Thursday, July 23, 2015

Warning: Sci-Fi Dragonfly

Seriously, if you are currently eating or just finished eating, *do not* look at these images. They are extremely graphic:) They look like frames you might see in a Science Fiction movie, except that they are the real deal.

I used my macro lens exclusively today which allows up to true 1:1 magnification. That has a very technical meaning in the photography world: it means the size of the object is the same size on the camera's sensor.

This dragonfly didn't mind me pushing a lens near his face at all. I think he kind of liked it. He sat quietly on a deck railing, and either didn't move much or briefly flew, then returned to almost the exact same spot.

All these shots are handheld. Remember, the macro lens at close focus has an extremely narrow depth of field: much less than 1 mm. To keep things in perspective, the dragonfly in all the photos below is only about an inch long.


Note the same single spot of orangey color on the front tip of each of his four wings:

The Whole Dragonfly




Check Out Those Full Lips



Showing a bit of five o'clock shadow, but in any case, he was looking *right at me*; I'm sure of it.

Two Eyes Plus a Third Eye



Looking from behind him, his head and eyes appear like a helmet, with a special hairy fringe:

Do You Think He Washes Behind His Ears?




Oh The Burden of These Heavy Wings




Hungry Dragonfly



Sorry this next shot wasn't fully in focus. But maybe that's a good thing, because really you don't want to look at it for too long...

Bug Delicacy Going Down




Just Finishing Up a Yummy Bug; and Showing Off His Muscular Abdomen


All photos © 2015, all rights reserved.  Contact me for licensing or to order prints.

2 comments:

  1. Fun! Especially like "Check out those full lips".

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    1. Thanks. Indeed, prior to taking these photos I had no notion that a dragonfly might even have lips. I suppose any creature with a mouth probably does. It is interesting that he (or she?) turned his/her head for that shot.

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