First dragonfly of the spring

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First dragonfly of the spring

April 12, 2013 by Mike Powell

Today I saw my first dragonflies of the spring, which I am pretty sure were Common Green Darners (Anax junius). They buzzed by me several times, but never stopped to perch.

I had reconciled myself to the likelihood that I would not get a single shot. Suddenly a dragonfly that I was chasing stopped and hovered over the water. I have never had any success before in capturing an in-flight image of a dragonfly, but somehow I was able to grab focus and got several pretty good shots. The beautiful, two-toned colors of this dragonfly are amazing.

I look forward to a new season of chasing dragonflies, but suspect that I will have to work hard to top this first dragonfly of the spring.

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Anax junius, Canon Rebel XT, Common Green Darner dragonfly, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on April 12, 2013 at 10:49 pm | Reply sethsnap

nice!
on April 12, 2013 at 11:16 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

I am stunned you, anyone, was able to capture a dragonfly that had not perched. This is an amazing photo and the detail is superb.
- on April 13, 2013 at 6:05 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Charlie. It was mostly luck. The dragonfly was hovering above the muddy water and I was able to shoot looking mostly down at a slight angle. I have seen amazing shots from others, but never really thought I could get one.
on April 12, 2013 at 11:52 pm | Reply lylekrahn

That’s a dream shot! I’m hoping to get one someday.
- on April 13, 2013 at 6:11 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Lyle. I thought about you when I was doing a little research on these dragonflies and came across this sentence, ” the common green darner is an agile and opportunistic predator…” If your index for likeability extends from birds to insects, these guys should rate pretty high. (http://www.arkive.org/common-green-darner/anax-junius/)
on April 13, 2013 at 5:31 am | Reply jeaninjackson

Awesome shot ! Thanks for sharing it.
- on April 13, 2013 at 6:12 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. It was mostly luck, but I’ll take that kind of luck when I can find it.
on April 13, 2013 at 6:23 am | Reply caleephotography

That’s a great shot, Mike!! I’m so jealous you already have dragonflies.. I have to wait at least a few more months.
- on April 13, 2013 at 7:53 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  We only have a few so far. From what I understand, these Green Darner dragonflies are migrating dragonflies, on their way to more northern regions.
on April 13, 2013 at 6:52 am | Reply Christy Turner

Yesterday was definitely your day! Great shot Michael. 🙂
- on April 13, 2013 at 7:00 am | Reply Christy Turner
  
  luck favors the prepared
- on April 13, 2013 at 7:54 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Indeed. I hung around a bit after you left and was shocked to get this opportunity as I was crossing over a little raised section of the boardwalk just past the beaver pond.
on April 13, 2013 at 7:44 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

Great shot! I know what you mean-I spend a lot of time stalking dragonflies too but very rarely get a decent shot of one.
on April 13, 2013 at 8:46 am | Reply Sue

Great shot, Mike! These guys are really hard to photograph.
on April 13, 2013 at 6:39 pm | Reply krikitarts

What a beauty!