Outdoor Photography How To

Look at These Eye-Popping Macro Photographs of Damselflies and You Will Be Amazed

Ron Leach  |  Oct 21, 2016

©Alberto Ghizzi Panizza

Alberto Ghizzi Panizza began his creative career as a painter and illustrator, but developed a passion for digital photography while visiting Egypt’s ancient ruins in 1997. He shoots everything from weddings to advertising, but his macro photographs of bug-eyed damselflies are what caught our attention.

 

A photo posted by Debora (@deborasegna) on

Panizza is based in Parma, Italy and says he’s particularly inspired by nature, and he frequently incorporates living creatures in his landscape photography. His images of damselflies were first published in 2013, and were later featured in a Discovery Channel, Canada broadcast.

 

A photo posted by Debora (@deborasegna) on

As he told Britain’s Express, “I like to show that in nature, and particularly in the small world of insects, we can find very interesting situations which can be really funny and nice.”

Damselflies are predatory insects that appear very similar to their larger relative the dragonfly. They engage in elaborate courtship behavior and, like birds, males are often more brightly colored than females.

Panizza photographs damselflies on the banks of the Po River in Northern Italy during spring and autumn. These alien-like creatures can be difficult to photograph because they always seem to be flying at high speed.  

Here in the U.S. summer is the best time to photograph these insects, which are typically found near fresh water sources on bright sunny days. There are some 5,500 damselfly species in North America and over 400 are found in the U.S.

After viewing more of Panizza’s work on his Instagram page, we hope you’ll be inspired to try photographing these captivating insects yourself. With some patience and experimentation, you’re sure to get some great shots.

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