Recent Processing: 2022 Week 16
Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta)
Anson County, North Carolina – June 2016
Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 300mm f4 L w/1.4x teleconverter
Tripod
ISO 400, 1/125 at f/18 – No Flash
Portfolio Image #1143
Image Size in Portfolio: 4580×3648
Another good week of image processing, though bluntly I wish I had more time to process than I have. Life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans.
I spent a lot of time back in the summer and early fall of 2016 for this week’s processing. Just sort of where my mind’s travels took me. My initial work was out of the stop I made at Pee Dee NWR in Anson County. I had processed most of the images in previous sessions, but there were a few on one particular day that I still had not accounted for.
It was a good day for Slaty Skimmers, as demonstrated with the image with a dorsal angle that leads this post. This one was also special because it was the 4×5 equivalent of a full frame shot.
Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta)
Anson County, North Carolina – June 2016
Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 300mm f4 L w/1.4x teleconverter
Tripod
ISO 400, 1/125 at f/18 – No Flash
Portfolio Image #1144
Image Size in Portfolio: 2317×2896
And with this follow up image as well in a more traditional perched pose, though in a portrait format and considerably smaller. The blue sky made it for me.
Slaty Skimmers are a favorite of mine from my early days of doing dragonfly work back in Ohio. Deep, rich blue color with a very slender body.
Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina)
Anson County, North Carolina – June 2016
Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 300mm f4 L w/1.4x teleconverter
Tripod
ISO 400, 1/125 at f/18 – No Flash
Portfolio Image #1144
Image Size in Portfolio: 4260×3408
I also had the distinct pleasure of working with a Halloween Pennant image. Fun bug to make images of and I love the way the orange in the wings makes an image pop.
Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans)
Tyrrell County, North Carolina – June 2016
Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 300mm f4 L w/1.4x teleconverter
Tripod
ISO 400, 1/250 at f/13 – Flash
Portfolio Image #1147
Image Size in Portfolio: 4580×3648
Part of the reason that I headed into the summer 2016 images was that I knew I had images of Great Blue Skimmers from that timeframe, but when I went to the portfolio to grab an image for somebody there weren’t any there. Grabbed one, but there are some more that I need to bring in.
Administratively this image was a double win. A new dragonfly species (#40) for the portfolio and it also was a 4×5 full frame image.
Cape Lookout Lighthouse
Carteret County, North Carolina – June 2016
Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 17/40mm at 40 mm
Handheld
ISO 100, 1/1000 at f/5.6 – No Flash
Portfolio Image #1146
Image Size in Portfolio: 2317×2896
There were two underlying reasons to go to North Carolina on that trip and neither of them had anything to do with dragonflies. One was a wedding for which I provided photography support. And the other was to make images of the lighthouses on the Outer Banks. I’ve processed most of the Cape Lookout images, but this one was sitting out there needing to be processed. I think this was just as we were getting off of the shuttle boat that got us out to the island.
Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor)
Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana – September 2016
Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 300mm f4 L w/1.4x teleconverter
Tripod
ISO 800, 1/400 at f/13 – No Flash
Portfolio Image #1148
Image Size in Portfolio: 4260×3408
I also wandered into another folder of images from later in 2016. I had processed all the images, but I was interested to see if there was maybe an image I could grab out of that folder as a second harvest. And sure enough, this one presented itself to me. All I could think was, “What the heck was I thinking not flagging this to be processed in the day.” Second harvest meals taste twice as good.