Although I was still here in Northern Virginia, the colors and desolate character of the landscape surrounding this Variable Dancer damselfly (Argia fumipennis violacea) reminded me of the desert Southwestern portion of the United States. It looked almost like the damselfly was posing for a photo while perched at the edge of the Grand Canyon.
The reality was a little less exciting. I spotted this Variable Dancer during the 4th of July weekend while I was exploring Pohick Creek in Springfield, Virginia, only a few miles from where I live.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I’ve begun the great dragonfly hunt. I’m curious to know what your typical settings are. It’s quite an engaging challenge
Settings? If you are speaking of the environments where I find dragonflies, I usually find them near water–many dragonflies like to perch on vegetation near the edge of ponds, marshes, and streams. If you are speaking of camera settings, there is a lot of variation, because I see dragonflies in bright light and in the shadows, though most of them tend to seek the sunshine.
So far, I’m getting clearer head shots, but not the whole length or breadth, so I know I need a smaller aperture, but not sure how far I can go without distracting the background.
If the issue is one of depth of field, the biggest concern should be trying to get an angle of view in which the plane of the camera’s sensor is parallel to that of the dragonfly’s body. If you are looking straight at the dragonfly’s face, it’ll be almost impossible to get the body in focus, even with small apertures. As for background, if you are lucky, the dragonfly will choose a perch (or you can choose and angle) in which the background is far enough away that it will be out of focus.
Thank you for your kind response. You’ve given me a couple of tips to work with. The challenge never ends. That’s part of the fun of it I guess.