Another find at the Lawrence Swamp wet meadow from the archives.
Capturing insects in the early morning often allows a close approach that isn’t possible later in the day when they are warmed up and more energetic. A cool morning induces torpor which often keeps them still for the photographer. Some folks like to capture and refrigerate them to accomplish what nature provides if you are willing to rise early.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
Imagine how startled a guest in the house might be who opens the refrigerator and finds a dragonfly.
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They don’t let them go “free range” in the fridge I don’t expect.
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I’d never heard of capturing and refrigerating them. Not sure I like that idea. And though I struggle to rise early, it is worth it for what you can find and more easily photograph.
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I’m not a fan of that either. It’s done with amphibians too. Even less a fan.
Lack of sleep does offer some rewards.
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I recently saw a photo of a dandelion seedhead that had been misted to replicate dewdrops. I was a little sorry that I learned people do that; refrigerating dragonflies for photo shoots takes it up a notch. I can’t imagine doing such a thing; I can’t imagine anyone doing that. Now, granted: it is recommended that lady beetles purchased for aphid control be kept in the refrigerator and put out in batches. That doesn’t bother me so much. I don’t know why.
Anyway: I think I have a photo of this species. I’ll have to find the photo and compare.
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When I first started nature photography I found that a lot of folks do things to up their odds of a good shot. Carrying a mist bottle was something a lot of pros were doing and I followed their lead initially. But that didn’t last long as I prefer nature’s touch over human so dew it is or dew it isn’t. Refrigerating a subject is not at all cool and, like you, I lose respect when I read someone has done that. I know that butterfly collections are highly valued but that is also something I don’t care for. It just doesn’t seem right to kill something for the pleasure of a collection. As far as refrigerating the lady beetles, I would be on the fence over that. They are being introduced as a pest control and get to eat aphids galore but humans messing with nature often goes astray not to mention the organisms involved have no choice. These are fairly common around here and I get to see them in the meadow a lot.
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Very Nice Steve! I never heard of refrigerating them! Sort of takes the challenge of getting good images of them with skill & talent instead of laziness and the decent way to photograph nature!
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Thanks, Reed. Capturing a subject in its natural environment is much more rewarding than altering their life for one’s own pleasures. I like to photograph moths and know that a lot of people use lights and sheets to attract them, and I did that for a short time, but it draws them away from their pursuits of a mate and their lives are short as it is so I prefer to not bother them. Getting the shot falls down the list of importance when interfering with lives.
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The transparency of the wings is so nice here, Steve, and of course, I’m glad you’re willing to do it the old-fashioned way. 🙂
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There is little satisfaction, for me at least and obviously for others here as well, to harm another creature or interfere with their life just to get a picture. They run the ecosystem while we harm it. I think they have the edge. 🙂 Thanks, Lynn.
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That is one beautiful dragonfly, Steve! Very nicely photographed, too!
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Thanks, Pete. They pose so nicely while in torpor. 🙂
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Capturing a wild creature and submitting it to a deep freeze–even temporarily–for further study seems a kind of unnecessary abuse, unless it might be to help to identify one that’s potentially venomous and has bitten or stung someone, and it’s certainly a better alternative to killing it, but surely, in most cases, there are better ways, e.g. getting out of bed just that much sooner. That said, this is a lovely shot of a beauty. We have them in MN too, but the 4-spotted ones are more common.
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I absolutely agree. I am always torn by the idea of animals for lab testing to benefit humans. Some good comes out of a number of those tests but I have a hard time accepting that most are for cosmetics and other mostly useless frivolities….especially when the test subjects are beagles.
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Absolutely heart-wrenching, but they seem to have been quite humanely treated during their incarceration. I’m always happy to see them freed, but would hope that it would come sooner for more of them. We adopted three of the five dogs (and all six cats) who have joined our family over the course of 40 years. And we were active foster care providers for the humane society in Omaha after we lost Limo, our last dog, in 2013 (we adopted him from beagle/basset rescue, I think you’ll recall).
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All but one of our beagles have been rescues. Cassie was abandoned in a nearby town and I brought her home…after a nice neighbor in that town gave me a cup of roast beef scraps. 🙂 Dixie came from a hunter who wanted a better rabbit hound. She was definitely into rabbits, ate a couple in our backyard even though on a run, but she would decide to circle back and start over and all his buddies got tired of waiting so he wanted a different hound. Murphy was an abused rescue as far as we know. The agency we adopted him from rescued him in CT but of course no one knew his history but he had obviously been beaten. And Bentley, as you may know, was just in a home where he was alone for 12 hours a day and they never figured out how to keep him out of the cupboards and refrigerator. Weighed in at 50+ lbs..now down to 26.
There are a bunch of videos by these folks and each one brings a tear or two. Happy/sad…or that should be sad/happy.
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Exquisite detail Steve!
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Thank you, Caroline.
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