*A great and wonderful How-To photograph insects, brought to you by me. Who else?*

### Butterflies
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http://www.den-uijl.nl/photography/stored/Dagpauwoog1BZ.jpg
*<sup>Example of a butterfly. Just making sure we're on the same page here.</sup>*

When you see a butterfly you want to photograph, you can run after it until it lands, stop running, approach it slowly and sneakily, and get some photos.

Or not; it may have moved again by the time you reach it, or you could startle it before you can get a good shot. This might make you say things like:

*"Damn you, you bloody bastard of a butterfly"*, or simply *"Fuck"*,

which is not good for your blood pressure and also not a nice thing to say to a butterfly that is innocently going about its business.

All this can be very frustrating, irksome, and tiring.

![](http://www.den-uijl.nl/photography/stored/updating.gif)

<hr>

 Fortunately, there is a better and more relaxed way of going about it:

* Find a patch of flowers that are liked by many species, like [mint](https://steemit.com/photography/@ocrdu/mint-and-its-guests), [thistles](https://steemit.com/colorchallenge/@ocrdu/colour-challenge-five-orange-butterflies), or [garlic root](https://steemit.com/photography/@ocrdu/butterflies-with-garlic-breath), preferably with few other flowers nearby;
* Sit down;
* Get your camera ready;
* Have a beverage of choice;
* Wait for a butterfly to land;
* Wait for it to eat, because then it will sit still;
* Make a photo.

The links in the text above lead to some examples of photos made this way. Hint: you can only still vote for *garlic root*.

<hr>

### Dragonflies
#####
The procedure for dragonflies is different, as they can't be bothered with visiting flowers:

* Find a spot in the sun near water;
* Find a small stick;
* Sit down;
* Get your camera ready;
* Hold up the stick;
* Have a beverage of choice;
* Wait for a dragonfly to land on your stick;
* Make a photo, like so:

![](http://www.den-uijl.nl/photography/stored/DFOnAStick.jpg)
*<sup>Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/160s</sup>*

An advantage of having a dragonfly-on-a-stick is, that you can turn it around and hold it at the right angle against a suitable background; many dragonflies don't mind that:

![](http://www.den-uijl.nl/photography/stored/NoordseWitsnuitlibel2.jpg)
*<sup>Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s</sup>*

![](http://www.den-uijl.nl/photography/stored/NoordseWitsnuitlibel3.jpg)
*<sup>Olympus Stylus 1s, 42mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/125s</sup>*

If you can't find a stick, a finger will also do:

![](http://www.den-uijl.nl/photography/stored/LibelOpVinger.jpg)
*<sup>Olympus XZ-1, 112mm, ISO100, f8, 1/160s</sup>*

Admittedly, if you're alone, this method requires being able to photograph with one hand, but once that has been mastered, it is far more relaxing than the alternative, which, as I said, involves a lot of moving about, sweating,  and cursing.

Should you be one of those fanatics who goes out with more equipment, like a tripod (or a spouse or child) and a remote control, you can use a stick stuck into the ground, set up the camera and focus it on the tip of the stick, and then retreat with your remote and your beverage to a comfortable place nearby.

Much better.

<hr>

I rarely apply these methods, of course, and great effort goes into making the photos I show you, no laziness here, no, not me, I work hard for the content I provide, yes indeed I do, unlike some others I could mention. Just saying.

<hr>

Happy hunting!