Hello everyone! I am very lucky that I get to see a lot of odonates while out in the field. However, is rare that I get to photograph the live ones. So far I’ve only been able to take pics of a half-drowned one and another that had a wing stuck to a blade of grass. The thing is, I have a butterfly-…

There is another thread that discusses this, but I can’t find it. A few things: if you successfully net an ode, you can generally safely handle them so long as you do it properly and try to minimize the time handling them. Hold them by the wings, making sure to hold all 4 wings. They are not stro…

[image] cmcheatle: There is another thread that discusses this, but I can’t find it. Looks like this thread is similar: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/photographing-dragonflies/17595

How important is it (usually) to see an unobscured view of the wing venation?

Thank you very much! I’ll try this next time I go out, there’s this big red dragonfly I’ve been trying to take pics of for months already, haha. Would leaving them on the shore of my pond be okay? They seem to frequent it a lot (im guessing cause they go there to lay eggs) but other animals like was…

It is great that you are interested in odonates. But if you want to photograph them the best way is to upgrade your photo equipment; capturing them just to take photographs is unnecessary and undesirable. I’ve taken photos of over a 100 species of odonates without having to capture a single one. …

One tidbit that a number of experienced ode seekers have told me is: If you come across a perched dragonfly/damselfly and it flies away, just stand there for a few moments. Most are territorial and will return to the same perch. It has worked for me many times. If you can, I would also take JimMoor…

Unfortunately getting a good camera is out of the question for me rn, but I am planning to get a magnifying glass for my cellphone, would that work too? I have noticed that the bigger odonates are the ones that usually fly around, or “patrol” as you guys say they do (are they territorial? I see a l…

Try without camo gear… I’ve had situations with birding where I was able to walk up closer to a species of bird when in bright colours than when drably clothed… I’m guessing a brightly clothed human is easier to keep an eye on while going about their normal, than a partly hidden but still obvious on…

You can also get clip-on telephoto lenses for cell phones. I recently got a clip-on macro lens and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the photos.

I have so far only photographed three odonates. One was on a leaf, one on the ground, and one very high in a tree. For the low ones I just got as close as I thought I could without scaring them, then zoomed in with my camera until they basically filled the whole screen, and took the picture. Those p…

Better ways to photograph odonates?

Nature Talk

thomaseverest April 19, 2021, 5:15pm 3

Looks like this thread is similar:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/photographing-dragonflies/17595

Topic		Replies	Views
Tips for catching dragonflies? Nature Talk question	28	635	September 6, 2025
Photographing dragonflies Nature Talk	32	2626	December 20, 2020
Does anyone here use a net to capture insects to photograph? Nature Talk	15	1531	October 14, 2022
Best Practices for Capture and Handling of Dragonflies and other Insects Nature Talk question	11	9559	August 12, 2020
Photographing dragonflies that refuse to land Nature Talk question	19	1841	July 9, 2021

Better ways to photograph odonates?

Related topics