This gallery will offer a few suggestions about photographing odonates. Here are the basics:

     1. You can't use a point-and-shoot -- you will need a real DSLR.
     2. The make does not matter much -- Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Sony and others make great cameras and lenses.
     3. You need a dedicated macro lens, not a zoom; focal length should be at least 100 mm.
     4. Eschew close-up filters, doublers and other such add-ons; there is no substitute for a real macro lens.
     5. You have to control exposure and focus yourself, manually, viz:
        a. Manual shutter speed -- will have to be fast, usually 1/500 or faster; depends on wind,
           magnification ratio, and how well stabilized you and the camera and the subject are.
        b. Manual aperture: you will need to work at apertures around F13-16 to get sufficient depth of field.
        c. ISO -- at high speeds and small apertures your ISO will be high; you have to accept that and work with it.
        You can try auto ISO, but you need to set a limit or it will go to 1600+ and get into unacceptable noise range.
     6. Auto-focus: forget about it -- it won't work, it won't help.
     7. Be patient, quiet and inconspicuous.
     8. Get as close as possible to your subject.

     The goal is to make a photograph that is sharp, interesting and informative, with enough depth of field to reveal a useful
     amount of detail, while blurring the background as much as possible. Busy backgrounds can spoil an otherwise good shot.

     Once you have the shot, you will need to do some post-processing. This is not too difficult and you
     need not be an expert. Photoshop Elements or any other decent photo editing program will suffice.

     The following shots illustrate some of the challenges and solutions you will encounter in odo-photography.

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