My Favourite ImageCopulating Blue Tails (Ischnura elegans)
A pair of copulating
Blue Tails
This is a pair of Blue Tailed Damselflies in the act of copulation or mating. They can be seen in a classic "wheel" position with the male perched on an upright stem. The female is suspended below, held firmly by his anal claspers.
This pair was located in an area of grass but were perched on a single stem with no back-ground clutter.
This meant that the image could be taken with a medium depth of field setting, that allowed for the whole subject matter to be in focus while placing the backdrop nicely out of focus.
This simple technique will have the effect of accentuating the detail of the subject.
However if you use too shallower depth of field then some of the subject may be out of focus, which is not acceptable in my opinion.
There will be a happy medium to be struck between full subject focus and a blurred background.
Digital Image Properties
Date - 09/08/09
Camera and Lens - Nikon D300 SLR with a Nikon 105 mm VR macro lens.
Aperture Setting - F11
ISO Speed Setting - 400
Mode - Taken in hand held mode with single point centre focusing selected.
This photograph was taken by and remains the property of Chris Brooks
Chris Brooks Photography
(www.dragonfly-images.co.uk)
