Fly up like a 'Light Bearer'

In dawn's new light: Dew laden wings dry in the sun: I leave the memory. A flash of gold: Of astonishing beauty. Of Earth and Heaven: Before I fly into the space ~ Of the 'Light Bearer.' ~Ally.

Photographing the Golden Dragonflies.

After the first Spring morning when I first saw the 'Golden Dragonflies' at the Roseville Lake, I photographed them for three months, about 3 times a week, for a few hours at, or as close to dawn as possible.

As Spring turned to Summer, there were so many dragonflies around the lake, almost invisible amongst the grasses and reeds. However, as I'd move through the reeds, they would fly out from no-where (not unlike the bats that fly over the lake at dusk.)

Most would fly completely away. But some would fly just a few meters away so that as I moved towards them, extra, extra stealthily ~ I could be that close to them, that my camera was literally only a few inches away from them.

The mud beneath my bare feet was black and squelchy: A perfect swamp for mosquitos and spiders. If I'd allowed my imagination to have its way, it was also the perfect quagmire for snakes and crocodiles.

Fortunately, I had to be so mindful and present to my environment that my fantasized thoughts were replaced by the wish to capture the beauty I was in touch with.

My camera?

My first digital camera: An inexpensive Traveler DC 140: Without a zoom or macro lens and virtually no depth of field.

The only way to capture the 'Golden Dragonflies' was to BE: BE with my breath, BE with the sensation of mud squelching through my toes, BE with the stillness and gentle breezes of dawn, BE with the morning light, BE with the chill and warmth in the air, BE with the sound of rippling water and the songs of birds.

Accordingly, these images are true close-ups. Slightly sharpened now with the Deep Dream Generator.