Needham’s Skimmer

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Needham’s Skimmer

October 3, 2014 by Mike Powell

Two weeks ago, during the waning days of summer, I captured this image of a beautiful Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) at Huntley Meadows Park, the local marshland where I do a lot of my shooting. The vivid red of its body made it really stand out—camouflage did not seem to be a viable option.

Although this dragonfly species is pretty common, I only saw a couple of them this season and this was the only one that I managed to photograph. The dragonfly was perched on a dried stalk in a field and it was tough to try to get any kind of clear background, particularly because I did not want to move too much and risk scaring away the dragonfly.

In these two images, you can see two slightly different approaches that I used. In the first one, I was not worried that there were some horizontal stalks in the background. In fact, I actually like the repetition of the horizontal line and don’t find them distracting, given how blurred they are. In the second image, I tried to get as uncluttered a background as I could, which isolates the dragonfly a little better. I tend to like the first image a little more, but I welcome any thoughts about which image you prefer.

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula needhami, Needham's Skimmer, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, red dragonfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 11 Comments

11 Responses

on October 3, 2014 at 7:12 am | Reply Dan Antion

I like both. I think I like the first one the best. I like lines. By the way, last week, my wife saw the first butterfly this season. She snapped a quick photo from a distance but it moved on quickly.
- on October 3, 2014 at 7:19 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for weighing in, Dan. It’s kind of late in the season to be seeing a first butterfly, but it’s always a treat to see them. For me, part of the excitement comes from the knowledge of how they have undergone a complete metamorphosis to become a butterfly.
on October 3, 2014 at 8:16 am | Reply Dina

Both look great!
- on October 3, 2014 at 8:30 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. Sometimes it’s hard to choose 🙂
on October 3, 2014 at 2:22 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

The photos are absolutely flawless. I prefer the first, but they are both quite flawless.
on October 4, 2014 at 12:47 pm | Reply caleephotography

Twist my arm 😉 I like the contrast in the 1st better. Nicely done, Mike!
- on October 4, 2014 at 1:00 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for jumping in, Camilla. I’m having a pretty successful end of the dragonfly season here. It won’t be long before I switch to birds.
on October 4, 2014 at 5:37 pm | Reply dianaed2013

The first one shows the environment more but the wonderful sharp
dragonfly is so well taken I didn’t see the stalks until I read you blog
- on October 5, 2014 at 7:10 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I always have to remind myself to show a little bit of the environment. Whether I am shooting with a telephoto lens or a macro, I seem to have an irresistible desire to move in really close.
on October 7, 2014 at 8:03 am | Reply mariekeates

I like the first best. I don’t think the lines detract at all and, as the background is slightly darker the dragonfly wings stand out better
- on October 7, 2014 at 8:07 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Marie. It seems like most folks prefer the first one.