Ray Bruun's photostream  

Scroll to bottom for list of equipment and description of technique.

BUTTERFLIES

      Swallowtails and Parnassians

          Western Tiger Swallowtail
          Two-tailed Swallowtail
          Pale Swallowtail
          Pipevine Swallowtail
          Anise Swallowtail
          Indra Swallowtail
          Clodius Parnassian
          Rocky Mountain Parnassian

      Whites and Sulphurs

          Cabbage White
          Margined White
          Checkered White
          Western White
          Becker's White
          Spring White
          Pine White
          Large Marble
          California Marble
          Desert Marble
          Gray Marble
          Pacific Orangetip
          Stella Orangetip
          Clouded Sulphur
          Orange Sulphur
          Queen Alexandra's Sulphur
          Western Sulphur
          California Dogface
          Cloudless Sulphur

      Coppers

          Great Copper
          Edith's Copper
          Purplish Copper
          Lustrous Copper
          Ruddy Copper
          Blue Copper
          Lilac-bordered Copper
          Mariposa Copper
          Gorgon Copper
          Tailed Copper

      Hairstreaks

          Gray Hairstreak
          California Hairstreak
          Sylvan Hairstreak
          Coral Hairstreak
          Hedgerow Hairstreak
          Mountain Mohogany Hairstreak
          Gold Hunter's Haistreak
          Behr's Hairstreak
          Sooty Hairstreak
          Brown Elfin
          Western Pine Elfin
          Moss's Elfin
          Great Purple Hairstreak
          Golden Hairstreak
          Nelson's Hairstreak
          Juniper Hairstreak
          Muir's Hairstreak
          Bramble Green Hairstreak
          Sheridan's Hairstreak
          Thicket Hairstreak
          Johnson's Hairstreak

      Blues

          Eastern Tailed-blue
          Western Tailed Blue
          Silvery Blue
          Arrowhead Blue
          Marine Blue
          Western Pygmy-Blue
          Echo Azure
          Sonoran Blue
          Acmon Blue
          Lupine Blue
          Boisduval's Blue
          Greenish Blue
          Mellisa Blue
          Anna Blue
          Shasta Blue
          Sierra Blue
          Heather Blue
          Intermediate Dotted-Blue
          Glaucon Blue
          Pacific Dotted-Blue
          Pallid Dotted-Blue
          Ancilla Dotte-Blue

      Metalmarks

          Mormon Metalmark

      Fritillaries

          Great Spangled Fritillary
          Mormon Fritillary
          Great Basin Fritillary
          Callippe Fritillary
          Coronis Fritiallary
          Zerene Fritillary
          Hydaspe Fritillary
          Northwestern Fritillary
          Pacific Fritillary

      Crescents and Checkerspots

          Field Crescent
          Mylitta Crescent
          California Crescent
          Northern Checkerspot
          Hoffmann's Checkerspot
          Sagebrush Checkerspot
          Leanira Checkerspot
          Chalcedon Checkerspot
          Anicia Checkerspot
          Edith's Checkerspot

      Typical Brushfoots

          Satyr Comma
          Green Comma
          Hoary Comma
          Oreas Comma
          California Tortoiseshell
          Milbert's Tortoiseshell
          Mourning Cloak
          Red Admiral
          American Lady
          Painted Lady
          West Coast Lady
          Common Buckeye
          Lorquin's Admiral
          California Sister
          Monarch

      Satyrs

          Common Wood-nymph
          Great Basin Wood-nymph
          Small Wood-nymph
          Ridings Satyr
          Common Ringlet
          Great Arctic

      Spread-wing Skippers

          Silver-spotted Skipper
          Northern Cloudywing
          Mexican Coudywing
          Western Cloudywing
          Funereal Duskywing
          Propertius Duskywing
          Pacuvius Duskywing
          Mournful Duskywing
          Dreamy Duskywing
          Persius Duskywing
          Sleepy Duskywing
          Common Checkered-skipper
          Two-banded Checkered-skipper
          Northern White Skipper
          Common Sootywing
          Mojave Sootywing
          Saltbush Sootywing

      Grass Skippers

          Arctic Skipper
          Fiery Skipper
          Sachem
          Alkali Skipper
          Western Branded Skipper
          Juba Skipper
          Columbian Skipper
          Nevada Skipper
          Lindsey's Skipper
          Sandhill Skipper
          Sonoran Skipper
          Mardon Skipper
          Tawny-edged Skipper
          Dun Skipper
          Woodland Skipper
          Rural Skipper
          Umber Skipper
          Common Roadside Skipper
          Eufala Skipper



DRAGONFLIES

      Petaltails

          Black Petaltail

      Darners

          Canada Darner
          Variable Darner
          Paddle-tailed Darner
          Shadow Darner
          Walker's Darner
          California Darner
          Blue-eyed Darner
          Turquoise-tipped Darner
          Common Green Darner
          Giant Darner
          Riffle Darner

      Clubtails

          White-belted Ringtail
          Serpent Ringtail
          Pacific Clubtail
          Grappletail
          Bison Snaketail
          Great Basin Snaketail
          Sinuous Snaketail
          Pale Snaketail
          Gray Sanddragon
          Brimstone Clubtail
          Olive Clubtail
          Russet-tipped Clubtail

      Spiketails

          Pacific Spiketail

      Cruisers

          Western River Cruiser

      Emeralds

          American Emerald
          Beaverpond Baskettail
          Spiny Baskettail
          Ringed Emerald
          Mountain Emerald

      Skimmers

          Red-tailed Pennant
          Pale-faced Clubskimmer
          Western Pondhawk
          Plauteau Dragonlet
          Crimson-ringed Whiteface
          Hudsonian Whiteface
          Dot-tailed Whiteface
          Belted Whiteface
          Comanche Skimmer
          Bleached Skimmer
          Neon Skimmer
          Eight-spotted Skimmer
          Chalk-fronted Corporal
          Widow Skimmer
          Common Whitetail
          Hoary Skimmer
          Twelve-spotted Skimmer
          Four-spotted Skimmer
          Flame Skimmer
          Desert Whitetail
          Marl Pennant
          Roseate Skimmer
          Blue Dasher
          Red Rock Skimmer
          Wandering Glider
          Spot-winged Glider
          Mexican Amberwing
          Filigree Skimmer
          Variegated Meadowhawk
          Saffron-winged Meadowhawk
          Black Meadowhawk
          Cardinal Meadowhawk
          Cherry-faced Meadowhawk
          Red-veined Meadowhawk
          White-faced Meadowhawk
          Band-winged Meadowhawk
          Striped Meadowhawk
          Autumn Meadowhawk
          Striped Saddlebags
          Black Saddlebags
          Red Saddlebags


DAMSELFLIES

      Broad-winged Damselflies

          River Jewelwing
          American Rubyspot

      Spreadwings

          California Spreadwing
          Great Spreadwing
          Spotted Spreadwing
          Northern Spreadwing
          Emerald Spreadwing
          Black Spreadwing
          Lyre-tipped Spreadwing

      Pond Damsels

          Western Red Damsel
          California Dancer
          Paiute Dancer
          Emma's Dancer
          Lavender Dancer
          Kiowa Dancer
          Sooty Dancer
          Powdered Dancer
          Aztec Dancer
          Blue-ringed Dancer
          Vivid Dancer
          Taiga Bluet
          River Bluet
          Northern Bluet
          Double-striped Bluet
          Boreal Bluet
          Tule Bluet
          Familiar Bluet
          Alkali Bluet
          Arroyo Bluet
          Desert Forktail
          Pacific Forktail
          Black-fronted Forktail
          Swift Forktail
          San Francisco Forktail
          Citrine Forktail
          Western Forktail
          Rambur's Forktail
          Sedge Sprite
          Desert Firetail
          Exclamation Damsel

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Below is a brief description of my current camera kit and how I use it to photograph dragonflies and butterflies.


EQUIPMENT:
Canon 5D (12.8 MP/full-frame sensor)
Canon 580EXII Flash with diffuser
Battery grip
180mm Canon macro
Really-Right-Stuff flash arm
Whimberley Arca-Swiss adapter plate
Monopod

TECHNIQUE:

Now mostly expose using aperture priority automatic. Flash is set to ETTL (auto) and high-speed synch with output increased +2/3 to +1 f-stop. Set camera ISO to 400 (higher if needed; sometimes lower) and f-stop to 8.0. Target shutter speed is in the 1/1200 to 1/2000 second range. Amount of light on and around subject may require different settings. Exposure override varies from -1/3 to -1 f-stop, depending on situation. Again, depends on situation. The camera will tend to overexpose with a dark background and underexpose with a light one.

Just started (April 2011) processing images with Adobe Lightroom 3. What an amazing program! Noise reduction and sharpening are incredible. Still learning how to impart zing to the picture using color correction (RAW files typically look dull with all settings zeroed).