Thursday, November 12, 2009

They are Dragons, They Fly Around

Butterflies would not fly without the presence of dragonflies. Whenever I see butterflies, dragonflies are there. They are either hiding in the bushes, or flying around like helicopters.

But the more I know, the less I understand. Thus I can only talk about what I have seen recently and during my childhood. These dragonflies have somehow disappeared since I have grown older and older, and now they return, after I have started to see things through my viewfinder. This is my macro piece of eye. It should be good enough, but not good enough if compared to the twenty thousands pieces of eyes of the dragonfly.


Dragonflies are not easy to be caught by hand, as suggested by the name. They are dragons, they are quite alert to any movement in the surrounding, and fly away swiftly, but they will come back to the same spot immediately. Though they will come back, it is still not easy to capture them in pictures.

"The eyes on a damselfly are apart; in most dragonflies the eyes touch." Thus, the next two stars are surely damselflies that had challenged my capability to handle them.

They can also be differentiated from the dragonflies by the way they hold their wings vertically and together when at rest.



This dragonfly has landed in front of me, and blocked my way. If I was in a miniature world, I should take a ride to visit Alice in the Wonderland.

And if you miss your autumn, come here often. By the way, Alice has always appeared during autumn time.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rainfield, your photos of the dragonflies are stunning! Of course, I come to visit you everyday to get my dose of nature..

Love the info on your dragonflies also..

Anonymous said...

Hooray...I'm the first one for a chance! It must be late in your time there..

George said...

I think you got some wonderful pictures of the dragonflies and damselflies. Thanks for the information on how to tell the difference between them.

XoXo said...

They are beautiful rain, that first shot is "watching him, watching you". Dragonflies were one of my passions as a kid, loved to catch them.

Cheryl said...

Wonderful photos of the dragonflies. Fascinating facts as well. A couple of days ago while snapping a photo a red dragonfly landed on my wrist! I was thrilled to view it so closely.

Salitype said...

oh! rain...i used to catch those dragonflies and demselflies as a child. i find it fascinating, then as now, to watch and cath them - by thumb and forefinger....ah memories of childgood flashes back before my eyes!

they are lovely, specially the red ones but they are fiere, they sure can bite por sting( whichever is the right term...lol)

Joanne Olivieri said...

It is so difficult to capture dragonflies on camera. You did a fantastic job my friend, they are really cool.

rainfield61 said...

Icy BC: Good morning, and congratulation, you are the first one but I have missed to witness this. 11:36pm, I had just off my PC for a good rest.

George: It is easy to differentiate damselflies from dragonflies, but to name each species, I surrender. LOL.

Pacey: After a few disappoited shots, I switched my flash, the first one was very much annoyed by the strong light. It "vibrated" it head vigorously at that momnent.

Cheryl: That must be a close encounter, of a third kind?

Salitype: Yes, they bite, but not as painful as the ant's bite.
A gentle bite?

Poetic Shutterbug: This is autumn. I have no problem to capture
dragonflies on camera. There must be more to come, because I have a long, a very long autumn, or summer instead. I am confuse. LOL.

Sharkbytes said...

These are really neat! I haven't had much luck with dragonfly pics except some of the skimmers which seem to sit still longer. And some dead ones, ha! I LOVE that first pic.

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

The fist picture looks like a stealth fighter jet.

Diane AZ said...

Congratulations on those great dragonfly and damselfly images! And, I never knew the males and females had different names or appearances.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Weldone and nice close-ups..!
The first picture reminds me this one. :)

Cherry said...

must try my luck to make it as the 1st commenter next time. :(

you always inspire me to dig my archive and post my 'forgotten' photos. you started the butterfly fever and i was infected. now, its dragonfly. let's see if i can find my other dragonfly photos and post soon. :)

ps
'love all the shots!

VanillaSeven said...

I noticed there are different pattern and colors on the dragonfly body. The most common that I saw is red.

The Retired One said...

They say if you can get a dragonfly to land on you, it is extremely good luck.
So if you did it, you have a lot of good luck ahead for you!!

Willie a.k.a Reptoz said...

Howdy Rainfield !

A dragonfly just died in my room last night. Headless. I think the dragonfly was a victim of our house lizard . Gee....

Rick (Ratty) said...

You have made a good observation that the dragonflies seem to appear when there are butterflies too. The last time I got a photo of a dragonfly, I was actually chasing butterflies. Maybe the dragonflies appear for you now is that you have reopened your child eyes that are full of wonder. Looking with the eyes of a child might be the only way to see Alice.

Bengbeng said...

because the dragonfly is so flimsy, sometimes the camera's auto focus goes out. well taken pics

rainfield61 said...

Sharkbytes: I believe the first two are skimmer. if I am not mistaken.

Tabib: Stealth fighter jet? mmmmmmmm.....it is.

Diane: Seems like you are fully entertained. Great!

Kirigalpoththa: Your "this one" are good pictures. You managed to accomplish some nice jobs.

Cher: You are too far out this time. There is always next time, no problem. Is your fever still burning? LOL.

VanillaSeven: Lat time the most I can see was a dragonfly, but now, I am able to see more in terms of colour, species etc.

The Retired One: Then, I must try my best to get one to land on me. If I manage to get many, I shall have endless luck ahead for me.

Willie: Howdy!! Your dragon has lost in the battle.

Ratty: I was seeing Alice chasing after the butterflies with her net. That's why, I wrote about Alice in this post.

Bengbeng: It just requires some tricks and practices. It is not as hard as you think. Why don't you go out to have some tries?

Anonymous said...

I photographed one similar to your first photo sometime last year. Dragonflies are lovely creatures.

Glennis said...

As always your photos are very good, specially that wonderful first photo. We don't have many dragonflies around here.

Reanaclaire said...

Beautiful snapshots captured on God's great creativity!
Great shots!

Anonymous said...

I have always wondered why they are called dragonflies, when they do not resemble dragons nor flies.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous!! These are not easy insects to capture.

SquirrelQueen said...

Great captures on the dragonflies, they are extremely difficult to photograph.

tony said...

Nice to see someone else likes nature especially our small even tiny ones. Nice shots of the dragons and damsels. I was out 2 days ago early in the morning and captured some of our tiny bugs in macro hard to believe the colors in some of them. will have to start writing about them.

eileeninmd said...

They are great captures of the dragonflies. Well done!

nonizamboni said...

I enjoyed my visit to your 'small' world and appreciated the info. Such great shots--thanks for sharing!

Jeannette StG said...

The first two pics are beautiful. I am such a city kid, everything you're telling me is new!

Ayie said...

For a long time i haven't seen dragonflies. I remember clearly catching it with bare hands before.