I have this pond that I visit frequently, and it has a wide diversity of dragonflies. One of them (which I have yet to photograph and figure out what species it is) soars over the water and flies in unpredictable patterns. I have never observed it perching despite watching it for long periods of time…
I am wondering how it’s possible to get a good photograph of a dragonfly in flight, especially one flying over rippling water that makes focusing on the insect itself difficult.
This thread had some advice:
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/photographing-dragonflies/17595
If you want to take pictures of a dragonfly in flight, a high shutter speed(well lit area implied) and using manual focus are probably your best bet. Take a lot of pictures in bursts as the dragonfly flies by and a few of them may be identifiable
Thank you!
I’ll keep this in mind- I still have to figure out my camera a bit, as I rely (maybe a bit too much) on the auto mode…
Welcome to the forum! I had that exact same problem recently when photographing around ponds. One of the dragonfly species there would just refuse to land so the only way to get pictures was to catch them in flight. Besides trying to use as fast a shutter speed as possible (full sun helps, higher ISO may be useful) what I did was:
With a bit of patience and persistence, I ended up with a few pictures good enough for ID.
On more than one occasion, I’ve shot 50+ pics of a flying dragonfly that never wanted to perch, managing to get maybe one shot that was in focus, that I could crop, and was identifiable. It can be frustrating. The saddlebags (Tramea) and clubskimmers (Brechmorhoga) can be aggravating that way, but they do perch eventually if you have the patience and there are perches you can see. I often put my own perches in the shore (one or more sticks stuck in the mud) and that actually works occasionally to get them to land where you want.
if you watch them for a while, sometimes you can notice a spot they come back to hover over (males of some species will guard prime egg-laying territory, for example). other times they fly past a certain spot often. i try and point my camera at one of those places, get a higher shutter speed ready, and wait (and repeat many, many times).
Have you tried spraying chloroform over the water until it sleeps? Seriously, I think you’ve received some good advice from others above. I employ similar things like shooting big numbers of pics hoping to get one in focus that I can crop and get an ID on. It works, sometimes. I try to pre-focus on the distance where the dragonfly patrols so the camera autofocus doesn’t have to hunt as much. And at least for some of these dragonflies, they seem to have a patrol route that is somewhat consistent, so aim for a spot they’ll be when they pause. And then fire away. < Maybe not helpful since you describe yours as unpredictable. I typically shoot 500 mm and 300 mm lenses and the 300 typically gets the better shots in these cases. You might also try going early in the morning and seeing if you can find the same dragonfly hung up somewhere before it starts flying. I’ve done that with some of the cruisers and darners.
All of the above is good advice. One other thing that sometimes works is coming by just after sunrise, when it is full light but still a bit chilly (depending where in the world you are). They are more likely to be perched at that time.
The answer depends on three factors – your camera equipment and its capabilities, the species involved, and the environment where you are seeing it.
You haven’t told us what your camera equipment is, so I can’t comment specifically on that. But depending on how good your autofocus is, you may want to rely on it–but select a fairly large focus area as opposed to a small central area. Also, if you have the capability to limit focus range, e.g. from 0 to 5 m, that might also help if the dragonfly is close, but the background that the autofocus would otherwise lock on to is distant. Finally, if you have a zoom lens, zoom out to increase your chances of keeping the critter in the frame–but try to zoom in quickly if it pauses in flight.
The environment will also play a role. If possible, try to position yourself so that the background is as plain as possible – sky or water, for example – rather than trees or vegetation. That could better enable your autofocus to lock on the dragonfly rather than the background.
The species also makes a difference. For example, Common Baskettails can fly almost continuously for hours, but they also frequently pause briefly – long enough for you to lock autofocus if you are quick. Other species can be more challenging. And sometimes it may be impossible.
Agreed. This baskettail never landed for me but flew a predictable beat back-and-forth on a narrow body of water … I just stood there near the middle of its beat and fired away with my SLR and telephoto and managed to get a couple of shots that were in reasonable focus. The simple background (water) helped.
I once met a guy who caught flying dragonflies in butterfly nets, photographed them, and then released them. Catching dragonflies in flight is not something that most mere mortals can accomplish, but he was lightning fast and said that playing baseball was good practice!
I have recently noticed that camera beeps disturb both butterflies and damselflies. Although mine is set at the lowest level, it is enough to prompt them to take off, even if they’re not particularly close. The (electronic) shutter sound fortunately doesn’t irk them so much. I can live without beeps, but need aural feedback when shooting.
Let you in on a secret of the ode community here. Many of the really good closeip pics of odes are ones that have been netted and then perched by hand hoping they stick around for pics. I know this is the case for many of my perched odes.
I’ve only managed to catch a few dragonflies ever, half of them by accident while swinging at another, but they do seem to stick around for a moment after you let them go. I guess they’re getting their bearings.
Has anyone tried bait? I’ve seen dragonflies go after fishing baits swung in the air, and I’d wager a suitably-sized lure on a thin line could get their attention, maybe even get them to land with it.
Pet stores sell freeze-dried crickets sometimes. I might have to try this.
If you do give it a shot, please post results!
Semi-relevant… there’s a somewhat complicated method used to catch flying dragonflies that originates from japan. It involves tying a pair of weights to either end of a thread with a small feather or piece of cloth tied to one end. You throw the thread into the air in front of a dragonfly so that the weights cause it to spin, the dragonfly mistakes the feather/cloth for prey and attacks, and the spinning thread wraps around the dragonfly and brings it to the ground.
I’ve tried to do this a few times but failed so far (usually because I lose the thread after a couple throws).
I have much better success catching dragonflies in flight using a net, but of course that takes practice and carries a risk of injuring the dragonfly especially if you’re not experienced.
I may have to give this a try. I looked it up online, and found plenty of descriptions of how it’s done, but not much past that. It’s apparently a children’s game where the dragonflies are usually meant to be released alive, so shouldn’t hurt them. I’d just have to use biodegradable thread, I guess, for when I inevitably lost it.