For years, I thought the most difficult dragon shot was the Blue Darner Mosaic in flight, but I had to read up on a Cardinal Meadowhawk which I saw for the first time in June. One book said that it was the most difficult of all to photography just perched because it is so red that not even one of the nine abdominal segments could be seen, the red just naturally "bleeding over" from one segment to another.
Yesterday, I had my opportunity to give it a try. This Cardinal Meadowhawk kept flying over the boulders in the stream I was standing next to and, on every fifth or sixth pass, he would hover just beneath me as I leaned over the stream (and two boulders which is what you see in the background). I think I took 40 shots, and finally got this one. Though he's sharp and the wing blur (viewed large) is a unique staccato of dotted black lines, sure enough, no definition in reds. Oh, I'll try again, but no complaints for now.
Loading contexts...