Dragonflies - Communal Thread

@Andy Johnson - your two Migrant Hawker shots are actually Southern Hawkers. #1 is an egg-laying female and #3 is a male. Great set, especially #1 - excellent detail on her face and good fall off along the abdomen.
 
Emja said:
Something I wasn't expecting out walking the dog this morning - we are nowhere near water. Although the bg is busy, I quite liked the way the blackberries placed the shot in season.

autumn treat by Em Jay, on Flickr

autumn treat 2 by Em Jay, on Flickr
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Very nice - dont think the background is distracting. Rarely do you get a clear background, and I think the out-of-focus blackberries, particularly on the the second, put it in context.
 
In France - where I see most of mine - there seems to be less this year ........ but it looks like, from the images on here, that it has been a good year in the UK

or maybe I just need to get out more!!! ...... plus my eyes are just getting worse so any MF is just hopeless
 
BillN_33 said:
In France - where I see most of mine - there seems to be less this year ........ but it looks like, from the images on here, that it has been a good year in the UK

or maybe I just need to get out more!!! ...... plus my eyes are just getting worse so any MF is just hopeless
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I live in the South East/Kent and it hasnt been a great year for me this season, 2015 was "slow off the mark" for sightings. Im gauging my findings, by Odonata activity in my back garden, and the numbers were definitely down on last year. 2 weeks ago though, there were some really good numbers on the wing. I counted 8 Common Darters basking/sharing one log!
To be fair, ive spent most of this Spring/Summer photographing Butterflies, so until recently i havent really been looking for them.

A couple more images from me, using the Nikon D700 and Sigma macro 150mm combo (both of these are not cropped).

Cheers Paul.

Common Darter Dragonfly (uncropped). 26th-September-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr

Common Darter Dragonfly (uncropped). 26th-September-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


And a couple of "garden" Damselfly images from back in June. Panasonic FZ150 with a Raynox 250 macro lens used.

Damselfly eating Shield Bug. 20th-June-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr

Damselfly eating Shield Bug. 20th-June-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
 
Testudo Man said:
I live in the South East/Kent and it hasnt been a great year for me this season, 2015 was "slow off the mark" for sightings. Im gauging my findings, by Odonata activity in my back garden, and the numbers were definitely down on last year. 2 weeks ago though, there were some really good numbers on the wing. I counted 8 Common Darters basking/sharing one log!
To be fair, ive spent most of this Spring/Summer photographing Butterflies, so until recently i havent really been looking for them.

A couple more images from me, using the Nikon D700 and Sigma macro 150mm combo (both of these are not cropped).

Cheers Paul.

Common Darter Dragonfly (uncropped). 26th-September-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr

Common Darter Dragonfly (uncropped). 26th-September-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


And a couple of "garden" Damselfly images from back in June. Panasonic FZ150 with a Raynox 250 macro lens used.

Damselfly eating Shield Bug. 20th-June-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr

Damselfly eating Shield Bug. 20th-June-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
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Fantastic set Paul, especially the front on shot of the female Common Blue munching on lunch.
 
Brachytron said:
Fantastic set Paul, especially the front on shot of the female Common Blue munching on lunch.
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Thanks for that Mark.
I was lucky with the Damselfly shots, because i saw the Damselfly take the Shield Bug from the tree above me, then it landed on one of my purpose placed Odonata perches in my garden, to set about eating its prey.

Cheers Paul.
 
A few more from this last weekend.
There were several pairs of Hawkers in Cop.
Just for a laugh, i took a new lens out with me(but i wish i had used my dedicated macro lens instead). That lens being the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4D, which i bought on the Sunday morning. Its alright for close ups, but not as a good as a macro lens. Quite heavy too, when coupled to a Nikon D700!

Cheers Paul.


1st shot is not cropped, Nikon D700/300mm f/4D lens, with a 12mm extension tube.

Migrant Hawker Dragonflies, in Cop. (uncropped). 4th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


2nd shot is not cropped, Panasonic FZ50 with a Raynox 150 macro lens.

Migrant Hawker Dragonflies, in Cop. Macro/close up (uncropped). 4th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


3rd shot is cropped some, Panasonic FZ50/Raynox 150 macro lens. Took this the weekend before, just a few Damselflies on the wing now, but if you look real hard, there are still some around in October.

Damselfly macro/close up. 26th-September-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
 
Testudo Man said:
A few more from this last weekend.
There were several pairs of Hawkers in Cop.
Just for a laugh, i took a new lens out with me(but i wish i had used my dedicated macro lens instead). That lens being the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4D, which i bought on the Sunday morning. Its alright for close ups, but not as a good as a macro lens. Quite heavy too, when coupled to a Nikon D700!

Cheers Paul.


1st shot is not cropped, Nikon D700/300mm f/4D lens, with a 12mm extension tube.

Migrant Hawker Dragonflies, in Cop. (uncropped). 4th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


2nd shot is not cropped, Panasonic FZ50 with a Raynox 150 macro lens.

Migrant Hawker Dragonflies, in Cop. Macro/close up (uncropped). 4th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


3rd shot is cropped some, Panasonic FZ50/Raynox 150 macro lens. Took this the weekend before, just a few Damselflies on the wing now, but if you look real hard, there are still some around in October.

Damselfly macro/close up. 26th-September-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
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Fantastic set of shots Paul
 
Some really good Dragonfly images posted on this thread lately, keep em coming;)


Several more from me, from this last Sunday(when it was sunny an warm!!!). cheers Paul.

None of these 3 images have been cropped. All shot with Nikon D700/Sigma macro 150mm lens/12mm extension tube.

1st up, a Migrant Hawker.

Migrant Hawker Dragonfly (uncropped). 11th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


2nd, a Common Darter, perched on the back of my hand. Tough shot to make, whilst holding D700/Sigma 150mm with one hand!

Common Darter Dragonfly, on my hand (uncropped). 11th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


3rd, a mating pair of Common Darters, which landed on my leg!...Hence the weird background of my jeans!

Mating pair of Common Darter Dragonflies, which landed on my leg! (uncropped). 11th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
 
Testudo Man said:
Some really good Dragonfly images posted on this thread lately, keep em coming;)


Several more from me, from this last Sunday(when it was sunny an warm!!!). cheers Paul.

None of these 3 images have been cropped. All shot with Nikon D700/Sigma macro 150mm lens/12mm extension tube.

1st up, a Migrant Hawker.

Migrant Hawker Dragonfly (uncropped). 11th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


2nd, a Common Darter, perched on the back of my hand. Tough shot to make, whilst holding D700/Sigma 150mm with one hand!

Common Darter Dragonfly, on my hand (uncropped). 11th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


3rd, a mating pair of Common Darters, which landed on my leg!...Hence the weird background of my jeans!

Mating pair of Common Darter Dragonflies, which landed on my leg! (uncropped). 11th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Superb Migrant Hawker image.
 
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Brachytron said:
Superb Migrant Hawker image.
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Thanks once again Mark.

I couldnt get out this last weekend, so no chance of any new images. But i do have another shot from a few weeks back.

In this image, the female had just uncoupled from the male! I wasnt expecting this, hence the reason parts of her wings are not fully in the shot. Within seconds, this pair parted company...Photo is not cropped, Nikon D700/Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4D lens, with a 12mm extension tube attached.

Cheers Paul.

Mating pair of Migrant Hawkers, uncoupling (uncropped). 4th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
 
Plenty of sunshine in Kent this last Sunday (i even sighted 5 species of butterfly on the wing!), there is still some Dragonfly mating action going on too.

Whilst taking a long range shot of a female Migrant Hawker, a male flies in fast and grabs her! Then for the next 5 minutes, he struggles to mate with her, they fly off and land at least 3 times, they fly around me a few times, land on the ground(on their backs!) are chased by another eager male, then they land right up high in the trees, almost out of sight...and one would hope that they finally managed to mate.

I took quite a few images of all the action, but still havent sorted through all the shots!
So here are a couple of photos of the pair. These images are not cropped.

Cheers Paul.


Female Migrant Hawker Dragonfly, attached to male! (uncropped). 25th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr

Pair of Migrant Hawker Dragonflies (uncropped). 25th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr


And i know this is not Dragonfly related, but nice to coax a Small Copper Butterfly onto my finger! if you know your butterflies, then you will know that the Small Copper is a fast flying species, and a swine to get close to!

Once again, this image is not cropped.

Small Copper Butterfly, perched on my finger (uncropped). 25th-October-2015. by Testudo Man, on Flickr
 
Not seen any yet and walk dogs regularly where they normally like to fly, hoping the good weather will bring them out down here in the New Forest.

Lovely shot, the detail you've got is beautiful
 
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