Almost Mile High, a photo from Aarhus, West

Photographer's Note

I don't know if this is the hawkers' equivalent to the Mile High Club, but this pair of Aeshna Mixta (migrant hawkers) decided to settle high up in the rushes in mid stream. Our local brook is about 4 meters wide at this point, and so far, I'd only tested round the edges. Rubber boots are only so high, and I didn't care much for having to walk home soaked to the thighs in rather stinking water ;-) But today my dachshund tested the waters for me, and when a dachshund can walk there, it's not so very deep, I reckoned. Therefore, I jumped in and set about catching the pair in action. They were very obliging and stayed in position for at least 10 minutes, allowing me to take a great number of photos (had time to change the batteries in mid-action, too..)
When the mating was over, the pair flew off in tandem along the brook. Two days ago I'd spotted another female hawker laying her eggs in some rushes a little further upstream, so I decided to check this spot again, hoping to find the wee lady there busily securing the next generation. However, I shouldn't be so lucky. What I did find was a male - possibly the above male - resting in the rushes along the stream. He sat calmly rubbing his head a little with his forelegs, but apart from that he didn't move, not even with the camera 10 cm from his face. Even caught a small video sequence of him.
Treatment: Dog: Soap and water :-). Photo: Crop, colour +5, Contrast +5, Saturation +5. USM, resize and upload.
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To Michael: I'd love to be able to show you the egglaying of one of these creatures, but unfortunately the weather has changed drastically here - from 26 degrees Indian Summer yesterday to about 10 degrees, rain and wind today. The latter is normal for Denmark this time of year, so unless it changes back, I'm not likely to witness any more egglaying this year :-((
Robert Brown has at least one photo of another type of hawker egglaying, though, so check his pictures.
To Gary: This type of hawker has a body length of about 61-66 mm and a wingspan of some 82-85 mm. So, the photo does make them look larger than they really are. The stem he's clinging to is probably about 1 cm in diameter.

kogawa ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

huglac (238) 2003-09-22 18:11

A beautiful arrest! I have never seen the same thing. Centred well, clear, colours are very alive. Made well.
Une belle capture! Je n'ai jamais vu pareille chose. Bien cadrée, claire, les couleurs sont bien vivantes. Bien fait.

RobBrown (1797) 2003-09-22 18:30

Notes brilliant:0))))# picture pretty good to.every thing pin sharp except her near wing a little sperate sparpening but thats it IMO

Motrem (2392) 2003-09-22 20:01

Which luck you have! The image is very net for an unusual scene. Really very well consisted and very beautiful.
Quelle chance vous avez! L'image est très nette pour une scène insolite. Vraiment très bien composé et très beau.

sita4ram (814) 2003-09-22 20:40

Gee, Thats a great shot and story. :)
I love the details. have a special affection for macros.
good one!

chalcone (761) 2003-09-23 0:16

What a story! And of course, what a picture (and title!)! Perhaps for your next voyeuristic adventure, you can capture the egg laying ritual for us?

daz_halliday (144) 2003-09-23 0:28

Wow!
The picture is so clear that they look giants!
Nice croping so we see only what mathers the most.

mortijo (12828) 2003-09-23 3:59

Absolutely magnificent. You should thank your dog :-)).

cdewet (0) 2003-09-23 7:50

Bente, the blues and yellows are so perfect, nature can realy work magic with colours. The intersections of crossing diagonals. the reverse S-curve, well, everything is briliant. My only coment, as always, but this is personal preference, not "it shall be so", is to use a green or preferbly blue background card to reduce the distracting background and make those colours stand out.

gary (109) 2003-09-23 8:49

Excellent colours, sharpness, framing. It makes them look like giants. What size are they in real life? And excellent notes. It's always nice to read how the photograph was taken.

htremblay (1666) 2003-09-23 13:17

Magnifique photo, belle réussite. Bravo.
Magnificent photo, beautiful success. Bravo.

Cpamoi (10391) 2003-09-24 2:35

magnifique macro.. superbe image, DOF excellent
Bravo!!

Eagle (522) 2003-10-04 18:20

Beautiful sharp picture, nice colors and details on the wings!

stonner (39) 2003-10-16 14:38

This is a fantasic picture! The clearest I've seen of this kind. Hard to imagine it being any better. Great work!

acari (526) 2003-10-29 14:58

Magnifique photo

claudeo (44) 2004-01-17 17:05

Hey, I thought you weren't supposed to post this kind of picture on this site!
OK, now here is your next assignment: Capture them in flight. I remember watching dragonflies in tandem flight when I was a kid... most amazing thing I'd ever seen (until the day I watched a couple of bald eagles tumbling from the sky in a mating embrace). Your picture is close to perfection. The background does not detract at all--in fact it gives a good sense of the surroundings and the light on that day.

gilad33 (14429) 2004-03-21 7:53 [Comment]