dragon in the olive grove

...the house is back to being quiet after we waved off our guests at the station this morning. It was a very sultry day today, so it came as no surprise when the clouds started to bubble up this afternoon.

We made several forays into the olive groves, all of which were short and quick because, each time we set off, the thunder would roar and egg-cup sized raindrops would start to fall. In the event, the storm never really came to anything and I was able to capitalise on the incredible light to get some interesting images. Needless to say, I got plenty more butterflies but, as I haven't blipped a dragon for a while, I though this female Red-veined Darter Sympetrum fonscolombii was quite the poser and she shows off the light quality rather well, too.

I have never written much about the technical side of my macro images so I thought I should just mention that nearly all of them have been taken with my favourite Nikon 105mm AF-S ED lens. I always hand hold and never use flash or reflectors. All images are taken in the field without disturbing the subject and without any 'gardening' - I do, however, hold aside any vegetation that would otherwise obstruct the subject. Sometimes it is possible, sometimes it is not, such is life. More times than not, my intended subject flies away before I have composed my shot. The remedy for this is dogged determination and not caring how stupid I look tearing off through the fields and olive groves. Other than a vignette and, if necessary, a crop, most images are out of the camera...