Large Red Damselfly (male and female)
Pyrrhosoma nymphula

Date: 2nd June 2005
Location: Dunwich Heath, Suffolk

Camera: Nikon D70
Lens Sigma 180mm f3.5 AFS Macro
Exposure: 1/250 F11 ISO 320
Flash: SB600

This image is the only picture on this site taken with a Nikon D70, my first digital SLR camera. The picture has always been one of my favourites, even if in pure technical terms, it has been surpassed my more recent images taken with more sophisticated equipment.

The lens used was a Sigma 180mm macro, an excellent lens but one that I found difficult to use hand-held. The weight of the lens, combined with the apparent focal length of 270mm when used with the crop-sensor camera, made it difficult to achieve critically sharp results without the use of a monopod or tripod. If only it also had some form of vibration reduction!

This picture was taken along the edge of Docwra's Dyke, a well known site for dragonflies and damselflies, that forms a boundary between the National Trust site to the north, and the RSPB's Minsmere reserve to the south.

Dunwich Heath is owned and managed by the National Trust

Visit the National Trust website