So many times in this blog I have written about seeing the unexpected. This is another example. While photographing water lilies at the macro Longwood Gardens workshop last week, we saw this huge dragonfly attached to one of the blooms.
It took a moment or two to realize that it was no longer alive. While I would not have wished that, it did make it very easy to photograph. Often dragonflies perch fairly briefly, fly off, and perch again, sometimes back to the same spot over and over again. At those times it pays to stand your ground and wait patiently for it to return to the same place.
In this case, however, we were able to take many shots to get exactly what we wanted. Because of the distance he was away from the edge of the pond, use of a moderate telephoto lens worked best.
A little optimization in Lightroom helped the look of the final image. The leaf and flower were darkened slightly in order to help the bright green body stand out.
It was a treat to see this large beautiful dragonfly close at hand.
TECHNICAL DATA
Shutter Speed 1/320 sec. Aperture f/13. ISO 800. Lens: Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS, set to 200mm. Camera: Canon 7D Mark II. Handheld.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous." -Aristotle
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