Damsel in Distress

I’ve always wanted to take nice photos of damselflies. Several attempts have failed because these little insects, measuring only 3cm (in length) with a super-thin body of 0.2cm will just sway with the wind. So, my photos had always turned out really blur.

Last Sunday, I went with my ‘sifu’ (meaning ‘master’ or ‘teacher’ in Cantonese) and voila, I finally managed to take nice photos of these little graceful damsels-not-in-distress. My ‘model’ was just posing for me and wasn’t in anyway disturbed by my flashlight. And the trick? Setting the camera to manual mode, with aperture of F16 and shuttle speed of 1/60 seconds. But this has to be adjusted according to the available light, else some of the shots may be over exposed.

Why do I like these little creatures? Not only are they graceful and pretty, they are also very steady. However strong the wind is, they'll just cling on to their pillar of support, seemingly unafraid of what's around them. I wish I can be that steady too and not over-worry about the many things that I have no control over. So, these little damsels-not-in-distress will be my model of the year.

More photos here.