A few Odonata shots with my new toy

Just a few Odonata shots from my new lens. You'll have to view the exif to see for yourself which lens it is. If you need help on viewing exif, view this:. The "bokeh-er" background should give you a hint that it's a long focal length :D. I'm still not telling. Go check the exif yourself.

Trithemis aurora male, crimson dropwing

Canon EOS 40D, 1/50, f/7.1, ISO 320, Natural Light, Handheld



A male Crimson dropwing (Trithemis aurora)


Trithemis aurora, female crimson dropwing

Canon EOS 40D, 1/100, f/7.1, ISO 200, Natural Light, Handheld

Up close with a male Crimson dropwing (Trithemis aurora)


Bronze Flutterer (Rhyothemis obsolescens)




Yellow-barred Flutterer Rhyotemis phyllis




A male Trumpet Tale, Acisoma panorpoides, eating a damselfly.

Canon EOS 40D, 1/100, f/8, ISO 320, Fill Flash, Handheld

Portrait of a male Trumpet Tail, Acisoma panorpoides


Another portrait


A female Trumpet Tail, Acisoma panorpoides


A male Pygmy dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea. The smallest dragonfly in Malaysia, only about 15mm body length and 20mm wing span.


A female Nannophya pygmaea


A male Pygmy dragonfly, Nannophya pygmaea.


A male in obelisk pose.


A sub-adult male Sarlet Pygmy (Nannophya pygmaea)


Female Lyriothemis biappendiculata


A male treehugger dragonfly,  Tyriobapta torrida


A female treehugger dragonfly Tyriobapta torrida. Very cryptic!


Potamarcha congener?


Macrogomphus thoracius


Onychothemis testacea


Ictinogomphus decoratus(Common Flangetail)


Neurothemis ramburii dragonfly fallen prey to a raft spider. If you like spiders, check this post out!


Variegated green skimmer (Orthetrum sabina) with prey - a butterfly.


Heliocypha biforata.


Dark tipped forest skimmer (Cratilla metallica)


Euphaea ochracea


Not sure of its ID.


Devadatta argyoides


Rhinagrion elopurae


Stunning male green metalwing, Neurobasis chinensis

Watch an animated gif to see for yourself the flashy green metallic wing tips of this gorgeous damselfly here.



A damselfly with cricket prey.


Damsel eats damsel.


Damselflies in tandem.


The emergence of a damselfly.

More animation here.


Portrait of a male immature Crimson dropwing Trithemis aurora




Another portrait. Not sure of its ID.


I haven't tried Full Flash shots with this long focal length macro lens yet, but i know the light is going to be harsh. Heck, i could see that even in my fill flash shot already, so it's gonna be worse for full flash. I use the same DIY Diffusers for my usual 40D, MP-E65 and MT-24EX setup, except now it's 40D, MT-24EX and a new, longer lens, and longer working distance. So why the harsh light? Why does it work ok on when i use my MP-E65 but not with this new lens? Well, again, it's about the apparent light size, which i explained in one of my earlier post: Full Flash Macro Photography - 3 Things you must know! Besides the longer working distance compared to the MP-E65, which I am still trying to get used to, this new lens also produces much warmer images. I normally set the WB to 4800K for the 40D, MP-E65 and MT-24EX, but the same 4800K still results in very warm photos. I'm going to lower the WB to maybe 4000 next time. That's all and cheers for now :) OK...i'm sure you've checked the exif and know the answer already - my new toy is a Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macro Lens :)