dragonflying

[sonew]

many attempts to capture dragon flies in flight, but they're fast. What can I do better?
Nikon D90; f8; 1/125; ISO 200; 230mm focal

[Anner]

I'm not an expert, but I think you can try using shutter priority at high speed, 1/500 maybe?

[Pen]

higher shutter speed for sure!, im guessing some of the blurring is actually your movement, unless your using an IS/VR/OS type lens the magic formula is 1/focal length in order to help reduce and blurring on the picture, so in your case shooting at 230mm, you should go for a shutter speed of at least 1/250 if your not using a tripod of course. Now for actually getting the dragonfly, it all depends what your trying to do. If you want it totally frozen with essentially no blurring on the wings, or to keep the wings blurred some to show that motion. But essentially go for a higher shutter speed. To help with that you might want to open up your aperture to its maximum to let in more light if your shooting in low light without a flash. However a wider aperture typically causes the image quality to degrade, so its up to you what you want to do. Also, if you are having to shoot in low light a flash really does wonders! hope that helped

[lowbone]

When shooting dragonflies look for the higher sticks that they like to perch on. Even though they fly away , they always seem to return to these perches. Right before they return there is a short period where they hover like a helicopter for a second or two. That is the best time to get your flight shots. It takes some luck. Their flight pattern is so unpredictable it is almost impossible to track them. Make sure your ISO is set high enough to get 1/500 of a second or better yet 1/000 of a second shutter speeds. I use AV when shooting dragonflies. I like to be able to control the background. If I see my shutter speed is not where I want it I simply change apertures.