Are you so used to the common beauty that surrounds you every day that you no longer see it? What does it take for you to stop and take notice and maybe even pull out a camera to photograph a subject?
Almost six years ago I read a blog posting by fellow photographer Lyle Krahn that talked of a concept called “stopping power” and that posting has stuck with me to this day. Here’s a portion of that posting that describes the concept, “I think every beautiful scene has stopping power. That’s my term for the ability of a scene to make a person stop hiking or driving in order to pull out a camera and make images. Did you ever wonder what makes you stop? Do you ever hear the music?”
I try to pay attention to even the most common subjects and when it comes to dragonflies, that means the aptly named Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia). Common Whitetails are among the first dragonflies to appear in the spring and among the last to disappear in the autumn. You can find lots of Common Whitetails almost everywhere it seems.
On Tuesday at Occoquan Bay Regional Park I stopped and photographed some Common Whitetail dragonflies as I was searching for some more exotic dragonfly species. This early in the season the Common Whitetails seem to be hanging out at a distance from the water—later in the summer I tend to find them buzzing around ponds and swamps.
The first two shots below are of male Common Whitetails. Although mature males are white, when they are young they have brown bodies similar to those of females. However, males have different patterns on their wings and the second and third images show those differences and may help you to distinguish immature males from females.
So, what has “stopping power” for you? I encourage you to think about that question, to make an effort to lower your threshold, and to look for the uncommon beauty in common subjects.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I frequently find myself stopping, walking back, turning around to get photos. I don’t know why, but I’m always glad I do.
Your photos have that STOPPING power quality Mike! Thank You for sharing your findings, knowledge and AMAZING PHOTOS with all of us 🙂
Mike, your essay remind us to develop the ability to see. One is as alive as one can see. And your photos nicely illustrate your point. What has stopping power for me? I would say drama and subtlety in perfect balance.
Thanks, Michael. Your comment reminds me of the quote that is attributed to Dorothea Lang, “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” The more that I shoot, the more I grow sensitive to my surroundings.
Thanks Mike, I didn’t know that quote, but I instantly love it.
An excellent reminder Mike. I also try and remember when it comes to blogging that what’s “ordinary” to me may be quite unusual to people outside of NZ. I don’t see many dragonflies here although I used to see more in the warmer north. Your Common Whitetails seem as uncommon to me as any others (the males look like they’ve just escaped from a flour bin 😉
That’s for bringing up the geography issue, Liz. I sometimes forget that even within my own country, my common species may not be found elsewhere. One of the coolest things about having a blog is being able to share information and perceptions with folks all around the world.
I agree wholeheartedly Mike, very cool!
Beautiful images , Mike. I too focus on every day subject. You can spend for ever looking for rarer subjects and end up with nothing or look for beauty and and capture interesting behaviour in subjects you see more frequently. That, to me has stopping power. I certainly do that with underwater shots.
It definitely sounds like we are kindred spirits, Chris, in our approach to photography (though I must admit that I already knew that). 🙂
Nice thing to say, Mike 😊