Eastern Amberwings (Perithemis tenera) are very small dragonflies, with an overall length of no more than one inch (25 mm). Males of this species are easy to identify because of their amber-colored wings. Males are quite common and I ofter see them buzzing around the edges of the ponds that I visit. Females have brown patches on their clearer wings and often hunt far from the water, so I do not see them very often.
Despite their small size, Eastern Amberwings are one of the easiest dragonflies to photograph in flight. They often hover low, close to the water surface near the shore, which gives me a fighting chance to focus on them. It requires a steady hand and quick reactions, but the first two images show the kind of results you can get. The second shot is a little quirky, but I like the way that it shows two male Amberwings passing each other, flying in opposite directions.
The final shot is an “artsy” shot of a perched Amberwing. The dragonfly was flying among the lotus flowers last Wednesday at Green Spring Gardens and perched for a moment on a lotus leaf that had not yet unfurled. I tried to compose the image so that the viewer gets a sense of the habitat, which gives the shot a completely different feel from the first two photos in which the subjects are completely separated from their environment.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Very nice series of Eastern Amberwing Dragonflies Mike!
“Air traffic control to male Eastern Amberwings. Nice pass fellas!” Great shots
Thanks, Molly. I was thinking of air traffic controllers too when I saw that one dragonfly was in focus and the other wasn’t, which meant that they were keeping a separation in their altitudes.
All nice shots, Mike, and great job catching them in flight. I love the duo; often my instinct is to stop shooting when something moves into the frame when continuing to shoot can provide a fun result! Your last image on the unfurled leaf is a very nice environmental shot.
Thanks, Ellen. I look trying to keep shooting when something enters the frame. Just yesterday I captured a fun image when a hoverfly approached a waterlily where a honeybee was busy. The bee looked like it was telling the hoverfly to buzz off in my photo that I will post soon.
Very impressive! It is so hard to capture dragonflies in flight!