Scarce Chaser

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Scarce Chaser
Photo Information
Copyright: Paul Haynes (PaulH) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 981 W: 17 N: 2563] (9450)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-18
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon EOS400D, Sigma EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 APO DG Macro, 58mm UV
Exposure: f/14.0, 1/400 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-05-18 13:53
Viewed: 457
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 62
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I was lucky enough to spend the day with some fellow TN members today, Joey, Nick Glen, Jai Glen, Paul Lawbert and Horia Bogdan, who i had been showing around my stretch of coast yesterday.
We spent much of the day searching for and finding lots of different types of Dragonflies and Demoiselles..even some Newts too for good measure.
I had a great time and would like to thank them all for their excellent company and sharing their knowledge in this very different and challenging type of photography!
Thanks also to Horia for the ID and Paul - i hope your boots aren't ruined!

From the British Dragonfly Society website:

The Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) is one of 4 dragonflies found in Britain, in which the mature male possesses pale blue pruinescence on the abdomen". Prior to maturation the male and female look very similar and are highly distinctive with vivid orange colouration, black triangular shaped markings on the upper surface of each abdominal segment and dark bases to the wings3. Once mature the males develop a blue pruinescence on most of the abdomen, although the last three segments become black. Adult males can be confused with Black Tailed Skimmers Orthetrum cancellatum and Keeled Skimmers O. coerulescens. However, during mating the female Scarce Chaser clings to the abdomen of the male producing a diagnostic wear pattern on the third segment. This can often be used to help separate these three species.

The larvae are typically libellulid, but are easily distinguishable from other species as they have prominent dorsal spines.

Key Identification Features:

Immature males and females bright orange-brown, with black triangles on most abdominal segments
Mature males have blue abdomens with black tip
Both sexes have brown patches at the base of the hind wings

Status:

L fulva is scarce in Britain and is consequently listed under category 3 (scarce) in the British Red Data Book on Insects. It is restricted to approximately 10 scattered river systems and nearby still waters in southern England and despite being scarce to rare throughout its range, it can be locally abundant.

Distribution:

The Scarce Chaser is a European species that has a relatively discontinuous distribution across its range. It can be found from southern France to northern Germany and east throughout central Europe to Russia, although it appears to be rare in Spain.

In Britain the Scarce Chaser is restricted to 6 main localities although evidence suggests that it may be expanding its range. It is recorded from the Rivers, Yare (Norfolk), Waveney (Suffolk), Avon (Wiltshire/Somerset/Dorset/Hampshire), Arun (Sussex), Nene (Cambridgeshire/Northamptonshire), Great Ouse (Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire/Huntingdonshire vice-county), North Stream and associated ditches (Kent) and the Frome, Stour and Moors (Dorset/Hampshire). New breeding colonies have been found on the Wey in Surrey and Hampshire, and current populations seem to be stable.

Thnanks for looking.
nglen, pekkavalo1, Jamesp, gracious, eqshannon, Adanac, crs, anel, SueThomson, haraprasan, mariki, sandpiper2, goldyrs, joey, lise, Alex99, maurydv, marhowie, Argus, uleko, lgfoto, kmr13777, cicindela has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1223 W: 0 N: 4449] (13290)
  • [2008-05-18 14:21]

Hi Paul

Expert shot - excellent detail and lovely colours. Sorry I could not join you - give my regards to Horia.

James

Hello Paul,
I also understand from Joe's notes that the TN members are having lovely time together on the weekend, hope to see you guys someday!
delightful to see such a stunning captured on the dfly!
absolutely beautiful with the warm colour, sharpness and super details
my compliment!
greeting
Tony

Your backdrop was as good as can be distance-wise. It gives the shot a dramatic depth!!! And the image itself is totally sharp....Could not be better in a any way which I see...Fine notes...Dang good job! See how comrades in like photography works so dynamically! You all have fine shots for the day with this brotherhood of competition almost!
Bob

  • Great 
  • Adanac Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1029 W: 1 N: 3939] (13258)
  • [2008-05-18 20:17]

Hello Paul,
Gorgeous lighting used to perfection, amazing macro image my friend. You are definately a jack of all aspects of photography. Thanks for sharing this wonderfully deatiled and colored image Paul.
Rick

  • Great 
  • crs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 117 W: 0 N: 160] (681)
  • [2008-05-18 20:22]

Hi Paul,

This is an impressive close-up of the dragod fly. The light is wonderfull and you made very good use of it. Very nice colors and very special way to render insect's body and wings texture. Light refelexion in the wings looks also great helping a lot to render wings texture. DOF is excelent positioned so that fine details can be seen on the body of the dragon fly but in the mean time covering most of the wings.

Congratulations,
Cristian

  • Great 
  • Art_R Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 164 W: 13 N: 389] (1537)
  • [2008-05-18 21:30]

Hi Paul , great job , this has fantastic detail, color , and contrast. TFS
Regards
Art

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1133 W: 259 N: 2406] (10803)
  • [2008-05-18 23:27]

Hi Paul,

A nice and colorfull capture with goo d POV,the details,light and sharpness are great,tfs

Paul

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1079 W: 0 N: 1654] (7208)
  • [2008-05-19 0:52]

hello Paul,
Superb dragonfly picture! Just perfect composition, sharpness and colours.
Best regards
Anne

Hi Paul,

Excellent capture of this Scarce Chaser. Great composition, nice POV, BG and sharp details.

TFS

Pekka

Hi Paul
Lovely capture with excellent detail. I like the nice warm colours on this one contrasted against the muted green background. TFS
Cheers
Sue

Great shot! Excellent sharpness and good attractive colours. The shallow dof, blurred out green bg and the distinctly visible patterns on the wings produce a wonderful picture.

Hello Paul,
Amazing photo with perfect sharpness and details. Wonderful colours and light. Great DOF and POV.
Regards,
Peter

Hi Paul,
A nice capture of this beautiful dragonfly. Superb details and a lovely composition. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Hello Paul,

Excellent picture of this dragonfly. Excellent POV and sharpness. Wonderful well-saturated colours. Great light too.
Cheers,
Mariki

Hi Paul

It's a good shot though you just missed the wing tips. I have the same lens and its annoying how big a f stop you need to get everything in focus in a shot like this.
Anyway, its very sharpnes and well composed. Good to see you catching up with other TNers.

Chris

Whoa!Very well experimented!I love the details!Awesome shot!
Goldy

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1555 W: 233 N: 5091] (17959)
  • [2008-05-19 5:54]

Very sharp shot of this Scarce Chaser!
Great side-on POV and a decent diagonal composition.
Brilliant BG and DOF.
Superb colours.
Excellent detail.
Had a brilliant day yesterday and it was great to meet you again.

Cheers Paul!

Joe

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1864 W: 2 N: 4738] (18250)
  • [2008-05-19 8:26]

Hi Paul. Well you did a fantastic job with this one. The lighting is first class giving warm bright colours. Sharp focusing and fine detail. Well done TFS. and for a great day out.
Nick..

Hello Paul
This is truly superb...Your seascape dof!! has really worked here bring a new element to the capture with lovely vegetation details (we will call that LVD!!)
The Chaser is as sharp as anyone could hope for (me included!!)
The bg is suitably oof and the pov compliments this with the lvd!
(All joking to one side this is a fantastic capture and another feather to your photographic hat)

It was a really good day yesterday and I have to thank you for sharing your great company and local knowledge.

All the Best
Paul

  • Great 
  • lise Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 179 W: 52 N: 513] (2515)
  • [2008-05-19 8:45]

Hi Paul
Amazing macro with perfect sharpness and details. Great natural colours and DOF.
Very well done.
Lise

Hello Paul,
Excellent shot. The composition, the colours and the sharpness are perfect. The depth is really amazing. The texture of the dragonfly is very well capture.
Best regards,
Catherine

Hi Paul!
Very short- perfect macro!
cheers
Adrian

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2935 W: 142 N: 4217] (13775)
  • [2008-05-19 10:49]

Hi Paul.
I am impressed with quality of the shot and pictured scene. Cropping, composition and DOF are the best. Sharpness and details of the dragonfly and leaves and stem are wonderful, Smooth BG is great too. Especially I like richness and beautifulness of the colours. Bravo. Great work.
Alexei.

Splendida macro, eccellenti POV e DOF, bellissima la composizione con la libellula catturata in una tipica postura, straordinaria nitidezza, magnifici colori e luce. Grazie e complimenti. Ciao Maurizio

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1687 W: 20 N: 4738] (15476)
  • [2008-05-20 7:16]

Hi Paul,
Outstanding profile shot of this dragonfly with immaculate sharpness and colours. Superb lighting and exposure and you have captured it in a fine pose. Excellent DOF, POV and composition. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

* You guys are really having a fun time together.

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2416 W: 132 N: 6653] (20877)
  • [2008-05-20 9:16]

Hello Paul,
You are not only a fine landscape photographer but a dab hand at macros as well!
This capture of a Scarce Chaser is superb with fine sharpness and DOF and taken from a POV that shows the features very well in a great composition.
This is quite rare in Sweden and I have yet to see it, so it's great to see this image and TFS!
Ivan

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2297 W: 163 N: 6694] (21146)
  • [2008-05-21 7:12]

Hello Paul,
Good to see a brilliant insect shot from you as well!! This is a fine species that I've never seen and your capture shows the details and colours very well against the green background. A beautiful composition too!
TFS and cheers, Ulla

  • Great 
  • SelenE Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2337 W: 59 N: 4094] (13345)
  • [2008-05-22 5:50]

Hi Paul,
Great shot with very good lighting, colors, focus, sharpness and details. Well done and TFS
Best wishes,
Selen

  • Great 
  • lgfoto Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 256 W: 15 N: 277] (1428)
  • [2008-05-24 14:24]

What you describe sounds like the perfect day Paul. Great shot with perfect sharp details and wonderfull warm colours.TFS

Beautiful, Crisp and Clear picture Paul. The details could not have been better I must say. Excellent OFF BG and great exposure.

TFS
Kirti

Hi Paul!
Long time ago I marked this picture but because of lack of time (many field trips last weeks...) I could not write anything more than "I'm just marking"... so first of all -sorry for delay :)

According to this picture I have to say that it is a lovely "break" after long series of wonderful landscape picture. A lovely and original "break" :) Great details, DOF and sharpness. I have to say that your TN meeting was very successful! :)
TFS and all the best from Poland!
Friendly yours,
Radomir

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