Damselfly
I caught this young lady hiding in a bunch of brush. I didn't think she would stay still while I got close enough to her, wading through it all. Fortunately, sh...
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I caught this young lady hiding in a bunch of brush. I didn't think she would stay still while I got close enough to her, wading through it all. Fortunately, she hung around for just long enough, before she flew off....
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Feb, 2015Views
603
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in It's a bugs life! Photo Challenge
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankCategories
Papa2Girls
March 22, 2015
WOW, thank you very much for everyone that voted for this photo and giving it the "Peoples Choice" award! You guys rock and I appreciate it very much!!
PRO+
ladawnmccuewilhelm
March 22, 2015
This is a awesome photo I am so happy she stayed still for you I love the sparkle of color or her wings .very pretty
Papa2Girls
March 22, 2015
Thank you very much. Yes she was patient until I pressed my luck trying to get even closer to her, and then she took off. For the most part though, my experience with dragonflies & damselflies are pretty tolerant to people. I've had one get on my finger before, and then she took off. I had a butterfly once that was flying around outside a gallery we had in Laguna Beach and when I came out to look at it, it flew onto my head and landed. This was repeated several times when I would come back outside. Other people got some pictures and the kids around all laughed. It got to the point, that when I would go outside and hold out my hand, it would land on my finger and then I would put it up to my head and it would go onto it. ;-)
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
The image was captured at "Peters Canyon Regional Park" which is just a short drive from my home. It is a well maintained walking/mountain biking trail that wraps around a 50 acre lake. It is also dog and horse friendly, so you can expect to come across them occasionally. The longest trail is about 5.5 miles around the full loop. The park has a variety of wildlife, reptiles, insects, and birds.Time
This image was taken in late afternoon, as it was a pretty hot day. I waited for it to cool down a bit as I was going to be hiking quite a few miles. There were some scattered clouds, but as is normal in Southern California, mostly just bright blue sky.Lighting
While hiking the trails, I tend to keep my eyes scanning the entire terrain for possible photo opportunities. I tend to look more often away from the direction of the sun when it's not directly above, as this will lend itself to a better "natural light" image.Equipment
I shot this photo with my Canon 7D and a 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 kit lens. (hand held)Inspiration
When I captured this shot, I was at the end of a long hike and had got a few landscape shots of the lake. I switched out my wide angle lens for this telephoto for any possible wildlife or birds that I may encounter on the way out. I noticed an area with a dense amount of brush, so I stopped and visually scanned it for any kind of movement. I noticed a reflection and pulled up my camera to get a closer view. I saw this Damselfly in resting position and quietly moved in a bit closer to try and get a less obstructed view. I snapped a few quick shots just in case she flew away before I could get a better vantage point and I would have something possibly. Fortunately, I was able to get in closer to get a mostly clear view, but yet still far enough away to have a nice "bokeh" effect for the background.Editing
As far as the post-processing of this image, I went through my normal workflow. Import into Adobe "Lightroom" and then made a few tonal adjustments, little noise reduction to soften the overall feeling. I then gave it a crop and a slight vignette to finish it off.In my camera bag
I have my main camera which is a Canon 7D and an older Canon Rebel just as a backup. I have a Canon ES 28-135mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 17-40mm 1:4 L USM, Canon EF 75-300mm 1:4.5-5.6, 3 extension tubes 12-20-36mm (for macros) 3 extra batteries, 3x 32gb memory cards, cleaning equipment, sunscreen. Outside of the bag, I have use of a Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with Internal 1.4x Extender.Feedback
The best advice I can give to people is, never leave home without it, (your camera) as you never know when an opportunity will pop up. My backpack is always on the ready and goes with me wherever I go. For this particular type of shot, (insects) have patience and persistence as they will eventually come to rest and allow for a photo opp. Be aware of the natural lighting available and always shoot in RAW format if possible as that will give you more available data to utilize in your post-processing of the image. Most importantly though is, have fun and don't forget to enjoy the world around you while you are out there, "some memories are not just captured on photos."
