Dragon head

I have been after this shot for weeks but just couldn't nail it. Extreme macro shooting comes with its own set of problems, mainly extremely limited depth of field and my biggest problem, camera shake. Nothing you can do to solve the DOF problem, but you can apply yourself to the camera shake problem, controlled breathing, better stance etc.

For yesterdays' inchworm macro blip, I came up with a new idea, a technique for the monopod. I placed the point on the ground and angled the monopod towards the subject. After framing the subject, I clamped the head so that the camera was solid. I held the monopod about 9" below the camera with my left hand and held the camera with my right hand with the lightest of grips.

With the camera set to closest focus, I looked through the viewfinder from about 4" back, not touching the camera with my face. I focused the subject by pivoting the monopod in and out. The steeper the monopod angle, the finer the control. Viewing from a few inches back has the effect of magnifying the image, making it easier to see the focus. I used the technique again today and bingo - I got my shot.

As for today's blip, a view of the back of a dragons head. I had noticed the two fingers in the past and wondered exactly what they were for, assuming the it was something to do with the mating function, as the male grips the female behind the head. But, both male and female dragons have these fingers.

It seemed that with every attempt to capture this image, I would see something new, so was satisfied that the image took a while to capture. I noticed that the two fingers were movable, like your finger and thumb moving together. I also noticed that there were two corresponding fingers on the back of the head, unfortunately you cannot see the shape from this angle - sorry.

Research revealed very little information, other than a reference to the work of Stanislav N. Gorb of the Max Planck institute. I was expected to pay to have a read but I did find a free copy, not that I am any the wiser, the guy maybe a brilliant scientist and a master of microscopic investigation, but he has no idea how to talk to normal people and get his message across, even his diagrams and images are illegible. So with a little bit of information collected, I am left with my own observations and some very unscientific assumptions and dodgy conclusions.

It is generally accepted that these fingers form part of a head arrester system. The huge, bulky head sits on a tiny neck and has universal joint mobility, but this desirable attribute leaves the neck joint very unstable and easily damaged.

What I have read, is that the surface of the fingers and the walls of the head are covered in microscopic, shaped hairs (microtrichia) and function like Velcro. So when the dragon is feeding or mating or any other function that stresses the joint, the fingers touch the walls and hold everything steady, thus supporting the head and relieving the strain on the delicate joint.

What I can see, is that there are two more matching fingers coming down from the back of the head and they appear to be hinged and would match the fingers on the neck, forming a better stabilizing function.

Looking at the tip of the males abdomen, I see a centre prong and two smaller side prongs. My assumption is that the centre prong pushes on the neck structure, where it enters the head, pushing the head forward. The two side prongs locate with the fingers and are clamped when the fingers move together. It would not surprise me if these male prongs also had the micro hairs, to 'velcro' to the fingers. So it seems that it is the female holding onto the male and not the other way around!

Please note that most of this is not proven fact, just me wittering on to my blip friends.

Dave