Highlighted beauty

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Highlighted beauty

June 15, 2016 by Mike Powell

The sunlight shining through from behind helped to highlight the beautiful colors and patterns of this Painted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula semifasciata) at Huntley Meadows Park this past Monday. Although I usually try to get more even lighting in my shots, I really like the way that this directional lighting has created areas of brightness and shadow, which seems to add a bit of drama to the image.

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula semifasciata, Painted Skimmer, Painted Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm | 12 Comments

12 Responses

on June 15, 2016 at 7:15 am | Reply the Ordinary Hiker

I agree, the lighting does bring out a unique color. A little warmer than I would usually think of a dragonfly too.
- on June 15, 2016 at 11:58 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. The sun was pretty bright and I was using spot metering, which is why the background turned out so dark. As for the warmth, I used auto white balance and didn’t adjust what I got. The brown and yellow tones seemed ok to be that warm.
on June 15, 2016 at 7:42 am | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

This is a stellar shot, Mike. The lighting is perfect and does indeed help illuminate the details in all meanings of the word. I also like the diagonal lines in the composition. There’s automatically a sense of implied movement because the composition is dynamic.
- on June 16, 2016 at 4:41 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Laura. You have a wonderful way of explaining your impressions of a particular image and I love getting your feedback. Your words often help me to understand why I instinctively like a shot and help me to evaluate my own photos in a deeper way.
  - on June 16, 2016 at 6:29 am Laura (PA Pict)
    
    Thank you, Mike.
on June 15, 2016 at 7:43 am | Reply Sue

That’s a keeper, Mike. Another to add to your wall.
- on June 16, 2016 at 4:32 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Sue. I love shooting with backlighting. I was tempted to use a little fill flash, but was afraid it might overpower the light coming from the back and flatten the image.
on June 15, 2016 at 9:51 pm | Reply mvschulze

Incredible image, Mike. Nice! M 🙂
- on June 16, 2016 at 4:30 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. It was cool to be able to take advantage of the backlighting.
on June 16, 2016 at 5:26 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I like the lighting. It is dramatic with the dark background. It’s unusual for a dragonfly photo and I think it should be framed and hung.
- on June 16, 2016 at 6:02 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for the words of encouragement, Allen. I may tinker a little more with the image, but I think it may well be one that I have printed.
on June 16, 2016 at 3:23 pm | Reply shoreacres

The variety of dragonflies you have is astonishing. I suppose we have a great many, too, but I’m just beginning to pay attention to them. The image is great. I like the lighting and the warmth, but what really delights me is the way the wings resemble autumn leaves that have been reduced to their veins. I suppose the warm color helps to support the autumn associations.