The entire East Coast of the United States is in the midst of a heat wave. Yesterday here in the Washington D.C. area we had a record high temperature for 15 July of 102 degrees (39 degrees C) with the heat index even higher. Yikes.
Following recommendations of doctors and weather forecasters, I stayed indoors for most of the day and worked on a few images that I captured last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, including this shot of a Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina).
Many dragonflies perch with their wings held stationary, but Halloween Pennants seem to move their wings about quite a bit to maintain their balance as they perch precariously on the very tips of tall stalks of vegetation. It is very easy to isolate the dragonfly from the background, because they are perched above all of the ground clutter, but it is a bit of a challenge to focus on the dragonfly as it is buffeted to and fro by even the slightest of breezes.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Thank you for sharing this beautiful photo! And I’m glad you’re staying cool after a record day!
We just got back from Northern California where temperatures during the first half of our trip were above 105F. Way too hot for me! Here at home, there were record rainfalls. Crazy weather!