Dragonfly Shoot

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with friends and fellow photographers this weekend.  I am a member of a wonderful organization, CNPA (Carolinas’ Nature Photographers Association).  Many photographers from our region of the organization met to photograph dragonflies at a local pond one morning this weekend.

It is always so much fun to meet up with those who share the same passion.  We met prior to 8:00 a.m.  As we found our spots around the pond

each photographer was attracted to something different to photograph.  The first subject that caught my attention was the dandelion that I have included as my feature image for this post.  I used Topaz Impression while processing to get the look I wanted from this image.

While I did get a couple of dragonfly images, they were not the ones that I chose to process and share.  Many of my friends captured and processed wonderful dragonfly images.

When leaving the pond and driving away, I was distracted by a couple of sunflowers located in a garden near the pond.  I took a minute to see what I might capture of the sunflowers.  Sunflowers are my favorite flowers.  Those tending the garden where the sunflowers grew, were more than happy to allow me to take pictures there.

One of my first photography teachers, Kevin Adams, taught me one of the most valuable lessons I have learned.  Kevin stressed that when you go out to photograph, don’t go out with the mindset that you are going to photograph dragonflies (or lighthouses, horses, sunrises, boats, camels, etc.).  Instead, he advised that you make your way out of the door with the intension to photograph.

I do try to keep this lesson in mind every time I pack my gear and head out to photograph.  I am thankful that I now approach each opportunity to photograph in this manner.  If I did not, I would not have gotten the image above, (my favorite from the day), during a dragonfly shoot!