I almost trod on this dragonfly on the lawn:
Quite early in the morning I was walking back to the house after letting out the turkeys and chickens when I just happened to notice this dragonfly on the lawn. Not knowing how long I had, I first got my compact camera to take a ‘record shot’ in case it flew off – see the previous post.
I then got my DSLR, fitted it with the macro lens, and put it on a tripod to take a set of photos. The first photo (above) is, what I call, a 3/4 view from above, i.e. not straight on nor perpendicular. It shows the full extent of the insect with most of it in focus. The low angle of the early morning sun can also be seen here.
In this next shot I have got in close to take a (portrait?) view showing the head, some of the thorax, and where the wings attach. I was pleased with the way this turned out as it was beginning to move slightly as it warmed up.
In this last shot of the set (more are in the gallery), I show it vibrating its wings to warm up the muscles. I did not have chance to get a better view as it flew off soon after.
You can see that the wings are blurred due to the vibrations as it warms up its flight muscles.
The full set, taken over a span of about 10 minutes, can be seen in the gallery.