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dragon

B

Bart de Vries

New member
|visoflex3|bellows2|extention tubes|135te|m8|

1014035-browndragonfly2-v135te-tubes-cs3.jpg


Thanks for viewing.
 
J

James Newman

Member
I know people don't usually like it here when someone says things like wow or stunning or magnificent but you know what? In this instance I don't really care. This photo made me say WOW when I saw it and it is stunning and magnificent to me. One of nature's true mechanical masterpieces is the little dragonfly and you captured it beautifully in all respects. I really enjoy nature and macro photography and this one is truly unique and special. It is a side of the dragonfly that I have never looked at and I am very glad you showed it to me. And by the way, I really liked your other paddo photo almost as much but did not want to go overboard and gush and oooh and ahhh in more than one thread.
Splendid.

James Newman
 
D

doug anderson

New member
Sharp, impressive, beautiful photo. You managed to get the wings when they weren't moving. They are so incredibly delicate.

I still don't understand how you shot it.
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
So, Bart,

Do you watch the roaming pattern of the dragon flies and then setup and wait 30 minutes for it to come around again? In any case, this creature in pure gold with glass wings is a delight I've seen only in the Cartier window!

Asher
 
B

Bart de Vries

New member
thank you for your comments

@ James
Thank you for your kind words, I'm very happy that it pleases you. The paddos are of course just a kind of mushroom/fungi. I just liked paddos for the title better than mushrooms ... :)
@ Doug
Not the slightest breeze this time so I got away with a shutterspeed of 1/6.
Mind you, minutes before this shot was taken its wings were still folded backwards: it had yet to make its maiden flight.
Sometimes you really get very close and of course without hurting them you can even touch the animals !
@ Asher
Don't know about Cartier, but knowledge of your local patch is key here. I'm always astonished reading about people chasing dragonflies. True as it is that they will return often to the same spot, I found that most of the time they just land out of my reach. I'm more in favour of a stealthy approach, but for obvious reasons that won't work with bellows/visoflex and a tripod. Therefore I try my luck early in the morning when the temperature is low and the animals as a consequence are slow.

kind regards.
 
J

Jess Young

New member
This photo just jumps out and grabs you! I have seen a lot of technically perfect shots that still managed to be just average. This one has that extra something that makes it special.

The highlights in the wings are absolutely fantastic. Looks like timing was perfect, too!
You are going to have to work hard to top this one!
 
Asher Kelman

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Bart de Vries said:
|visoflex3|bellows2|extention tubes|135te|m8|

1014035-browndragonfly2-v135te-tubes-cs3.jpg


Thanks for viewing.
Click to expand...
Bart,

I must admit that I was drawn to revisit your picture and am thrilled. Frankly it really thrills me and makes my heart go upside down from the beauty of this animal. These creatures are amazing hunters and very successful over the past 10 to even perhaps 100 million years! Ancient versions were great hunters and had a huge wingspan. However, when the climate temperature of the planet dropped, the metabolism of these wonderful flyers could not generate the energy to sustain them as hunters and the small variants were selected and these are alive today!

I commend you for thinking about the nature of the creature that it will return to its patch and be slower in the cold morning. Mike Spinak is also a natural life macro and bird photographer who knows his subjects as a mother know her child. He understands the hot currents and how the hawks and other raptors might use these to rise coming off the mountains and then oversee their hunting terrain, hovering over their potential prey before diving for the kill. Knowing this, Mike is able to acquire pictures that others, perhaps, might not. Here he shows how he approached shooting a Forster's Tern near a beach. I like the preparatory descriptions as it makes us a little closer to the action and might help our own photography.

We especially appreciate how you approach such a shot with the dragonfly so that others might follow. In that line, could you photograph your macro setup? For sure, most folk have no idea of what the Visoflex is, LOL
 
Last edited:
M

Mike Spinak

pro member
Beautifully photographed, Bart. I especially like the reflections on the wings. Well done. Congratulations.

Did you make this shot in Amsterdam?
 
B

Bart de Vries

New member
Jess Young said:
This photo just jumps out and grabs you! I have seen a lot of technically perfect shots that still managed to be just average. This one has that extra something that makes it special.

The highlights in the wings are absolutely fantastic. Looks like timing was perfect, too!
You are going to have to work hard to top this one!
Click to expand...

Hi Jess,
perhaps its the Leica glass that makes it jump out ;-)
Glad you like it and yes I'll need more then a bit of luck for the next one !

Kind regards.
 
B

Bart de Vries

New member
Asher Kelman said:
Bart,

I must admit that I was drawn to revisit your picture and am thrilled. Frankly it really thrills me and makes my heart go upside down from the beauty of this animal. These creatures are amazing hunters and very successful over the past 10 to even perhaps 100 million years! Ancient versions were great hunters and had a huge wingspan. However, when the climate temperature of the planet dropped, the metabolism of these wonderful flyers could not generate the energy to sustain them as hunters and the small variants were selected and these are alive today!

I commend you for thinking about the nature of the creature that it will return to its patch and be slower in the cold morning. Mike Spinak is also a natural life macro and bird photographer who knows his subjects as a mother know her child. He understands the hot currents and how the hawks and other raptors might use these to rise coming off the mountains and then oversee their hunting terrain, hovering over their potential prey before diving for the kill. Knowing this, Mike is able to acquire pictures that others, perhaps, might not. Here he shows how he approached shooting a Forster's Tern near a beach. I like the preparatory descriptions as it makes us a little closer to the action and might help our own photography.

We especially appreciate how you approach such a shot with the dragonfly so that others might follow. In that line, could you photograph your macro setup? For sure, most folk have no idea of what the Visoflex is, LOL
Click to expand...

Hello Asher,

I'm sorry for being away from this thread for so long. Thought it had reached end-of-life ...
But thank you for pointing out Mike's thread, interesting reading and confirms the fact that 'knowledge' will get you the best opportunities and therefore the best chance for success. About my rig, didn't I post a picture of it somewhere else ? Anyway here it is.
1020567a-viso-bellows-135te-m8-cs3.jpg

Kind regards.
 
B

Bart de Vries

New member
Mike Spinak said:
Beautifully photographed, Bart. I especially like the reflections on the wings. Well done. Congratulations.

Did you make this shot in Amsterdam?
Click to expand...


Hi Mike,

thank you and my apologies for taking so long to respond. This shot was taken a little south of Amsterdam in the Jac. P. Thijsse 'heem' park originating from the early 20th century. It has a large pond with reeds and water lilies. It's between the reeds where you find juvenile dragons early in the morning. Not quite ready yet for flight and therefore 'easy' subjects.

All the best.
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Hi Bart,

Van harte gefeliciteerd (my heartfelt congratulations)!

This is a great begin to 2009 indeed.

Cheers, groetjes,
 
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