Looking at me from different angles

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Looking at me from different angles

October 5, 2019 by Mike Powell

As many of you know, I love to photograph dragonflies and will often try to get close-up shots of them. Initially I captured a head-on shot of a female Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum ambiguum) that I spotted on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

As I was observing this dragonfly at close range, she began to groom herself. I am not sure if she was cleaning her eyes or merely scratching an itch, but it was a bit eerie when she rotated her head more than 90 degrees to do so, as you can see in the second image. It brought back memories from my youth of Linda Blair’s spinning head in the original version of The Exorcist, though fortunately the dragonfly’s head did not rotate 360 degrees.

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA | 16 Comments

16 Responses

on October 5, 2019 at 6:39 am | Reply merrylbethelhouse

The faces of dragonflies are fascinating. In most of your portrait shots they appear to be smiling, but I photographed one that flew into our deck and passed away there, and the mouth is down-turned and looks really sad (it’s in one of my blogs).
- on October 5, 2019 at 7:05 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I found your “sad” dragonfly posting and love the shots. Dragonflies are endlessly fascinating for me and your posting to which you refer gives some of the reasons why I consider them so wondrous.
  - on October 5, 2019 at 8:10 am merrylbethelhouse
    
    Thanks Mike, and thank you so much for visiting.
on October 5, 2019 at 1:51 pm | Reply DeniseinVA

Hi Mike, I found your blog a little while ago. I am in awe of your photographic skills. This latest post of the dragonfly, incredible!
- on October 5, 2019 at 2:52 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Denise. I noticed from your blog that you visit some of the same places that I do, including Huntley Meadows Park, which is just a few miles from where I live.
on October 5, 2019 at 2:39 pm | Reply Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography

The first photograph, details are wonderful 👏👏
- on October 5, 2019 at 2:54 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ted. Handholding with a macro lens that does not have image stabilization is a challenge when shooting a subject that close. I had a little better success with the first shot, i.e. before the dragonfly started to move. 🙂
  - on October 5, 2019 at 3:57 pm Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography
    
    No IS ? That is hard with a closeup.
  - on October 5, 2019 at 4:16 pm Mike Powell
    
    Neither the Canon 180mm macro lens, which is an L series lens, nor the Tamron 180mm macro, which is what I use, has image stabilization. I guess the theory is that I should be using a tripod all of the time, in which case I should shut off the image stabilization if I had it. The dragonfly in the image is only about 1.4 inches in length, which gives you an idea of how close I was. The good news, though, is that I have a bit more standoff distance than with my Canon 100mm macro that I sometimes use.
  - on October 5, 2019 at 4:37 pm Ted Jennings - TPJ Photography
    
    I’m spoiled. I have IS on all the long lens, just a few primes that don’t. I would be be long dead if I dragged a tripod out all the time LOL.
on October 5, 2019 at 3:26 pm | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Wowzer! Incredible shots, Mike!
- on October 5, 2019 at 5:18 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Laura. I love macro photography and it was nice to have an accommodating subject. 🙂
on October 5, 2019 at 6:53 pm | Reply Ellen

These are phenomenal photos and when enlarged they are positively breathtaking! I cannot wait to show these to Benjamin next Friday afternoon and hear his observations too. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
- on October 5, 2019 at 9:24 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Ellen. I am glad to see that you enlarged them. In the first photo you can see some of the details in the eyes (which have thousands of lenses) and also the dragonfly’s tiny fee. The second shot is slightly less sharp, but it has that strangely rotated head.
on October 5, 2019 at 7:34 pm | Reply Dan Antion

These shots are wonderful, Mike.
on October 6, 2019 at 8:24 am | Reply Ellen Jennings

Cool closeups, Mike! They way they can move their heads is amazing.