Crocothemis servilia servilia

These dragons don’t spend much time in flight, usually a couple of seconds in the hunt. They tend to adopt a favourite perch, and always return to the exact same spot.

I wanted some arial shots, so I used what I had observed, set up a tripod, pre-focused and set to multiple frames. I picked a favourite twig, sat back on my stool and waited, remote control in hand. The rest is the magic of Photoshop.

Location - Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Open field with shrubbery, near a stream.

comments (5)

RMFelix

Lion

Nice work! Crocothemis servilia like other libellulidae are very territorial, especially when they in patrol, or even when in hunting mode, they tend to return to same exact position, which makes also them finest specimens to be photographed, since it is relatively easy to anticipate their behavior. Other Odonata groups are also quite challenging :) Cheers, and welcome to JD! Posted 9 years ago
1. Vodkaman
  
  Lion
  
  Yes, this shot was relatively easy, just a bit of a wait until the dragon came back after setting up.
  
  The real problem is in the field, camera in hand. But, after three years of dragon hunting, my success rate increased from 1 in 30 attempts to around 50% success rate. This sounds boastfully high, but I did a 60 minute session to work it out.
  
  Dave Posted 9 years ago
2. 1. RMFelix
    
    Lion
    
    No problem whatsoever, there are some odonata that you can stay day after day sooting and after 200, 300 shots you hardly get one ;) One thing or the other, the better is the time spent in the field! Hope to see more Odonata from Indonesia in JD, nice work! Cheers* Posted 9 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

This is terrific, gonna swap the homepage promotion. I had promoted another one of yours of this species, but this one is even better :) Posted 9 years ago

Vodkaman

Lion

Thanks Ferdy. I was pleased with this one, planned and executed.

Dave Posted 9 years ago

The Scarlet Skimmer

The Scarlet Skimmer or Crimson Darter is a species of dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to east and southeast Asia and introduced to Florida and Hawaii.

Info 28 0

Similar species: Dragonflies And Damselflies

Species identified by Vodkaman