No worse for wear, Garden pond, Amherst, NH, August 2006, HP Photosmart R817, Exposure 1/385 sec @ f5.0, ISO 100, with flash © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]Look closely at his wings. Tattered gossamer. Can you see the small tears in the ends? I wonder how that happens. Did he narrowly escape being eaten by a bird, or is this just from doing dogfights too close to the cedar tree. I'm glad he made it. He's probably getting up there in dragonfly-days. They don't get to live too long. And even with their short life, their body begins to give way.
But to me he looks happy. Certainly no fear in letting me close to take this picture. He may be battle-scarred, but he is also glorious. Hey Mr. Dragonfly -- now you are immortalized.
4 comments:
Gorgeous close-up, and crystal clear. As was yesterday's bee. I tip my hat to you. Do you use a tripod? Amazing focus.
So, you're sure it's Mr. Dragonfly rather than Mz?
:-)
Nevertheless, glorious is a good word.
Thanks Pat. Tripod? What's a tripod? No, I'm afraid my technique is currently limited to dumb luck, and the theory that electrons are cheap, so just take more photos and throw away the embarrassing ones.
A gorgeous clear photo and a lovely dragonfly - this guy looks as though he has been through some strong winds, to tatter his wings like that.
Thank you kerrdelune. I suspect yours is a much more accurate description of the cause of his injuries. Nature wastes no energy, and probably just makes the wings last long enough.
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