Have you ever looked really closely at a dragonfly? I expected to be able to see its beautiful colors, but I was a little surprise to see how many little hairs were present on the face and body of this Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura) that I encountered in mid-May at my local marsh.
I was standing in one of my favorite spots, at the edge of a beaver pond, when this dragonfly flew in and perched a few feet away from me. I don’t know if it was resting or napping or simply didn’t mind my presence, but it allowed me to get amazingly close to it. I was able to take quite a few shots of it and even was able to set up my tripod (although there was so much underbrush that it was tough to get a really stable base).
As you can see from the first shot, depth of field was an issue for me when I moved in this close and I didn’t manage to keep all of the legs in focus. I took the second shot from a bit further back and more of the dragonfly is in focus.
Want a new view on life? Try looking at the world through a macro lens and you’ll see some amazing things.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Great pictures. It obviously liked the attention.
Great stuff, front on they are bearded!
Those beards are great.
Seriously up close 🙂
What amazing colours
Good catch, Mike! Baskettail dragonflies are uncommon at Huntley Meadows Park. Please cross-post on the Project Noah mission, “Dragonflies and Damselflies of Huntley Meadows Park.” Thanks!
Wow, they really are hairy. Thanks for the close look at something I never would have seen otherwise. I agree that a macro look at the world is an amazing adventure. I never get tired of it.
[…] few weeks ago, I did a posting with some close-up images of a Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosura), but one of my […]