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Laying her eggs #1

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted July 3, 2016292 views5 comments

I went out yesterday looking to shoot Dragonflies and/or Damselflies. As I sat by my pond, this female Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) came by and started depositing eggs into the water puddled on top of a lily pad about 18 inches from where I was sitting. This let me (and the fast autofocus of my 7D2) get a number of sharp images of her in action. (7D2, 180mm macro, 1/1250s, f/8, iso 800, full frame, hand held)

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on July 3, 2016 at 12:44 PM

Mark, to have got the df in flight with sharp focus is great. A nice behavior image. Which 180 are you using.

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on July 3, 2016 at 3:59 PM

Well caught, Mark. Thanks for the back story as well.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Jake Alletson on July 3, 2016 at 11:31 PM

Great catch. It wasn't only the camera that was fast but the photographer as well. As an aquatic biologist I wonder if the larvae from those eggs will survive? Perhaps they will make their way to the under-surface of the leaf and then onwards from there.

Registered on May 3, 2016, 12 Posts, 163 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on July 4, 2016 at 7:32 AM

Outstanding detail for this in-flight DF, Mark. Most impressive.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on July 4, 2016 at 10:42 AM

Hi Mark,

Awesome shot. devil

I wonder if you could selectively sharpen the apical segments of the abdomen to better define the water film covering the tip of the abdomen. Still, with the thorax and head sharp it is an impressive shot I'd like to see other shots in the series..........................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments