Dragonfly Portraits

I barely squeaked out my 100 photos yesterday (my daily goal for 2010) by taking macro photos of dragonflies. I originally intended to just chase the bugs around our neighborhood pond. I captured some nice images, but nothing too spectacular. There is a trick to shooting these Harriers of the insect world. Most of the time if you spook one, it will just circle around and land right back where it was. The bug in the top photo circled and landed on the same twig seven times, with me moving ever closer. He didn't get the hint until I bumped him with my lens hood. A neighborhood friend saw me geeking out, and presented me with a dragonfly on a stick. This little winged dude wasn't long for the world, but was still clinging to his perch like Velcro. I brought him inside to our makeshift studio, where I was able to control the lighting better. Here's the result:















No wonder you can't sneak up on these things; look at the eyes! It also never occurred to me that they have antennae, or creepy back hair either. The next project is to catch a dragonfly mid-flight. This will take some practice, but it'll sure get my 100 shots out of the way in a hurry.