Always In Training - (enlarge)

Just before supper my husband called me out to our Gazebo,

Camera in hand, to see what he described was a beautiful

Dragonfly. It was hanging onto a rope we keep to tie down the roof

of the Gazebo if the winds get strong. I had to climb on a chair to get

near it. The wind was blowing the fabric 'shade' walls of the Gazebo

in on me and our guest was having a bit of a time hanging on as

well. I did not really obtain an opportune capture, but I am still

excited, it is my first colorful Dragonfly ever. To be honest I do not

have enough knowledge to know if it is a Dragon or Damselfly. But I

will be searching for the identity of this one. I thought the turquoise

coloring was so beautiful. There have not been many in our

backyard, ever. There are so many beautiful captures of them on

PN, and one day I hope to acquire such skills to get those fabulous

images. (any comments are always welcome, many thanks, Gail)

Nice and sharp with good colors.  I like it. 

Thank you! You have quite a few really good captures in your Portfolio of Dragonflies. I have always enjoyed your captures. I am coming over soon to see an image of a deer you posted earlier!

Gail.....Wonderful capture of this dragonfly/damselfly, always an interesting study. Some mornings on the weekend I'll sit in the backyard with my coffee and watch the dragonfly hoovering back and forward looking for prey with the morning sun shining of its wings. Once in a while you can see them pick off their prey. Thanks for sharing. Best regards, Bob.

Beautiful colors on this one Gail! Captured with such detail and a perfect focal range.

http://insects.about.com/od/identifyaninsect/a/dragonordamsel.htm

Cheers!

Sam

Well composed Gail. I admit that the bugs have some beauty, but I still don't like them. Great shot anyway.

Regards Eystein

Beautiful details, lighting and colors here, Gail!

 

Hi Gail, Yea this one's a winner. Great colors and nice detail. It was a tough catch but I would say it was well worth the effort. Take care.

BR,

Holger

Wow! great photo and details. She is a lucky charm  for  many people in different countries.  Lovely. Abrazos.

Magnificent colours and textures, perfect DOF!

It's a migrant hawker... It is a dragonfly

Thank you so much Line. I used the link Sam Bal provided and did learn the difference between Dragon and Damsel Flys, and knew that it was a Dragonfly, but still could not identify what kind it was. I appreciate so much you providing that information. I was still looking on the Internet to see one with the pattern of Turquoise and Brown.

 

Once again, my sincere thanks for your kindness, Gail

Thanks so much for that Link. I found it fascinating as well as informative. I do appreciate you providing it for me. I took a quick look at all the Dragon and Damsel Fly images you have taken and you have done quite well! Your kindness is much appreciated.

 

Sincere regards, Gail

Many thanks for your visit and very encouraging words of critique Vlad, I do appreciate them very much. ;-) Gail

I did not know about them being a Lucky Charm!! They are quite beautiful and so interesting to watch. We used to live along the shores of Lake Ontario, and in our backyard there, we saw ones that were particularly  very dark large! They were so fast I never did get a capture. It is so nice to hear from you Mari, I hope you are enjoying your summer!

Thank you Holger!! I hope that one day I can really capture the fine details that others are able to. But it is always good to have such a goal!!! My sincere thanks for your visit; your support encourages and inspires.

Thankyou for your visit and sharing those thoughts with me Bob. I am really learning a lot about them. William Stainworth sent me a few shots of some from his backyard water garden in England. There were a few exoskeletons that really caught my interest (he has posted that pic) and also told me they live under water for about 3 years as Nymphs. I read that they are really ferocious eaters!! I imagine they must be fascinating to watch, especially where you live!

Hello there, so nice to hear from you. Your encouraging remarks shared are truly appreciated Phil!

Knowing how much you dislike bugs I count it a treat to hear from you! My sincere thanks for your encouraging remarks!

Your support and time you take to visit and share a few words is appreciated more than you know, my sincere thanks for both!

Hi Gail,

A+.

Now these are the kind of results that you and I both know are due to properly using your lens settings, and focusing the lens manually.hand holding a 100mm lens at close range at 1/50 second is outstanding, too.

The Canon 100mm F/2.8  macro is best at F/2.8. Like all well executed true macro lens designs, there is no better performance than using these lens WIDE OPEN.

Warmest Regards, Mike

 

This is a very nice image ! I love the blue on the background color.

 

Ben

Gail, I love this dragonfly, its colors are gorgeous, you did a very good job capturing this one and its very sharp, I also love the background which made the subject to pop up, very well done my friend, you work is always excellent!

Best regards,

LuDa

I agree with Luisa, and congratulations for your first gorgeous Dragonfly superb image! The colors and texture are spectacular! Warm regards.