Dragonfly and interested friend

Noticed one of my koi was taking an interest whilst I was taking pics of this dragonfly (female common darter) so the last shot is just a focus stack of 2 pics, one of the koi behind the dragonfly and the other the dragonfly.
Brian V.

V nice I like that with the koi, middle shot is nice as well.

The darter is showing an aggressive stance in sticking her tail up. Presumably she doesn't like you there much but can't be bothered to fly away. Or maybe she doesn't like the carp?
Shots 1 and 2 are nice. I quite like the last shot but the stacking is a bit too obvious to me as there's a lot of OOF foreground stuff midway between the carp and the dragonfly.

Amazing shots again though the background in the third shot in a slight minor distraction; I really must try this Focus stacking as it really brings out these pictures to their very best.

Mark

Image #2 for me, nice light and good focus. At first look Image #3 looks great, but after a few seconds the brain takes over and for me its to contrived and unatural looking.

Lovely shots Brian! I wish I could get a shot of a Dragonfly!!!

Dave

Love the 1st and the 3rd.
the rendering of the wings in the 1st and the background is beautiful.
The 3rd has great contrast. The koi looks big and beautiful, are you stunning the bugs via the flash and great glasses, then let the koi take over

regards
bama

Thanks for the info eccles- she did only start that stance after I'd already taken quite a few shots but of course its very photogenic.
You are right about #3 I only did it for fun- I was looking at different angles on the dragonfly through the viewfinder and noticed the blob of orange behind the dragon and looked up to see what it was.
Something you may be able to answer for me. Later in the afternoon two hawker dragonflies turned up but they didn't settle anywhere but gave me a flying display for about 30 minutes. One was roughly following the other but quite widely spaced. It was almost a can you do this display- didn't see any overt aggression. I couldn't work out if it was a territorial "battle" or part of a mating ritual- the dragons were too high up for me to guess their sex.
Brian V.

Thanks for the comments
Trouble with these dragonflies is that when one turns up I can't resist taking pics of them
I only did #3 for fun to see how it would turn out.
Brian V.

Hi Brian
I love your 1st picture, it's great. I am looking forward to taking some dragon fly or damsel fly photos in the spring/summer (Sept) this year. I hope I can get some as good as yours.

In a way the oof area in the middle helps as it focuses attention on the two main subjects.Does look a bit artificial though. Other two are vg.
How do you keep Herons at bay?

Thanks Dede
I purposely put some bamboo canes round the edge of my pond for them to pose on
Briaan V.

Thanks RM- I suppose if I'd been seriously trying to shoot #3 I should have done an intermediate shot but you are right- it nearly works because the eye does seem to travel from the dragon to the koi.
Never had trouble with herons and my koi- think the garden is too enclosed by trees so they don't have a clean flight path plus I have a whole load of plants around the edge of the pond which would stop them doing their preferred walk in. Quite a few years ago I did have a goldfish with a "spear" wound in my small pond that looked like it could have been the work of a heron. Think they are all too big now for a heron to even consider them for food.
Brian V.

That last one is an excellent capture This series is wonderful (as allways :lol

In fact the darter is thermoregulating. It's commonly known as "obelisking" where the thorax and abdomen is raised vertically to reduce the amount surface area that receives solar radiation. Not all dragonflies do this, some simply find a shaded perch instead.