During the spring of 2010, I hired a […] Haven't posted for a while so I thought I would get the ball rolling again with some Dragonflies in flight. So, with the dragonfly nicely in focus I re-framed the shot (i.e. We went to a local park to look for Dragonflies or other investing subjects to photograph. Presto! ... Talk about a singular photo opportunity. Great for birds in flight, but for something this small and quick it can create a problem because as soon as the dragonfly moves off-centre the camera will refocus on the background. They are super hard to photograph in flight. Most dragonflies, especially the bigger species, follow set feeding and flight routes or have favorite perches or hover points. and so … Hi all. There are several species of them but the most common is the Violet Darter. Photographing dragonflies in flight Jul 11, 2012 Every dragonfly season I try to capture the odd one in flight. Trying to photograph dragonflies in full flight motion is extremely difficult. any advice recieved would be much appreciated. It seems like it is a slow start for dragonflies at this local park compared to other years. I agree that photographing dragonflies or damselflies in flight is tough, but if you are patient and work with them you can find those that are patient with you or just get used to your presense and will pose nicely for you. It was still fun to see what we could find. some one mentioned ai servo on canon but im not sure what the equivelent is on the pentax. Welcome to Dragonflies and Damselflies of the New Forest, a site dedicated to the enormously rewarding pastime of tracking, identifying and photographing these most beautiful of insects.The New Forest on the South Coast of England offers one of the most diverse array of species in the UK, and has become a popular holiday destination for Dragonfly enthusiasts. i would be very gratefull for any info on camera settings etc. Tripods. But we did manage to photograph a few different types. If you study them and watch what they do and where they go, you will be able to set yourself up in a position to photograph the dragonfly most often when it is at rest. Photographing dragonflies in flight is always a challenge. Capturing dragonflies in flight. Finally you’ll need to think about how you will support you camera and lens when photographing dragonflies, if you have a good technique for hand holding then you’ll be fine but many of us don’t (I know my skill here varies with my back pain etc.) As with most small, fast-moving subjects trying to track a moving dragonfly is often beyond the ability of either the photographer or the camera’s autofocus system. After a while you start to pick up on their habits and quirks, and you learn when you can get close and when you're wasting your time. The trick is to find one that's busy. A dragonfly, in flight, over rough terrain, and in focus. Insects (which dragonflies are remember) are sensitive to UV (Ultraviolet) and bright colours tend to reflect UV more. many thanks H This means that the camera automatically refocuses on the target as it moves (so long as you keep the focusing point over the subject). There are more than 5000 species of dragonflies which live all over the world. Insects have wing beats ranging from 12 beats per second for a large butterfly to 250 beats per second for a honeybee. Mostly Tau Emeralds with two Australian Emperors for the last two images. I moved the camera so that I could just make out the edge of the dragonfly in the corner of the frame), and waited. The best defence for a dragonfly comes in their ability to detect movement, so in order to get close to a dragonfly it is vital to keep your movements slow and even, fast, juddery movement will put your prey subject to flight.