Do you photograph the same subjects over and over again? I know that I do, hoping that each new opportunity might provide something different—perhaps a new pose, an unusual angle of view, or different lighting conditions.
That is why I was chasing after this male Eastern Amberwing dragonfly (Perithemis tenera) last week at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Usually I find the males of this common species buzzing around at water’s edge or perched on vegetation overhanging or growing out of the water. This individual, however, was flying over a grassy patch adjacent to the pond, periodically pausing to perch only a few inches above the ground.
I took this shot from almost directly above the little dragonfly—Eastern Amberwings are less than an inch (25 mm) in length—and that angle helped me to capture the entire body in relatively sharp focus. Sharpness, though is only one of the factors that I use in evaluating my photos and often it is not the most important one. In this case, I really like the angled pose of the dragonfly and I the dominant colors in the image. I absolutely love the way that the beautiful warm brown colors of the dragonfly contrast with the cool greens in the background.
Sometimes we grow so comfortable with our familiar surroundings that we take them for granted. I strive to look at the world with optimism and fresh eyes each day, confident that I will discover beauty almost anywhere that I find myself.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Yes, your attitude of “ I strive to look at the world with optimism and fresh eyes each day, confident that I will discover beauty almost anywhere that I find myself.” shows through your images! Thank you.
Thanks, Molly. As you probably can imagine, I am pretty energetic and enthusiastic in person too. 🙂
Nice Mike! Always fun to see your dragonfly images!
Thanks, Reed. I love them all, even the most common ones like this little Eastern Amberwing.
Mike this look at the eastern amberwing is heavenly. The amber wings glow and sparkle with the green background. The clarity here is a joy: seeing the segmented body, those spectacular compound eyes, and the legs clinging to the flowers. I so appreciate your attitude, your skill, and your passion for the outdoor world.
Thanks, Jet, for your kind words. I am proud to say that I am an amateur, who, if you go back to the Latin root, is someone who does what they do out of love–if I were motivated by money or were more goal-focused, I am pretty sure that I would not be willing to wander around for endless hours with my camera in search of shooting opportunities like this one. Skill and knowledge help me to get some shots, but I think that maintaining a sense of wonder and curiosity is even more important. There are so many messages of negativity in our society these days and I like to be the rebel who tries to inject a note of positivity. 🙂
That’s the nature of who we are.
Extremely beautiful 🙂
Thanks, Liz. They are the only species in our area with wings that have that amber color and I was thrilled to capture the wing details so well.
Please continue to pursue these little golden wonders whenever you have the chance. I wish that I’d known about and made some visits to these haunts of yours when we lived in the Fairfax/Vienna area. And I really hope that you’ll share one of my passions and make time for an excursion into Whiteoak Canyon, near Syria, VA, at some point.
Travel is still a bit dicey right now, Gary, but Whiteoak Canyon is on my list of places to visit.
For me it seems to be hares Mike ( as you might have noticed!)
I’ve noticed that you loved to photograph them and I really enjoy seeing the hares–our cottontail rabbits seem tame by comparison.
hares are such magical creatures and I’m so glad you have been enjoying them
The wings on this one look like the old-fashioned colored cellophane that we used years ago at Christmas to make ‘stained glass’ windows, or other crafty projects. I’d love to see one of these; the color’s fabulous.
Thanks. I also remember making those same kind of stained glass windows with cellophane. I always loved those kind of crafty projects.
Amberwings are such lovely dragonflies and I don’t see them very often so really enjoyed seeing yours, Mike. I do photograph the same subjects repeatedly, whether dragonfly, frog, or sunrise. There is always something a little different about each time. And even if not, a beauty like the Amberwing never gets old. 🙂
Your words, Steve, reinforce to me the importance of shooting the “common” subjects. The fact that I see Eastern Amberwings all of the time doesn’t mean that everyone else does. Beauty is beauty–it’s worth taking the time to observe it and photograph it.
What a stunner, Mike! It’s wings look like they are made of toffee! I really like your optimism, especially in these very strange and difficult times.
Thanks, Pete. I tend to be optimistic by nature, but I must confess my sense of optimism has really been put to the test the last six months or so. “Very strange and difficult times” is such an apt description.