 |
| Dragon. Flying. |
The flying dragon is Rhionaeschna multicolor -- a Blue-eyed Darner.
I never thought I would capture a dragonfly in flight. They've always been too skittish when I approached them. Damselflies seemed the less high-strung cousin, so I concentrated on them. Plus their wings fold back, which makes for better perching photos.
Recently, however, I encountered this dragonfly flying lazy loops, patrolling its patch of the San Diego Safari Park. It was very predictable, and the light was good. So I stopped my camera down as much as I could without sacrificing shutter speed, and did a combination zoom, pan, and shoot until my camera's meager buffer was full.
The above photo was the best of the bunch. The eye is not in super-sharp focus, but I am happy with the result.
Check out where the Darner holds its forelegs while in flight: behind its eyes, tucked up against its neck! Its other four legs are tucked neatly beneath it. I wonder if that's a Darner thing, or if all dragonflies do this?
Did you know dragonflies actuate their wings differently than most insects? Smarter Every Day covered this:
