Wednesday, July 08, 2009

The Dragonfly...



I have been wanting to get a snap of the Dragonfly and the opportunity came a few days ago. While I was deep in cyberspace my spouse who was at the kitchen came over and woke me up and say that there is a Dragonfly out there. I told her just to kept watch and I would be there to take a snap of it. It is my chance to get such a snap of this elegant flying insect. I quickly assemble my camera and then slowly open the outside grill of the backdoor and snap a numbers of shots as it move from one spot to another. One things I learned about photographing a moving object is that just be patience and take your time and be natural. I follow the object and snap as many shots as possible before the insect move on. This time I was lucky in that the dragonfly did sat a few seconds at a few places and this give me the opportunity to take aims and focus my camera to get a perfect images.

During my childhood living in the Kampong it was easy to watch the colorful Dragonfly flying around the house and at time catch it in the bushes. Now living in a concrete jungle it is not that easy to catch one. Anyhow since there are greens around the house quite so often I get to watch Dragonfly flying around and touchdown on the twig of the tree. At time it does get into the house. There are times when I get to see a dead Dragonfly still clinging to the twig.

I have always been fascinated by this flying insects, the Dragonfly. It is just like a miniature helicopter but more versatile. It could fly fast or just stop at midair just like the helicopter did. I did a piece on the Dragonfly before and now with the macro lens I had managed to snap a few shots of this amazing flying insect. Above are two images that I took a few days ago at the back of my house. Enjoy the images. Have a nice day.

14 comments:

mekyam said...

lovely!

check out those gosammer wings, lighter than whispers...

Pak Idrus said...

mekyam, thanks for the visit and the good words on this posting; as well sharing your thoughts on this subject.

Have a nice day and take care.

Ms B said...

When i was young, I was always fascinated by the dragonflies. i only got to see them whenever I made the trip back to my grandparents' place. i think i was taught on how to catch one, as well as the grasshopper. such bliss!

Pak Idrus said...

Ms B, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on the subject of this posting.

Indeed we as kids are the same, fascinated with this wonder of a flying creature. It is so colorful especially the red one and versatile as well.

When I first saw the helicopter in the fifties I knew they must have copy the way of the Dragonfly. Indeed I learned later that it was the Dragonfly that lead to the development of the Helicopter.

About catching the Dragonfly, yes surely the elders must have taught us the way to catch one. And one way that I learned is to put some Jack fruit's gum [getah nangka] on a thin stick [lidi] and this would stop the Dragonfly from taking off without hurting it.

Well it was fun and I did enjoy those days of my childhood. Have a nice day.

Liz said...

Dear Pak Idrus,

So beautiful these photos. I love it!

Pak Idrus said...

Liza, thanks fo the visit and the good words on those images. Glad that you enjoy it.

'Those gossamer wings, lighter than whispers' as commented by Mekyam above is true to the core. It is so intricately designed and now been copied by scientist. New products call Gossamer ware are sold for climbers and other outdoor activities because it is light. How interesting!!!

Have a nice day.

Temuk said...

In those days, my kampung friends and I used to catch dragonflies using the jack fruit "latex". This magic glue was applied to the tip of the coconut "lidi", and poor dragonflies would get stuck to it. But we never killed them. We'd let them free again after having fun holding them, talking to them and asking them all sorts of questions about flying!! That was recreation for us. Now, your beautiful pictures have brought back lovely memories of village life ... 50 years ago! TQ Pak Idrus.

Pak Idrus said...

Temuk, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on the subject of this posting.

Yes I believe kids in the Kampong had the experience in those good old days. We are quite passionate toward the animals and insects that we catch. We took care of it and never with the intention of killing it. It was always about love. In fact killing was not at all a vocabulary of kids at that time. Indeed a good value that our elders taught us.

Like you I do released the Dragonfly that I caught using the same technique and enjoy the brief period talking or playing with the insect.

I am indeed glad that the images I posted did triggered you memories of your childhood. I am happy to share my joy of capturing those image while still learning the way of good photography.

Once again thank you Sir for sharing your thoughts and the compliment on those images.

Have a nice day.

Hjh Nazli Abbas said...

Yes, like the helicopter. Nice pics.

Dragon fly, dragon fruit, dragon child, dragon year, dragon teacher (I had one in school!)

Bye.

Pak Idrus said...

puteri hang li poh, thanks for the visit and the good words on the images in this posting. I am glad you like it.

I am as yet to see the dragon child and dragon teacher. Would love to see. Do you have any images to show. It would be real interesting to know what a dragon chile and teacher look like. I am rather curious so please help.

Have a nice day

Hjh Nazli Abbas said...

Pak Idrus,

A 'dragon child' is a person born in the year of the Dragon, according to Chinese animal years. BTW I was born in the year of the Dog - does that make me a 'Dog child' ? ;)

We called this teacher 'the Dragon' because she was soooo garang! When we saw her approaching our class, we'd say, "Ha... Dragon datang.." Naughty kids!

Pak Idrus said...

puteri hang li poh, thanks for the explanation. Dah dekat 70tahun baru tahu.

You could be a Dog teacher but a loving and caring dog you are. Me just a Rabbit.

Have a nice day.

xplorer said...

salam pak idrus- first picture seem a bit overexposed otherwise it will be perfect .do check out this link for inspiration on macro photogaphy.have a nice weekend

http://photo.net/photodb/member-photos?user_id=2109438

Pak Idrus said...

xplorer, thanks for the visit, the comment and the valuable advise on macro photography.

Have a nice day.