Dragonfly

I shot this with my Fuji FinePix 3800, which had a maximum apeture of

2.6. The background is blurred, but the dragon fly still blends in.

How could I have made the dragonfly stand out more?

"... maximum ape[r]ture of 2.6"

"2.6" what? Inches? Square millimetres? Steradians? Or f/2.6?

Anyway, physics is physics: the great advantage of a shorter focal length (smaller format) is that you get more depth of field. The great disadvantage of a shorter focal length (smaller format) is that you can't get less depth of field.

So it would probably be easier to do with a 35mm 100mm macro (if you could keep all of the insect properly in focus).

But meanwhile, I think the problem here is not so much that the background isn't blurred enough, it's that the background is terribly noisy. That violent white splash near the end of the tail is enough to destroy the effect. So I think the answer is to choose the background more carefully, not just trust the lens (any lens) to create a beautiful blur for you.

Problems apart, it's rather nice...