articles/Nature/capturingdragons-page1

Capturing Dragons by Andy Astbury - part 1 of 1 2 3 4 5 6

by Andy Astbury Published 01/02/2009

Do you want quality saleable images of some of nature's most spectacular and wonderful creations, the macro-miracles of evolution that have been around, in one form or another, since the time of the dinosaurs?

If so read on!

Dragonflies have a staggering amount of fine detail, from the massive, exquisitely coloured, compound eyes (which are the obvious, main point of camera focus) and which, within themselves, contain thousands of individual lenses, to the amazing mouth structure and the long facial 'hairs' each of which sit in their own 'pit'.

Alternatively if you adopt a 'top-down' view you will bring into focus the phenomenal structure of the neck joint along with the wing roots, the upper thorax detail and, if in your plane of focus, the wings with their complex ribs and spars.

The detailed complexity of nature's engineering abounds everywhere, all of which, as a wildlife photographer, you can capture and subsequently present to a spellbound audience. This is what this article will teach you - how to capture a dragon!

But it's not quite as simple as you might think - I do wish it was!

Yes, we can run down to our nearest retailer to buy the best macro lens on the planet and while we are there we can also spend a not inconsiderable amount on the highest resolution camera body upon which to mount this awesomely sharp lump of glass.

But so many times I get emails and phone calls from disappointed photographers, of all levels of ability, and all with the same set of problems.

The two main problems that arise more often than not stem from the same criterion - depth of field, or as I shall refer to it from now on, DoF.

When it comes to macro photography some people don't consider DoF until it's too late - they've found a subject as rare as hen's teeth, photographed it and then felt thoroughly gutted at their failure to be impressed by their own images.

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