Dragonfly!

[informer]

Here are some snaps of the dragonflies that I took on my roadtrip.

Firstly, it was not easy to find these guys and I spent hours looking for something life-like to appear on the scene (Japan is almost devoided of animals at this time except for the bloody mosquitoes).

EDITED : With many thanks to Kevin (mitedo), he has added frames to the pictures! :

Picture 1.



Picture 2.



Picture 3.



Picture 4.



Picture 5.



Guess which one is my favourite

[mitedo]

Nice shot's did you get my PM
Kevin

[petal666]

That last one is awesome.

[chris1968]

great shots informer - you must had had some real patience to capture these.

whilst i guess the last 2 shots are the best by virtue of the framing and backgronds i just love #2 for the depth the shadow gives to the image.

[pippin88]

Great shots informer, Dragon Flies are not easy to catch.

[informer]

Thanks! I seem to post at the weirdest times.

I took a lot of head on shots of the dragonfly for #2, then I realised that with the sun behind me there was a clear shadow beneath it. I was actually very surprised that I could take pretty good pictures with the 18-55 lenses.

The biggest challenge was keeping the dragonfly in focus, I could sometimes only get the body or talk in focus, but not the whole thing (the eyes would be blurred).

#5 was actually by chance. The thought of using the deepest blue sky (that I've seen in Japan so far) as the background never occurred to me. I took this picture in a clockwise position rather than the traditional anti-clockwise portrait shot (I have no idea why maybe I didn't have time to set it up properly). I didn't even think about this picture until I saw it later on my computer. This is my favourite out of all the dragonfly photos.

I think I only took 2 of such photos before the dragonfly flew away. They were taken in Nikko near Gunma. It is really a beautiful place compared to where I live (take a look at my beach photos by comparison).

[Slider]

Nice shots. Lots of patience and persistance, well done.

[moggy]

I do like the two shots where the dragonfly is clinging to the grass stem, they really capture the moment. Well done. Bob.

[sirhc55]

All of these shots are wonderful - except #1 - IMO the background detracts from the insect because it is too powerful in colour and definition

[informer]

sirhc55, I'm blessed with a very sharp camera

It was fun taking closeups. I was trying to get as close as I possibly could to it but alas the 18-55 are no macro lens.

Strangely, I didn't really use the Sony tripod that I borrowed from a friend. All the shots were taken by hand. Next time I try something like this, I would get myself a bigger hat, small chair and a tripod and sit between the grass waiting for nature to unfold. BTW, is there any other way of making the camera totally silent? like no clicking noise when I'm taking pictures.

Anyway I love the d50 and am truely amazed at the results. I think the would-be buyers are going to be very happy with what they're getting. Investing on a cheaper, smaller body and spending more on lenses is the way to go!

[OzzieGirl]

Nice shots informer. It's great to see such fantastic results from the D50.
Pic 5 really stands out with the bright blue sky.

[robboh]

Nice shots. 2, 3 & 5 do it for me. I didnt like the composition on the 2nd one until I had a closer look and saw the shadow on the rock... then it made sense I also just had a 'wow' from the other half over my shoulder on #5 as I was scrolling past it.

[JED]

Nice series of pix, Informer. You obviously have a good supply of patience.

Happy to see you're loving your d50 as well.

Cheers, John D

[informer]

Thanks John, hows the personal affairs working out? Waiting to see more pictures from you, especially car shots