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Ian Luyten's picture

Damselflies

I (almost) never leave home without my camera. On a small walk with the family I noticed these little ladies ... begging to be photographed. So I did ...

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6 Comments

I shots! love Damsels there the smaller creepier cousins of the Dragons. Harder to get than dragons in my experience at least.There eyes are so much smaller and I seem to be fuzzier. Also there usually a little more skittish. All very solid shots, the last one is fantastic!

It was kinda funny, number 2 and 3 are actually the same specimen. It started at the side of the pole, but when it saw me taking pictures it crawled on top and started to pose !

Edit: they were like 5 cm, say 2 inches in length, and their eyes are a **** to get in focus !

They seem to be similar to butterfly eyes. I'm not sure if they're actually fuzzy or if the stripes are kind of broken looking, but they always look a little fuzzy, even when I'm pretty positive I hit focus. I always sharpen them a bit in post, but try not to over do it. Yours look great to me. A bit of fill flash would help make the colors pop though.

Yeah, too bad I always forget my flash when I go outdoors ;-)

I shot without a macro flash most of last summer. I was usually pretty happy with the results. I like the results of the flash better, but it is one more thing to pay attention to and does bulk up the camera quite a bit. My flash and softbox are bigger than the camera and lens and almost as heavy, but I do think it's worth it. Another option is to carry a small flashlight and point it at your subject for a little fill. You're doing great though and sometimes it's best to go slow and add things as you go or figure out what work best for you. Keep it up, and happy shooting!

Wow, I really love that last shot, great work.