Thunder_o_b
TPF Noob!
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2012
- Messages
- 260
- Reaction score
- 20
- Location
- N.E. Ohio
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
It was a sunny day last summer as I worked my way around the ponds at the Wayne campus of The University of Akron. All the little ones were in their best dress as the mating season was in full swing. I stood among the cattails of pond number one watching the various dragons courting each other. The scene was a blur of iridescent reds, greens and blues as each of the dragons tried to out do each other.
As I watched the dancing unfold before me, I noticed a male and female red dragon that seemed to have made their choice. I held out my arm and offered them a safe place to rest after their dancing. First the male landed and walked around for a bit, then the female landed. After a while they took to the air again. They locked together in preparation to mate and returned to land on my forearm. They stayed for several minutes, then took flight and headed to the pond to start the next generation of red dragons.
As you can see from the shots they are a smaller type of dragon. I have had dragons land on me every so often, and each time I am humbled that these beautiful predators think enough of me to share a moment in time.
This shoot was very challenging. Balancing the camera, lens and flash on my upper arm and controlling the shot was no easy thing. The minimum focusing distance of the Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro really played agents me, I had to have the camera and flash rig balanced on my shoulder for the last two shots. It is a good thing that I sight with my left eye as they were posing on my left forearm, and I could only see part of the view finder. I pre-focused, set the focus limiter, and used the AF for this shot. (one of the rare times that I did not manual focus in a macro shot)
It took two days for the crick in my neck to ease up.
Canon 50D, 1/250 sec at f11, Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro, 580EX II flash in a flash rig set to - 1 stop, handheld (balanced on my left upper arm and shoulder)
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As I watched the dancing unfold before me, I noticed a male and female red dragon that seemed to have made their choice. I held out my arm and offered them a safe place to rest after their dancing. First the male landed and walked around for a bit, then the female landed. After a while they took to the air again. They locked together in preparation to mate and returned to land on my forearm. They stayed for several minutes, then took flight and headed to the pond to start the next generation of red dragons.
As you can see from the shots they are a smaller type of dragon. I have had dragons land on me every so often, and each time I am humbled that these beautiful predators think enough of me to share a moment in time.
This shoot was very challenging. Balancing the camera, lens and flash on my upper arm and controlling the shot was no easy thing. The minimum focusing distance of the Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro really played agents me, I had to have the camera and flash rig balanced on my shoulder for the last two shots. It is a good thing that I sight with my left eye as they were posing on my left forearm, and I could only see part of the view finder. I pre-focused, set the focus limiter, and used the AF for this shot. (one of the rare times that I did not manual focus in a macro shot)
It took two days for the crick in my neck to ease up.
Canon 50D, 1/250 sec at f11, Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro, 580EX II flash in a flash rig set to - 1 stop, handheld (balanced on my left upper arm and shoulder)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I know it had to be difficult getting these shots. A few years ago I had a fly land on my finger and didn't want to leave. So I managed to get a shot of him using my left hand only. At that time I was using the Tamron 90mm.
