Red veined Darter
Nikon D3s,300mm,1×4, 1/1600@f8,iso400
I wasn’t expecting to photograph many dragonfly species on my trip, although when a chance of an image did occur I made a few nice images. On most of the marshes I visited Red-viened darter’s proved numerous but quite a challenge to get a decent image of. Interestingly I managed some nice images in the surrounding garden of Casa rosa where I was staying. Very nice to be one minute relaxing by the pool then photographing dragonflies in flip flops and bermuda shorts!. I used the 300mm and 1×4 convertor with a small amount of fill flash from a sb900 to open up the shadow areas. It was the only time I used flash but it proved very useful.
Red -veined Darter
techs as above plus flash
While being eaten alive by mossies in one of the local marshes whilst waiting for Black-winged Stilts a passing Lesser Emperor gave a brief chance of an image, not easy with the 500mm.
Lesser Emperor
Nikon D3s,500mm,1×4,1/1600@f8,iso800
Although the species count wasn’t huge, the birding was quality and with some nice images in the bag I came back from Portugal with some great memories. The birdlife encountered on the pelagics was great and not to mention the Sunfish and the pod of Common Dolphin were just the icing on the cake. A few useful links if you fancy a great holiday in Portugal.
http://www.birdwatching-algarve.com/ -Birding guide/pelagics
http://www.jet2.com/- Low cost airline with great leg room!
http://www.casarosa.eu.com/- Wonderful accommodation in a good central location and a great pool!
Donkey
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