Great Blue Skimmers (male)

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Great Blue Skimmers (male)

June 2, 2017 by Mike Powell

Most folks can readily identify a Great Blue Heron, but would you recognize a Great Blue Skimmer if you encountered one? This dragonfly’s wing pattern is fairly distinctive, but I usually look for its beautiful blue eyes and bright white face. I spotted these male Great Blue Skimmers (Libellula vibrans) on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia.

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 180mm macro | 9 Comments

9 Responses

on June 2, 2017 at 12:18 pm | Reply AJ

Amazing
- on June 2, 2017 at 2:40 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, AJ.
  - on June 2, 2017 at 3:08 pm AJ
    
    You are most welcome.
on June 2, 2017 at 1:54 pm | Reply Pete Hillman

Fantastically detailed images, Mike! I love the colouring!
- on June 2, 2017 at 2:40 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Pete. Dragonflies are my absolutely favorite subject to photograph and in the case my 180mm macro gave me the ability to capture a lot of details without having to get too close and spooking the dragonflies.
on June 2, 2017 at 3:24 pm | Reply littleaprilshower

They look like they’re wearing battle armour! So cool.
- on June 2, 2017 at 6:39 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I hadn’t thought about it in those terms, but it does look like they are covered in plates of armor. 🙂
on June 2, 2017 at 6:33 pm | Reply svtakeiteasy

Great detail Mike! I especially like the patterns on the wings on the last image… like lace.
- on June 2, 2017 at 6:41 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks,Chris. For me. one of the biggest challenges with dragonflies is having sufficient depth of field to be able to capture as many details as possible, but still manage to have a blurred background. It’s a tough balancing act and usually I end up compromising in one direction or the other.