A Damsel and 2 Dragons

[Joe_T]

A Damselfly and 2 Dragonflies taken at Tangelwood Park in Clemmons, BC. It was a beautiful but breezy day when I took these.

Feel free to correct me on any identification as I'm not certain with the exception of the Little Blue Dasher.


I think this is a Fragile Forktail.



The next two are of a Little Blue Dasher






I think the last 2 are of a Black Shouldered Spineyleg.

[TravelingChick]

Great shots. What's your setup?

[Joe_T]

Thanks. The OM-1 with the 100-400 on a Mono-Pod. Even with that reach these have been heavily cropped.

[MJ224]

Lovely photos Joe. Ours are barely here yet...

[Joe_T]

Thanks. This is the first week I've started to see more than one. Hope to get out some more but weather forecast is for some rain most of this week.

[blackfox]

super stuff Joe

[Joe_T]

Thank You.

[antpitta]

Nice set Joe. Not warm enough here yet!

[Joe_T]

Thanks. I think it was a long cold winter everywhere.

[HerrBill]

Your use of a monopod caught my eye. I'm thinking of procuring one for my 150-400 F4.5.
Any tips you could give me would be appreciated.

[Joe_T]

I've been using a monopod for many years as I'm unsteady on my feet and have a bit of a tremor in my hands. It helps but I still manage to sway forward and back and side to side. It also adds some weight to whatever you are carrying. I keep it attached to my camera but only partially extended as I walk. I just took a look at my monopod and it has no markings on it so I can't tell you what kind it is. Fully extended it is about 5 ft. 8 in. and I have a Lefoto VH-10S head attached that adds another another 3 in. to it. Mine has levers to lock/unlock each section but some come with a twist mechanism that does the same thing. The Lefoto head allows the camera to be tilted up and down but doesn't rotate and I don't think you need one that does as it is easy to rotate the monopod. If you are shootings birds in flight or other subjects that will require you to tilt the camera almost straight up make sure whatever you get will be long enough for your height. My only complaint about the Lefoto head is that the arca plate that came with it is small and I found that with a heavy load it may slip. I use a plate from my tripod instead and I haven't had it slip since doing that. I've ordered a Cotton Carrier harness as I find the 100-400 quite heavy. I'll have to play around with it a bit as I still plan on using my monopod. Good luck with whatever you use.

[Harold Gough]

Nice images. I would hesitate to identify UK species from images. No chance with yours!

Harold

[Joe_T]

Thanks. I find the damselflies more difficult to ID as some are so small and slender.

[Harold Gough]

There can even be colour variants within a species, as well as changes with maturity

https://www.odonata.org.uk/id-aids/blue-tailed-damselfly-colour-forms/

https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/blue-tailed-damselfly/

Somewhere here I uploaded an image of the pinkish version from our garden.

Harold

[MK1]

Really lovely images
Joe I will probably buy a 100-400 and end up using a monopod I am not sure if I should get the MK1 or MK2 ?

[Joe_T]

Thanks. I have the MK1 but I prefer my 40-150 F2.8 with either 1.4x or 2.0x TC. I find the 100-400 quite heavy and bought a Cotton Carrier device as an experiment but returned it.
I've seen positive comments on the MK2 and probably would have bought it but the MK1 was available at a great price. I may eventually just sell the 100-400 but won't replace it if I do. If you are hand holding shots the Mk2 may produce better results at the long end. I use a Mono-Pod for most of my shots as I have a bit of a tremor in my hands and I'm unsteady on my feet. If you can find a way to try both that would be great as the Mk1 can be had at a much lower price. OM system is still selling both as far as I know. Where I live there are no camera shops so everything I buy is from online sources. Good luck with whatever you purchase.

[MK1]

I may rent a 100-400 MK1 first to see what I think perhaps