In the clouds

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In the clouds

August 20, 2020 by Mike Powell

Some dragonflies seems to seek the highest possible perch and I love photographing them with the sky and the clouds as the simple backdrop. I spotted this female Needham’s Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula needhami) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

I was thrilled that I was able to maneuver myself into a shooting position almost directly below the dragonfly and shoot upwards at a sharp angle. I was also happy to capture the beautiful golden markings near the leading edges of the wings, one of the most distinctive characteristics of this species that is quite common where I live.

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Libellula needhami, Needham's Skimmer, Needham's Skimmer dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA | 20 Comments

20 Responses

on August 20, 2020 at 7:26 am | Reply Dan Antion

That’s a great capture, Mike. Hanging in at the top.
- on August 20, 2020 at 7:50 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Dan. I am amazed at how well they can hangout at the tip of the vegetation, even when the breezes are blowing.
on August 20, 2020 at 7:41 am | Reply Reed Andariese

Nice Mike! They do seem to like high perches! Many times when I am photographing them close to the car, they land on the car’s antenna.
- on August 20, 2020 at 7:51 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Reed. Most of the time when I am photographing dragonflies, I have to park in a parking lot and walk to the locations, so it is rare, alas, for me to have dragonflies landing on my car.
on August 20, 2020 at 7:47 am | Reply Suzette Benjamin

Beautiful photography, wow. 😊
- on August 20, 2020 at 7:51 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Suzette.
on August 20, 2020 at 7:58 am | Reply mitzybricker

Another great photo, Mike!

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- on August 20, 2020 at 6:58 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Mitzy.
on August 20, 2020 at 10:35 am | Reply Laura (PA Pict)

Wonderful portrait. You’ve really captured the delicacy and poise of this dragonfly and I love the composition.
- on August 20, 2020 at 6:55 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Laura. As you might suspect, I moved around a bit to get the break between the clouds to line up with the vegetation stalk.
on August 20, 2020 at 6:26 pm | Reply krikitarts

Great detail & tones. Did you bracket toward overexposure to keep adequate information in the shadows?
- on August 20, 2020 at 6:53 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Gary. You have a sharp eye. In some of my shots, I used exposure compensation and overexposed by 2/3 of a stop, but for this one that I chose to process, I did not overexpose. When I processed the raw image, I increased the exposure by +.25, lightened the shadows, and lowered the clarity. A lot of time when I am shooting up like that, I risk having the image turn into a silhouette, so I was paying a lot of attention to the shadows as I shot.
  - on August 21, 2020 at 2:39 am krikitarts
    
    And that extra attention really shows. I hope your followers have employed the double-click to appreciate what you’ve done with this one.
  - on August 21, 2020 at 7:18 am Mike Powell
    
    Thanks, Gary. I have a diverse group of folks who read my blog postings. Those who are photographers may well be interested in examining all of the details, but there are others who may be quite satisfied in gaining an overall impression of the subject or simply appreciating its beauty. I try to make my postings accessible to as wide a spectrum of readers as possibly by trying to be interesting and informative and not overly technical.
on August 20, 2020 at 10:53 pm | Reply Ms. Liz

When I enter heaven’s pearly gates and St Peter presents me with wings, these are the ones I want, please 🙂
- on August 20, 2020 at 11:12 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Golden wings to match your golden halo 🙂
  - on August 20, 2020 at 11:35 pm Ms. Liz
    
    Haha.. have you seen my tweet? at https://twitter.com/ExploringColour/status/1296642818807443456 🙂
  - on August 20, 2020 at 11:52 pm Mike Powell
    
    Sweet tweet.
on August 21, 2020 at 3:59 am | Reply Steve Gingold

Nice angle, capture, and processing, Mike.
- on August 21, 2020 at 7:14 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Steve.