Sunday, May 22, 2011

Photographing Dragonflies

Identifying dragonflies from pictures can be a tricky task. Organizations like Odonata Central will not even consider photographs as a record of a sighting for many different species because they look so similar to a different species.
So if you want to take pictures of dragonflies the best tip that I can give you is to try and photograph them from as many different angles as possible. If you are photographing them to turn into a survey as a record the best thing to do is to net them and then photograph them in hand making sure to photograph distinguishing features.
Or if you happen to find a cooperative dragon, like this immature blue dasher, you can move around the subject taking pictures from different angles, in this case front view, abdomen view and profile.


6 comments:

Michelle said...

Wonderful captures!!!

real lady said...

lovely snaps...i really like it.

Unknown said...

Your photography is superb. You never disappoint.

I wonder if you could recommend a good binocular for birding. I have a pair of 7x35 Bushnell Birders that I have been using for about 25 years. They do the job but I understand that a lot of improvements have been made in recent years. Can you offer any personal suggestions? It would make an interesting blog post.

fjÀllripan said...

Beautiful dragonfly! Very nice capture!

Susan said...

Amazing dragonfly captures! Beautiful!

Amila said...

Great photos! Yes, you are absolutely right about identifying issues.