Stream Bluet in the rain

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Stream Bluet in the rain

June 9, 2015 by Mike Powell

There was a heavy mist in the air when I left my house early one morning this past weekend, but I had hopes it would burn off quickly when the sun came up. I was wrong. As I walked deeper and deeper into the woods, the mist turned to drizzle and the drizzle turned into light rain. Over the course of the next few hours we repeated that cycle several times.

I had enough protection for my gear, but I was soon sopping wet from the often knee-high vegetation through which I was walking. More significantly, however, most potential photographic subjects were exhibiting amazing common sense and appeared to have sought cover in drier spots.

All of the sudden, at a moment when the rain had slowed down, I detected some motion and saw a damselfly moving slowly through the air. It came to rest on some vegetation at the edge of a small stream.

I tried to steady myself as well as I could, because shooting such a small subject at the far end of my 150-600mm zoom lens is a challenge. Given that my camera has a crop sensor, I was shooting at a 35mm equivalent of a 960mm focal length.

When I returned home and looked at my shots, I was happy that at least a few of them were in relatively sharp focus. Now I was faced with the equally daunting task of identifying my subject. There is a whole family of damselflies known as bluets and most of them are primarily black and blue in color with minor variations in patterns. (There is one that I have photographed called an Orange Bluet, a name that causes me to chuckle whenever I see those two words used together).

I turned to some experts on a Facebook page called Northeast Odonata and they were able to identify this damselfly as a Stream Bluet (Enallagma exsulans).

The clock is ticking for dragonflies and damselflies, many species of which have very limited seasons, so I’ll be out as often as I can to try to spot some familiar ones and maybe even some new ones. Light rain does not deter me, though heavier rain and/or high winds will keep me at home.

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Enallagma exsulans, Huntley Meadows Park, Northeast Odonata, Stream Bluet, Stream Bluet damselfly, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on June 9, 2015 at 6:11 am | Reply svtakeiteasy

What stunning colour! Nearly irridescent. Beautiful capture, Mike!
- on June 9, 2015 at 6:16 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris. There was enough diffused light that the colors seemed super saturated, as compared with more direct sunlight, which often washes out the colors.
on June 9, 2015 at 6:36 am | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Wonderful image with the shimmering rain drops adding to the shine from the damselfly. That colour is astonishing.
on June 9, 2015 at 7:16 am | Reply Beachbums1

Gorgeous (as all your photos are)!
- on June 9, 2015 at 7:25 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I appreciate your kind words, though I know that some of my photos are a whole lot better than others. I do particularly like the way that this one turned out.
on June 9, 2015 at 8:49 am | Reply Lyle Krahn

Exceptional photo for a lot of reasons but I’ll just comment on the complimentary angles.
on June 10, 2015 at 5:38 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

That’s an excellent shot Mike. I just went through the same thing trying to identify a blue damselfly and never did figure out what it was.
- on June 10, 2015 at 5:43 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Allen. I have better luck more often with dragonflies, but blue damselflies are tough. One of my friends has taken to calling them “damnselflies.”