As I was observing dragonflies on Friday at Huntley Meadows Park, a female Swamp Darner dragonfly (Epiaeschna heros) decided that the spot right next to me was the perfect place for her to deposit some eggs. She seemed to fly right at me and then veered just slightly to the left and began to arch her back in the way that dragonflies do when ovipositing.
I was really close to this female dragonfly, so close that my 180mm macro lens might actually have been too much lens for the situation. This was an unusual situation for me—I am usually trying to get closer and closer to a subject. As dragonflies go, Swamp Darners are really large, as much as 4 inches (10 cm) in length.
I didn’t dare move back for fear of scaring her away, so I slowly moved my upper body to try to frame the action. These shots show a couple of the different body positions of the dragonfly as she deposits her eggs.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Sensational captures. Amazing colour on the body and detail in the wings.
Thanks, Victor. The swamp darner is a spectacular dragonfly. It was a little tough in this situation to get any shots, so I am pretty happy with the way things turned out.
WOW!
Beautiful dragonfly!! Great job of making something out of a difficult angle!!
Those are great shots! There’s no such thing as too close. I like seeing the details that we miss, like the hairs on a dragonfly’s body.
Great photos Michael
Awesome !
utham
beautiful, amazing, kudos to the photographer!
great shot! i love this!
I love the irony of getting too close. It does increase the drama.
As I recall, I was pretty close to the minimum focusing distance for the macro lens. Yikes. It is a little more fun when the shoe is on the other foot. I remember one time when a beautiful white egret in breeding plumage landed about eight feet away from a group of photographers I was with. Some of us started shooting immediately, but the guy with the heavy tripod and 600mm lens scrambled to back up in order to get a shot.
I completely agree with the shoe analogy. I’ve found myself backing up a few times.
Thank you – we do not really ‘see’ these creatures and appreciate all the detail do we?
It is pretty unusual to find a 180mm macro too much lens! How exciting to see her depositing her eggs so close. You must have been sitting very still. Bravo!