This article features a selection of images of dragonflies in-flight captured handheld using the M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS zoom. All of the images were captured during a recent visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington Ontario.

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Canada Day, which was the date that these images were captured, was a ‘catch as catch can’ session (more on that in a future post) with one of my friends.

I was hoping that there would be a good number of dragonflies in-flight to photograph, but experience has taught me that this type of opportunity is very weather dependant.

I typically set-up at one of the formal ponds that have plantings of water lilies and other appropriate foliage. This gives me more control over my shooting angle and lighting as I can move my short stool around, and also get closer to the surface of the water.

Unfortunately it was too early in the season for the plants in these two formal ponds to be sufficiently developed to attract dragonflies. So, I headed off to the natural pond instead.

While I did initially photograph a few perched dragonflies at the natural pond, it wasn’t hot and sunny enough for them to be really active yet.

I waited to see if the clouds would clear and thus allow the sun to heat up the natural pond area, and provide some direct sunlight to warm up the dragonflies.

The weather broke in my favour and the number of dragonflies in-flight increased. I chose a spot at one end of the pond that would provide a shooting angle that was reasonably close to eye level. This makes for more interesting images of dragonflies in-flight.

My usual technique is to capture images of dragonflies coming in to land… as they tend to fly somewhat slower when landing. The foliage at the natural pond is much denser and more mixed than at the formal ponds. This dramatically reduces ‘clear air’ space to photograph approaching dragonflies.

This made it less practical to attempt to photograph dragonflies coming in to land. So… I had to concentrate most of my efforts on dragonflies taking flight.

I had a couple of occasions where I was able to capture some territorial challenges between two dragonflies.

These events happen so quickly that they appear as little more than a blur in my viewfinder. Shutter release timing relies on instinct and reaction time, rather than any planning.

Since this was my first attempt of the year to photograph dragonflies in-flight I was pleased with the results of my visit.

As I get more experience using my M.Zuiko 150-600 mm f/5-6.3 IS with this specific subject matter I may tweak my standard settings a bit.

I used my standard Pro Capture H settings with my Pre-Shutter Frames and Frame Limiter both set to 15. I used a single, small auto-focus point and shot at 60 frames-per-second.

These settings give me 1/4 second of response time, which is fast enough for my purposes.

As photographers we all have our own interests and favourite subjects. Capturing dragonflies in-flight has always both intrigued and challenged me.

As the ‘dog days’ of summer arrive, they fill me with anticipation for the photographic opportunities that they bring. Photographing dragonflies in-flight being one of the premier events of the season.

Technical Note

Photographs were captured handheld using camera equipment  noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. I used Pro Capture H for all of the photographs featured in this article. Both Pre-Shutter Frames and Frame Limiter were both set to 15. I used a single, small auto-focus point, as well as shooting at 60 frames-per-second. This is the 1,471 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.

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