Directional lighting can add a lot of drama to a portrait—studio photographers spend a lot of time balancing the power and placement of multiple lights to create that sense of drama. When I am out in the field, though, I have almost no control over the lighting. However, I can vary my shooting angle and positioning and adjust my camera settings to take maximum advantage of the light that I do have.
Yesterday afternoon about 3:30 in the afternoon (1530 hrs) I spotted my only Gray Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) of the day while exploring Occoquan Regional Park. Most of the time Gray Petaltails perch vertically on the trunks of trees, where they blend with the tree’s bark. This dragonfly thankfully chose to perch horizontally on a fallen tree in front of me rather than fly off to a more distant tree.
The sunlight was strong, but I found an angle that made it serve almost as a spotlight, illuminating the dragonfly’s white face. I deliberately underexposed the shot to darken the background and deepen the shadows to create a sense of depth in the bark of the fallen tree. As I processed the image, I was really careful not to go too dark, though, because I wanted to maintain the color and the texture of the moss on the tree.
I must be in a bit of an “artsy” mood—I just realized that this is the second day in a row that I have posted an image that focused as much on artistry as on the wildlife subject itself. Of course, it is never strictly an either/or proposition. Like all photographers, I make a lot of creative choices before I press the shutter release and many of those choices are instantaneous and instinctive.
Sometimes, as was this case with this photo, I have the luxury of being a little more deliberate in my composition and settings, which increases the odds that I will create the photo as I imagine it. Nonetheless, there are never any guarantees in wildlife photography, so I cannot afford to hesitate too long or the subject may move away or the lighting may change completely.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I love the form, texture, pattern, contrast *and* the flow of those gorgeous delicate wings (like a cloak) ~incredibly well done Mike, a round of applause for thou!!!
Thanks, Liz, for your very kind words. There is always a certain amount of luck involved in getting my shots, but as I emphasized in the text of the posting, there are lots and lots of decisions that I have to make that have a big effect on those elements that you listed.
Great catch, I love the detail and mood of this photograph.
Very nice work, Mike. Listen to your mood, it seems to steer you in the right direction. WordPress delivered the notification, but after how many years? Google decided you were spam.
Yikes. Usually it is WordPress that is at fault for what seems to be random behavior, not Google. 🙂