Smile for the Camera
Clear Wing Pond Damselfly on a Pink Flower
Clear Wing Pond Damselfly on a Pink Flower
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Aug, 2016Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Magnificent Capture
Genius
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in our neighborhood close to our home in Henderson Nevada while we were living there. I love to go for walks in the morning when insects, birds, and animals are all starting their days. More animals seem to be out at this time and the lighting is lovely.Time
I love the happy energy of the pond damselfly. This photo was taken in the morning when the sun was still low on the horizon and the lighting was soft and direct having no shadows on the damselfly or flower. I love taking pictures of animals in the morning when the animals are active hustling and bustling about starting their days.Lighting
I love the lighting in the morning when the sun is not directly overhead, but at an angle. This lighting is very good for shooting animals and plants. The flower and damselfly are fully lit naturally with no distracting shadows.Equipment
This was shot on a Nikon D810 with a Nikon f1.8 70-200mm lens with a UV filter attached and that was it. I used natural sunlight for the lighting.Inspiration
On my walks with my camera I am always looking for interesting plants, animals, things to photograph. When I saw the damselfly on the flower I knew immediately that I wanted to take it’s picture. I had been wanting to take some macro pictures of bugs on flowers. Using my telephoto lens I was able to take photos without disturbing the damselfly. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the huge smile on it’s face later when looking at the shots. They are really small and hard to see. I did not know they had such cute faces.Editing
The only post processing I did was to crop the photo in tighter around the flower and damselfly.In my camera bag
During this period I was shooting on a Nikon D810. Currently I am shooting with a Nikon D3500. For shots like this I pack a telephoto lens. On this day I had a Nikon f1.8 70-200mm. Currently I am using a Nikon Nikkor f4.5-5.6 55-300mm for nature walks in a small camera bag with shoulder strap. This camera is very light and easy to carry on longer walks.Feedback
Take walks with your camera and look for interesting and beautiful things along the way. I used Aperture Priority Mode to let in as much light as possible, to create the bokeh of the background, and to make the Damselfly and Flower stand out from the background. The lighting in the morning and late afternoons is a beautiful time to take pictures.
