I was excited to spot this male Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes) last Saturday as I was exploring a small pond in Fairfax County with fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford, my first sighting of this species this season. The dragonfly changed perches multiple times, but steadfastly remained out of reach and facing the pond, forcing me to shoot from an awkward angle.
If the ground at the edge of the pond had not been so soft and muddy, I might have waded into the water a bit to improve my position. As it was, my feet ended up soaked and I just missed tumbling into the water as I leaned forward to try to get as close as I could.
I included the second image to give you an idea of the habitat in which we found the Unicorn Clubtail. I really like the way the dragonfly opportunistically used the floating leaf as a temporary landing pad. I am not sure what caused the concentric ripples in the upper left corner of the photo, but they were interesting enough to justify not cropping the image to give you a closer view of the dragonfly. You can always click on the image if you would like to see more details of the floating dragonfly.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What an interesting photo the 2nd one is!
Thanks, Liz. I am usually so focused on getting as close to my subject as possible that I forget that it is possible to get cool photos even when the subject does not fill the frame. 🙂
Yet another beauty Mike! Keep them coming.
Very Nice Mike! Great Dragonfly images!