A pair of mating ruddy darters (Sympetrum sanguineum) that I photographed at the small lake near our house, the same spot where I had photographed the four-spotted chaser last month.

These darters are small dragonflies native to Europe and parts of Asia, renowned for the males’ striking red abdomen that intensifies with age, making them a vivid sight in late summer. This dragonfly is a common species in Sweden, especially in the southern part of the country.

Trying to photograph dragonflies in flight for the first time was challenging but rewarding. The thrill came from capturing those few “perfect” moments, making the effort worthwhile. 

Dragonflies in flight are difficult to capture due to their speed and unpredictable movement. I discovered that holding down the shutter once in focus increases your chances of sharp, well-composed shots, even if it means taking hundreds of photos to get a few great ones.

Use the same settings as for small birds: animal tracking with a high shutter speed (at least 1/2.500 or 1/4.000 in good light). Animal tracking works incredibly well, especially on a clean background such as the sky or the water.

My gear and settings for this photo:

• Canon R5 Mark II & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM @500mm

• Aperture = f8 Shutter Speed = 1/4.000 ISO = Auto ISO (3.200 for this photo)

• Drive = High Speed Continous

Steward Wood has a very good video about photographing flying dragonflies, I watched it just before I went out to the lake and it was very helpful, I recommend it if you want to try your hand at flying bugs.

A male common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) perched on an Echinacea purpurea ‘Magnus’ flower in our garden. This is what I love about our house: a wildlife garden filled with insects, butterflies, small and not-so-small animals (deer love my flowers, too!), and numerous birds! I need only to step out to find something to photograph!

Common blue males typically have wings that are blue above, with a black-brown border and a white fringe, similar to the one in my photo. The females are usually brown above with a blue dusting and orange spots.

These butterflies drink nectar from plants like clovers and bird’s-foot trefoil. Their caterpillars eat leguminous plants and even team up with ants for protection. The adults only live about three weeks, and the males often chase each other around to defend their territory.

A ladybug perched delicately on an Echinacea purpurea var. Magnus flower – another photo from my garden.

Am I done with the safari photos? Not at all! But there’s too much of a good thing, you know. I needed a break from the hundreds of safari photos, to be honest. And the garden is so beautiful, I was aching to be out and look for butterflies, bumblebees, and ladybugs!

A young European Lynx (Lynx lynx) male from our recent trip to Northern Sweden. I just finished culling those photos, so I haven’t processed many of them yet. However, I started working on this handsome fellow right away. I loved those eyes gazing right at you and wanted to begin working on the photo immediately.

Can you believe I shot this at ISO 10,000? It was late afternoon in the forest. The light was fading, and he was in the shade. The widest aperture on my Canon RF100-500mm lens is f/7.1, so to capture more light, I often have to use high ISOs. If the animal is not moving much, I’d lower the shutter speed a lot (think 1/100 or 1/200). However, this guy was moving too much, so my shutter speed was 1/640s. A noisy photo (grainy due to high ISO) is always preferable to a blurry one.

He stood like this for only a few seconds while I took my safety shots, then vanished before I could lower the shutter speed much more. In these cases, exposing to the right (ETTR) is key. ETTR refers to intentionally making an image brighter by adjusting exposure so that the histogram leans more toward the right side (the highlights), which helps retain more image data. Noise, or visual grain from high ISO, tends to be more visible in the darker areas of a photo, and it’s much easier to remove grain from a bright image than a dark one.

I used Lightroom Classic to reduce the noise in the image, and I think it looks pretty good. For the worst cases of noise, I usually use Topaz.

A male cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) patrolling its territory in the soft morning light, together with its two brothers (not in this photo). I was lucky enough to follow the three cheetah brothers on foot for over an hour in the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve. That was no mean feat as it did require some cardio; cheetahs move fast, even when “only” walking.

Cheetah males form coalitions (usually of 2-3 littermate brothers) to establish and defend small territories (15-50 square miles/39-130 km²) within prey-rich areas. Living in coalitions rather than solitude enhances survival and mating success. In contrast, females range over much larger, nomadic territories, spanning up to 300 square miles (800 km²). Patrols by males involve daily circuits (6-11 km at 2.5-3.8 km/h) to monitor territory for intruders, prey, and potential mates.

During patrols, males mark boundaries at least once per hour using urine sprays, defecation, or cheek/chin rubbing, which conveys chemical signals about their identity and status; they revisit these sites frequently to reinforce claims. Vocalizations, such as high-pitched chirps, purrs, or growls, along with visual displays, help communicate and deter rivals. However, conflicts can escalate into fights over access to females or resources, sometimes resulting in injury or death. Coalitions rarely venture far from their core area except briefly to seek estrus females, prioritizing defense over expansion.

Young males leave their mother at 15-24 months and spend years as ‘floaters’ (roaming vast areas up to 1,600 km²) before gaining a territory, often as adults. This queuing strategy, combined with eventual coalition patrols, improves their chances against established groups. Patrols secure breeding rights and facilitate cooperative hunting, highlighting the cheetah’s distinctive, coalition-based social structure amid their decreasing wild population (~7,100).

📸 All photos were taken with Canon R5 Mark II & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM.

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