Dragonfly on orange lily

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Dragonfly on orange lily

June 28, 2013 by Mike Powell

My normal instinct is to move in really close to my subject, whether it is physical movement with my macro lens or virtual movement with my telephoto zoom, but when I saw this dragonfly, I consciously pulled back in order to bring more of the stalk of the lily into the image.

This is a new species of dragonfly for me and I think it is probably a Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta). I love the contrast between the dark blue color of the dragonfly’s body and the orange shade of the lily. This dragonfly’s muted colors give it a somewhat more sophisticated look that the more garishly colored Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) that I also photographed that day. (Check out my previous posting to see the contrast between the images of the two dragonflies in similar positions.)

In addition to the colors, I like the composition of the image and the water in the background blurred out pretty nicely too. In the next few weeks, I’ll be off trying to catch some shots of dragonflies on lotus flowers and waterlilies—it’s that time of the year again.

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, dragonfly, Hidden Pond Nature Center, Libellula incesta, lily, orange lily, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Springfield VA | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on June 28, 2013 at 5:49 am | Reply BolaBola

Beautiful!
on June 28, 2013 at 6:26 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

I can’t think of a more pleasing color combination.
- on June 28, 2013 at 6:30 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. This is one of my more “artsy” shots in terms of composition, but I have to say that I too love the colors.
on June 28, 2013 at 8:31 pm | Reply compostingwords

beautiful shot. lovely color.
- on June 28, 2013 at 9:20 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I really like the color combination and contrast.
on July 1, 2013 at 4:14 pm | Reply Rare dragonfly comeback in England | Dear Kitty. Some blog

[…] Dragonfly on orange lily (michaelqpowell.wordpress.com) […]
on July 5, 2013 at 9:29 am | Reply Sue

You couldn’t ask for a nicer color contrast than you have here. Beautiful shot.
- on July 5, 2013 at 10:02 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. The color combination was so striking for me largely because it was so unexpected.