Enallagma Civile (Familiar Bluet)

Resting ...  (Enallagma civile; adult male)

Having a camera that can take a picture in less than a second after you turn it on is a great advantage if you want to shoot life in nature. While getting in the car I noticed this libellule looking for a place to sit. I grabbed the camera and took the shot immediately. The only thing I managed to do is to focus (manually) and shoot. Seconds later the insect had flown away.

Photo by George J. Reclos

Shooting data:

Camera: Nikon D70
Lens: Tamron AF 28-300 f/3.5-6.3 @ 300 mm
Sensitivity: ISO200
Shutter speed: 1/250sec @ f/11
Flash: no flash used.
Image: JPEG processed in Photoshop CS, unsharp mask filter, curves to reduce the highlights and resized. 

Enallagma civile (common name: Familiar bluet)

Those insects are found everywhere if you are close to a pond, river or lake but usually they are on the move which makes it quite difficult to capture - not to mention freeze their wings in mid flight. Fortunately, they will land every now and then and - if you can get there quickly enough - you can take some interesting photos.

Photo by George J. Reclos

Shooting Data:

Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro 1:1
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/160 sec - f/14, Aperture priority mode
Flash: SB-800 in i-TTL mode
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.