Darner Eyes

I first saw this Green Darner (Anax junius) in my pond last Sunday hanging from a water lily leaf. It had metamorphosed, but it's wings were mangled so it couldn't fly. Yesterday, it had managed to get into the grass alongside the pond, which made it possible to take this 24 frame stack at nearly 1.5X. Today, it's gone. The larger version shows off the facets in the eyes nicely. (5D3, 100mm macro IS + 56mm ET, 1/8s, f/8, iso 800, tripod, cable release and mirror lock up).

Yes, as I was taking these, I felt a combination of excitement at the opportunity and a significant sense of exploitation of the poor creature's misfortune.