment but also my glasses; my 64GB and my 128GB memory cards; 2 camera batteries; battery charger; soft-bristle brush for removing dust particles from lenses and sensors; and now the new pair of binoculars I just got for when I want to bird-watch but not necessarily take photos.

Feedback

Watch the dragonflies and learn where they like to be. They're likely to be close to sources of fresh water, usually calmer waters with plenty of vegetation where their eggs will be safe. Watch where they land - often they'll come back to the same perches, even if they leave it to chase off another dragonfly. Aim your camera at those perches instead of always trying to follow the dragonfly - they can change direction much faster that your camera can.

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Dragonfly on a Waterlily

The heat and humidity in New Orleans is nothing new for a native Houstonian. Still, I could feel myself starting to sunburn as I waited for the right moment - f... Read more

Behind The Lens

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The heat and humidity in New Orleans is nothing new for a native Houstonian. Still, I could feel myself starting to sunburn as I waited for the right moment - f...
Read more

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