Ready For Takeoff

This dragonfly was rather uncooperative. It kept flying around.

For a few seconds it seemed fine and that is when I took this shot. As soon as I took this photograph it took off and landed far away.

I'm going to start doing tutorials for my Youtube channel again. If any of you have any suggestions and/or topics I'd be happy to hear them.

Ready For Take Off

I can't remember when I last shared a picture of a dragonfly but it's been a while so here is one today.

These can sometimes be a real challenge to photograph and you have to go to great lengths to get a good shot but it's worth all the effort.

This dragonfly gave me a particularly difficult time. It wouldn't let me go near it and it just wouldn't stay still for more than a couple of seconds so by the time I'd framed my shot it would be somewhere else.

Finally I decided to just be very still and wait till it came and rested in front of the camera. I figured it wouldn't be very long since it kept moving around. It took a while but this is what I was able to get.

Missing A Piece

It's been a while since I last uploaded a picture of a dragonfly. One of the many reasons is that winter is coming and so we don't see dragonflies this time of the year.

Which is also why you'll see more landscape photographs from me now.

Anyway back to the dragonfly. This little beauty was having a feast that afternoon. It kept flying off and returning with something between it's feet and then eating that.

Somehow it managed to stay still for a minute which is when I was able to get close and take this photograph. I used the flash to darken the background. Unfortunately that caused a hard reflection in both its compound eyes. Note to self- build a diffuser for macro shots.

It was only when I was post processing this photograph that I noticed that it's right wing was torn.

Red And Green

This magnificent red dragonfly was perched on this plant. The plant has no leaves, only these thick, pointy stems.

On most evenings you can find dragonflies perched on the ends. Fortunately this evening it was red dragonfly. It stood out in stark contrast to the green background.

Fortunately this dragonfly didn't spook easily and I was able to get close so I got a nice bokeh.

One With Its Surroundings

Here is another picture of a dragonfly.

I never really got down to taking a lot of pictures of dragonflies in the past and now that I try to take pictures of these beautiful creatures, I realise that I should have started a long time ago.

This beautiful dragonfly is quite common in this area. It's the red and the orange ones that are really rare but nowadays you'd be lucky if you spotted one of these because there aren't very many.

There are too many houses coming up and so they've lost their habitat.

Red Alert

These dragonflies might look like they are just resting and not really paying attention to their surroundings but they are actually quite alert.

I noticed this dragonfly early one morning in this place and it looked like it had spent the night there so I assumed it was sleeping. I think I was wrong because the second I got too close it flew away.

Fortunately it came back and perched on the same stem which is when I was able to get this shot.

Waiting Patiently

That title actually goes for both me and the dragonfly. We were both waiting patiently for a good catch but very different kinds of catches :D

While I was waiting to catch a good shot of the dragonfly, the dragonfly was waiting for catch a good insect for a nice meal.

The picture actually turned out way better than I'd expected. I was fully zoomed in using the SX50 and as you know the picture quality deteriorates a great deal on this camera when you zoom in fully so I didn't expect to get a lot of detail but I was surprised by the amount of detail I did get.

The Acrobat

With no stunning sunsets lately I've looked at photographing other things. Sadly there are a lot of new buildings coming up and so they've started clearing and digging up the land so that means very little wildlife here. I haven't seen an adult Oriental Garden Lizard in a long time and I miss those beautiful creatures already. I saw a juvenile today and that was pretty cool.

Anyway dragonflies make interesting subjects. They're really great - so many varieties too. Of course photographing them can sometimes be quite the challenge but one good shot more than makes up for it all.

This particular fellow wasn't the patient kind (or maybe it's just me). It kept flying around without sitting for more than a few seconds in one places. That's where the SX50 HS really comes in handy because of it's massive zoom.

Usually I like to get up close but this time it kinda seemed impossible so zooming in was the only option. It worked out well so that's good.

Sun Bathing

You'll find a lot of these dragonflies out and about when the sun is shining. That, to me was strange in the beginning because we were always taught in school that dragonflies come out only when it's about to rain.

Of course that proved to be false, like so many other things they tell us and I'm glad that it isn't true.

If it was then I wouldn't have been able to get this particular picture.
This dragonfly stayed pretty still till I took this picture and then it just flew off.

I was amazed by the details in the wings and the entire dragonfly when I zoomed in after I'd copied the pictures to my computer. Just goes to show how amazing God's creation really is :)

Red Dragon

I happened upon this red dragonfly when I wasn't prepared. The camera wasn't with me and I nearly went too close.

Fortunately the dragonfly stayed in the same place long enough for me to go grab my camera and get a good shot of it. These red dragonflies aren't very common here so it's always a treat to see them. They're really beautiful.

I find that these red ones are more easily spooked than the other dragonflies. I wonder why that is.

For all you skeptics out there - The colours are all natural. I haven't added or subtracted any colours. These beautiful creatures do exist. Just the beauty of God's wonderful creation :)

My Pretty Wings

I  haven't photographed dragonflies in a really long time so I wanted to get back to doing it because they really interest me.

They come in so many variations that it's sometimes difficult to keep track. Anyway this particular dragonfly isn't one of the more common ones in this area. Most people don't even know it exists and when they see pictures of it they think I've swapped colours or something like that.

With dragonflies you have to be slow and patient as they'll fly off at the smallest sign of trouble. The trick is to wait patiently without moving a lot in the same place as the dragonfly will invariably come back to it's old resting spot and then you can get a good picture.

Handstand

Another one from my Dragonfly series. It's not officially a "series" but I still like to call it that. It will be a proper series when I am able to get pictures of different kinds of dragonflies.

I like the red dragonflies partly because they are less common where I live.

This particular dragonfly was quite the one for poses. It kept shifting its pose every few seconds. With this pose it seems to be saying "Don't mind me, I'm just working out." This is the perfect handstand. It held this pose for quite sometime and I'm glad I was able to get a picture of it.

I'm working on another self-portrait which is again one that has been on my "Photography Bucket List" for quite some time now. Honestly I never liked taking my own picture and I didn't like someone else taking it either so these self-portraits are like a breakthrough :P

Well I really went off topic with that. Anyway hope you enjoyed today's post :)

Nature's Helicopters

Yes! You guessed it. Today's post is going to be about dragonflies.

I like dragonflies. I think they are pretty cool and I just love the way they are able to fly straight forward, hover and do all sorts of mid-air tricks - it boggles my mind!

I don't see red dragonflies very often so I was pretty excited when I saw this one after a really long time. It was sitting on this wire and didn't really move for quite a while thus presenting a great photo opportunity. I had to climb up high just to get level with this dragonfly and had to extend the camera with my hands quite a bit. My arms were aching afterwards but it was worth it.

Have a nice one folks :)

Sun Bathing

I like dragonflies. Not that I don't like other creatures. I like all creatures but dragonflies are pretty common here and do provide great picture opportunities.

Like this little fella here just perched on a twig under the mid-day sun. So happy :)

A little tip for those of you who want to get close to these insects while photographing them. Don't make any sudden movements. Approach them slowly. I've noticed it helps when you approach them from the back or side and then move to the front. Dragonflies will stay perched for quite a while in one place so you can take your time. Even if it does fly away it will come back to the same spot so just wait for a few seconds.

That's it for now. I'll now get back to recording a tutorial so stay tuned for that. I'll let you know as soon as it is done :)

Take care.

I'm High

Not really. I meant high as in high up - NOT high as in...oh! never mind!

It was't me I was talking about either. I'm referring to this little dragonfly perched on this twig high above everything else. That's where I go the "I'm High" title from.

Dragonflies are really cool IMO. I remember when we were kids we would tie strings to them and then place an eraser (rubber..whatever you call it) and they would pick it up and never let go. It was awesome albeit a little cruel which is which I stopped it completely when I learnt that it was in fact harmful for these wonderful creatures.

I like to refer to them as Nature's Helicopters. Was man inspired by dragonflies when they set out to build helicopters?

Here is a confession of sorts - I never thought it would be so difficult to share at least one new picture everyday. It is tough! Especially when you are not able to shoot as much as you want to. It is tough balancing photography and studies. Don't worry I'll do my best to share at least one new picture everyday. Although this might not be possible everyday for two reasons. Either I'm really busy with other stuff or I don't have internet access. I could go on and on about the internet connection here but I'll spare you from boredom.

Anyway hope you enjoyed the post and don't forget to check out the cool Light Painting tutorial I shared a couple of days back. Don't forget to check out the cool examples towards the end and also in between.
I'm working on a few more tutorials so stay tuned.

Have a nice day.