Photographing dragonflies requires preparation, precision and patience (part 1)

Saturday 28 May 2022, 15:51 by Erik Nevels | 4,861 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

It is dragonfly season again. A number of species of these active daytime fliers have been around for several weeks now. Photographing dragonflies is not easy, but I find that makes it all the more challenging.

A precision job that requires patience and attention. Good preparation is half the work. That is what this first part is about.

Knowledge

As a photographer, having knowledge of nature gives you a real advantage. Knowing about animal behaviour, for example, helps enormously.

It is no different with dragonflies. If you know which months they appear, where and at what time of day, you are already well on your way.

It does require some study, because with the division into 'true dragonflies' and 'damselflies', around 70 species occur in the Netherlands. Worldwide, there are no fewer than 6,300.

As well as in field guides, you can also gain a lot of knowledge about dragonflies online, for example at Vlinderstichting.nl.

A fairly rare species in the Netherlands is the banded demoiselle. Sony A7 mark III, 200mm, g/4.5, 1/320 sec, ISO200

The weather

Before I go out to photograph dragonflies, I check the weather. There are a few conditions it needs to meet for photographing dragonflies to be successful.

Little or no wind is one of them. That means I can work with slower shutter speeds and do not have to turn up the ISO.

A second condition is sunshine. When the sun is shining, dragonflies like to come out. They depend on the sun's warmth to regulate their body temperature.

Last but not least, I check the weather for the chance of dew. Covered in dew drops in the early morning, a dragonfly cannot fly yet. Besides, all those drops are literally and figuratively brilliant.

Dew drops prevent the dragonfly from flying away. Sony A7 mark III, 90mm, f/7.1, 1/320 sec, ISO100

Time of year and time of day

The dragonfly season starts in April, when the first dragonflies emerge. It gets much busier in May. Some species do not die off until late autumn, partly depending on the weather conditions.

The exceptions are the common and northern winter damselflies, which overwinter as imagoes, that is, as the flying insects we know as dragonflies.

The common winter damselfly also overwinters in the Netherlands. Sony A7 mark III, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO640
You can photograph dragonflies all day, but as mentioned, early morning is favourable. The light is not too harsh yet, and dew-covered dragonflies stay put until they have dried off. A dewy dragonfly also stands out quite well among the vegetation.

You can also photograph them during the day, although the bright sunlight is not ideal and many species are mainly flying around then. If they do land, they require an extremely careful approach.

In the evening, the dragonflies look for a place to spend the night. In the evening twilight, for example, banded demoiselles gather in groups to sleep.

The banded demoiselles have found their sleeping place. Sony A7 mark III, 200mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO3200

The location

To photograph dragonflies, I look for water because they need it to reproduce. Streams, ditches and pools are ideal.

The dragonflies find their food above the water, but certainly also in the surrounding area. This consists of all kinds of small, usually flying insects such as mosquitoes, flies and moths.

What do I take with me?

When photographing dragonflies, I always take two lenses with me. Obviously my macro lens, but also my 200-600mm telephoto lens.

The macro lens speaks for itself. It allows me to photograph from close up and take close-up photos.

I also regularly use my telephoto lens, out of necessity because the dragonfly is too far away and I do not want to trample the vegetation flat to get closer.

But even when that necessity is not there, I often choose the telephoto lens because it allows me to photograph the dragonfly small in the frame against a blurred background, or in and with its surroundings.

With the telephoto lens, I like to photograph the dragonfly against a blurred background, or in and with its surroundings, like the four-spotted chaser in this photo. Sony A7 mark III, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO640
I always take my tripod with me too, and use it regularly when I have the macro lens on the camera, and quite often with the telephoto lens as well.

I shoot handheld when the tripod cannot be positioned properly or when I want to be able to act quickly, for example when the dragonfly does not stay perched for long.

I also take a polarising filter and, for occasional use, a small reflector and cable release.

How and when?
More about that in part 2 of this blog.

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