The beautiful colors on this dragonfly that I spotted yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park are so amazing that it it hard for me to call it “common,” even though I know that it is a Common Green Darner dragonfly (Anax junius). I initially spotted this dragonfly when it was patrolling over a field and was thrilled when I saw it land nearby.
Although my telephoto lens zooms out to 600mm, I needed to extend it to only 450mm, because Common Green Darners are so large, about 3 inches (75 mm) in length. As a result, the images were sharper and I was able to capture a lot of detail. I encourage you to double-click on the images to see those details, like the bullseye pattern on the top of the “nose” and the spectacular rainbow colors of this dragonfly.
Common Green Darners are a migratory species that flies in swarms so big that they can be picked up on weather radar. This dragonfly seemed to be alone, so it could be a migratory straggler or simply a part of the local population.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful. And great shots!
Thanks, Patricia. I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to see this beautiful dragonfly and gratified that I was able to take advantage of the opportunity to capture some cool images.
The images are beautiful. I’m going to make a point of writing a poem about one of these beautiful dragonflies.
Dragonflies definitely inspire me, though poetry is not in my current skillset. Most people are familiar with the metamorphosis of a butterfly, but the transformation of a dragonfly is even more amazing in some ways. Dragonflies spend much of their lives as nymphs in the water, breathing through gill, until that magical moment when they emerge from the water. They burst out of their exoskeletons, pump fluid to expand their bodies and wings, and spend the rest of their lives as aerial acrobats. How can I not be inspired by them? 🙂
How could you not, indeed. And guess what? There are some amazing stories in folklore surrounding them. I’m now planning at least one poem about a dragonfly in my upcoming mythical poetry collection -so thank you. 🙂
And…you have great bokeh 😀👏👏
Thank you Mike for capturing the beautiful colors on this lovely dragonfly. It is wonderful to see splashes of color at this time of year.😊
Thanks, Suzette. So many of the colors are muted at this time of the year that I too welcome seeing bright splashes of color, especially in nature.
Beautiful photos. I love the crisp detail of the wings.
Thanks, Laura. The dragonfly was relatively cooperative and I was able to choose carefully the angles from which I shot. That allowed me to get the body, including the wings, mostly in focus and shooting with a monitor helped me to keep my long lens really steady.
Nice job, Mike.
Thanks, Dan.
You can see why dragonflies like this one inspired Art Nouveau jewelry artists – beautiful!
On line I have seen some beautiful Art Nouveau pieces with dragonflies and also Tiffany-style stained glass windows and lamps. Dragonflies seem both familiar and exotic simultaneously. Like butterflies, they have a kind of aura of freedom and fantasy.
Yes!
Beautiful captures, Mike. God’s handiwork is beyond words. It’s astonishing to me these swarms can be picked up on radar!
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
Thanks, Mitzy. Here is one of many news reports about dragonfly swarms appearing on radar. https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/2019/09/16/swarms-dragonflies-popping-up-radars-virginia/2339560001/
Thanks for sharing this, Mike. That is really cool! So much we do not know about!
No matter how much I think I know, I keep encountering new and amazing things as I walk about in nature looking for things to photograph.
There’s treasure everywhere, as Calvin says (from Calvin and Hobbes). 🙂
Great quote. Thanks for sharing it.
Spectacular is a great descriptor for this beauty.
Thanks, Gary.
Amazing shots, so much details.
Thanks so much. The lighting was good and I used a monopod, which helped me to capture the details so well, especially since I was shooting with a relatively long telephoto lens.
Spectacular colours and details Mike! As you say: rainbow colour.
Thanks, Chris. The sunlight’s illumination really helped to bring out all of the bright colors of this beautiful dragonfly. Needless to say, I was thrilled with the results.
That target on its head is tremendous. And the colors!!
🙂 I think you can see, Molly, why I feel that “common” should not be a part of its name.
Outstanding specimen and capture, Mike. Lovely coloring.
Great shot
Thanks. I was really happy to get good lighting, a good angle, and a reasonably cooperative subject. That’s about all you can ask for in a portrait of a subject, whether it be an insect or a human.