Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, brookside gardens, Canon 50D, Pachydiplax longipennis, So, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Wheaton MD on June 15, 2015| 8 Comments »
Simple compositions are often the basis for my favorite images. My subject was a Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis), one of the most common dragonflies in our area. The vegetation on which it chose to perch was nothing special. Somehow, though, the shapes and colors of these elements work together to create an image that I find really pleasing.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Calopteryx maculata, Canon 50D, Ebony Jewelwing, Ebony Jewelwing damselfly, ovipositing, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Wickford Park on June 10, 2015| 14 Comments »
As a wildlife photographer, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be a studio photographer. Imagine being able to control the intensity and direction of the light, to choose my own background, to have a responsive subject, and to be able to move around and carefully compose images in my viewfinder. What if there were no wet grass or thorns or mosquitoes or ticks? Perhaps a studio photographer has a sense of control—a wildlife photographer lives in a world of unknowns, never knowing for sure exactly when and how a shooting opportunity will present itself nor how long it will last.
This is the time of the year when I focus my attention and my camera on tiny subjects and dragonflies and damselflies are among my favorites. Some of them are pretty accommodating subjects and will perch and pose, though many are elusive and hard to capture.
I sometimes struggle with the question of how to create cool and dramatic shots of these beautiful little creatures. How do I capture then in action, especially when I am so often using a macro lens and shooting at close range?
I wish I had an answer to these questions, a magical formula that would guarantee great results, but, of course, I don’t. Sometimes, though, things do come together and magic happens. That’s what I felt this past Monday when I was out looking for dragonflies. I was crouched on the wet sand trying to get some shots of a Common Sanddragon dragonfly, when a female Ebony Jewelwing damselfly (Calopteryx maculata) landed a few feet in front of me and began to oviposit in the vegetation at the edge of a small stream.
I was at a good distance to use the 180mm macro lens that I had on my camera. The lighting and background were beautiful. My subject was isolated, but there was enough of the environment in the foreground to give a sense of the location (and the green of the moss was wonderful).
Is it possible to create a dramatic macro action portrait with a two inch (50 mm) subject? For me, it’s rare that I am able to pull it off, but I’d like to suggest that it does happen and offer this image as evidence.
I go out with my camera with the hope that situations like this will arise in the uncontrolled environment in which I like to operate. I live for those moments.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Enallagma exsulans, Huntley Meadows Park, Northeast Odonata, Stream Bluet, Stream Bluet damselfly, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on June 9, 2015| 8 Comments »
There was a heavy mist in the air when I left my house early one morning this past weekend, but I had hopes it would burn off quickly when the sun came up. I was wrong. As I walked deeper and deeper into the woods, the mist turned to drizzle and the drizzle turned into light rain. Over the course of the next few hours we repeated that cycle several times.
I had enough protection for my gear, but I was soon sopping wet from the often knee-high vegetation through which I was walking. More significantly, however, most potential photographic subjects were exhibiting amazing common sense and appeared to have sought cover in drier spots.
All of the sudden, at a moment when the rain had slowed down, I detected some motion and saw a damselfly moving slowly through the air. It came to rest on some vegetation at the edge of a small stream.
I tried to steady myself as well as I could, because shooting such a small subject at the far end of my 150-600mm zoom lens is a challenge. Given that my camera has a crop sensor, I was shooting at a 35mm equivalent of a 960mm focal length.
When I returned home and looked at my shots, I was happy that at least a few of them were in relatively sharp focus. Now I was faced with the equally daunting task of identifying my subject. There is a whole family of damselflies known as bluets and most of them are primarily black and blue in color with minor variations in patterns. (There is one that I have photographed called an Orange Bluet, a name that causes me to chuckle whenever I see those two words used together).
I turned to some experts on a Facebook page called Northeast Odonata and they were able to identify this damselfly as a Stream Bluet (Enallagma exsulans).
The clock is ticking for dragonflies and damselflies, many species of which have very limited seasons, so I’ll be out as often as I can to try to spot some familiar ones and maybe even some new ones. Light rain does not deter me, though heavier rain and/or high winds will keep me at home.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Common Sanddragon, Common Sanddragon dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Progomphus obscurus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 6, 2015| 5 Comments »
Where can I find a Common Sanddragon dragonfly? As its name suggests, this species is most often found on the sandy banks of a stream and that is precisely where I found one earlier this week at my local marshland park.
Almost exactly a year ago I stumbled onto a Common Sanddragon (Progomphus obscurus) as I wandered through a remote area of the park, so I had a pretty good idea where to look for one this year. That find was especially cool, because it was the first time that the species had been spotted in the park and it has since been added to the species list for Huntley Meadows Park.
However, this was not the first Sanddragon that I spotted this spring. A week earlier, I spotted one in the marsh vegetation, about halfway between the treeline and a little stream. It was definitely unusual to see this dragonfly away from the sand and perching above the ground.
That find was unusual, but it was perhaps not as unusual as the teneral male Common Sanddragon that I saw the same day as the dragonfly in the first image. When dragonflies shed their exoskeletons and are transformed from aquatic nymphs to acrobatic flyers, they are initially pale in color and their wings are very fragile and shiny. The coloration on this one was so much different from that of a mature adult, that I had to consult with a more experienced friend to reassure myself that this in fact was a Common Sanddragon.
I went out yesterday morning to search again for Common Sanddragons and was disappointed to see that all of the sandy banks were under water following several days of rain. Perhaps I will have better luck today.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Arigomphus villosipes, Canon 50D, chasing unicorns, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Unicorn Clubtail, Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly on June 2, 2015| 12 Comments »
Do you believe in unicorns? I spent part of yesterday chasing a flying unicorn, although in this case it was the Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes), not the one that looks like a horse.
The Unicorn Clubtail is not a mythical creature, but I rarely see one—I am lucky if I manage to see a couple during an entire season of dragonfly watching. The u-shaped terminal appendage in the male Unicorn Clubtail is pretty distinctive and as soon as I saw this image on my computer screen, I knew that I had captured a unicorn.
When I first spotted this dragonfly, it was perched on a sandy area of the bank of a small stream. I mistakenly assumed that it was a Common Sanddragon, a somewhat similar species which is also part of the clubtail family (the members of this family have slim abdomens that end in an enlarged tip, i.e. the “clubtail”). When the dragonfly flew up into some vegetation that hung over the pond, I snapped off some photos as quickly as I could, because it is rare to get shots of these dragonflies with an unobstructed background.
One of my friends, Walter Sanford, a fellow photographer and blogger suggested to me earlier this spring that I use my Tamron 150-600mm lens, one that I use primarily for birds, to photograph dragonflies. I protested a bit, suggesting that I would not be able to capture the fine details of the dragonflies with the lens, which is reported to be a little soft at the long end.
There are some challenges, including the minimum focusing distance of 107.3 inches (2.7 m), which means I have to be a pretty good distance from my subject. However, shots like this one make me realize his advice was good—the extra reach helps me get shots that I might not be able to get otherwise, especially if I tried to move closer to take a shot with a shorter telephoto lens and risked spooking the dragonfly.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Calopteryx maculata, Canon 50D, Ebony Jewelwing, Ebony Jewelwing damselfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on May 30, 2015| 14 Comments »
Ebony Jewelwings (Calopteryx maculata) are one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable damselflies because of their dark wings and metallic bluish-green bodies. So why is the female damselfly in the first shot so pale and colorless?
When damselflies (and dragonflies) shed their exoskeletons and move from being water-dwelling nymphs to acrobatic flyers, they are initially pale in color, a stage known as “teneral.” In a short time, the wings harden and gradually the newly emerged damselflies, like this one, become more colorful and look more like the one in the second image.
As I was photographing this damselfly, it took off and I captured a somewhat blurry image of it in the air that I really like—it reminds me of a water color painting.
I must be in an “artsy” mood this morning, because one of the other images that I really like of the Ebony Jewelwing is this final one, in which the damselfly was perched at the end of a leaf with wings spread wide, displaying the intricate details of those delicate wings.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on May 22, 2015| 4 Comments »
I wouldn’t have thought that a moth would taste very good, even for a dragonfly, but this young male Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) would probably disagree.
I knew that dragonflies are fierce predators and ate other insects, but somehow I didn’t imagine that their diet included moths, which I would think would be dry and not have much nutritional value.
Of course, I have been known to consume chicken wings, which require a lot of work in order to get a very small amount of meat, so who am I to criticize a dragonfly’s diet. I might offer him one suggestion—the moth would probably taste better if he coated it with a spicy sauce.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula semifasciata, Painted Skimmer, Painted Skimmer dragonfly on May 20, 2015| 7 Comments »
I can’t get over the beauty of the dragonflies, especially this early in the season. On Monday, I spotted this beautiful male Painted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula semifasciata) at a tiny pool (which was really more like a puddle) at my local marshland park.
The colors and pattern of the wings make this species quite distinctive and pretty easy to identify. The striking beauty of the Painted Skimmer has also attracted the attention of several other photographers in this area.
I personally love to see how others choose to photograph similar subjects. If you want to see more beautiful images of Painted Skimmers, check out recent postings by Walter Sanford and Joel Eagle. Each of us was presented with a similar dragonfly in different circumstances and made a series of creative choices to produce our individual portraits of this almost magical creature.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on May 12, 2015| 9 Comments »
Yesterday the fields at Huntley Meadows Park were abuzz with beautiful emerald-and-black dragonflies. As I walked through the grass, the Eastern Pondhawks (Erythemis simplicicollis) would fly up to about knee level and then settle back down on the ground or perch on some low hanging plants.
The dragonflies were a bit skittish and it was a bit of a challenge to get clear shots of them. Occasionally one of them would fly to a slightly higher perch and permit me to get a shot like the first one that separates the subject from the background. Long-time readers of this blog know that I will usually try to move it as close as I can and I was happy to get this close-up shot of an Eastern Pondhawk that lets you see some of the facets of its amazing compound eyes.
All of the Eastern Pondhawks had the same beautiful green coloration. Eventually the male Eastern Pondhawks will turn blue, but this early in the season the juvenile male have the same coloration as the females. How do you tell them apart? My fellow photographer and blogger Walter Sanford is an expert on this subject, but in this case even I can tell the difference by looking at the terminal appendages.
In the shot below, you can tell it is a male because the white cerci at the end of the abdomen are long and close together.
Juvenile Male Eastern Pondhawk
By contrast, the white cerci of the female are shorter and more widely spaced, as in the photo below.
Female Eastern Pondhawk
That just about exhausts my knowledge of dragonfly anatomy. My focus is mostly on capturing their beauty, but it is amazing how much I learn along the way about these fascinating little creatures.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula semifasciata, Painted Skimmer, Painted Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens on May 11, 2015| 7 Comments »
Colorful dragonflies are gradually reappearing throughout my local marshland park and I’m reacquiring the skills needed to photograph them. For me, the amazing beauty of dragonflies is especially revealed when I manage to observe them up close. I can’t help but marvel at the incredible details of their eyes and their wings and even their delicate feet and the tiny hairs that sprout on their faces.
I spotted this dragonfly, which I believe is a Painted Skimmer (Libellula semifasciata), last Friday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia. The dragonfly allowed me to get quite close to be able to take this macro shot. In general, some dragonfly species tend to be less skittish than others, but it seems to vary from individual to individual.
Be sure to click on the image to get a higher resolution view of this beautiful little creature.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Common Baskettail, Common Baskettail dragonfly, dragonfly in flight, Epitheca cynosura, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond VA on May 3, 2015| 18 Comments »
What is the most difficult subject that you attempt to capture with your camera? Is it a certain moment when the lighting is perfect or perhaps an elusive, exotic creature in a distant location?
For me, the unicorns that I chase come in the form of dragonflies. I have an irrepressible desire to try to take photos of dragonflies while they are in mid-air. Sometimes the dragonflies will cooperate a bit and hover briefly over the water, but much of the time they are in constant motion as they zig and zag over the water in an often unpredictable pattern.
Yesterday I traveled with some fellow photographers to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond, Virginia, primarily to photograph flowers. Not surprisingly for those who know me, I got distracted and focused much of my attention on searching for insects.
Toward the end of a gorgeous spring day, I finally spotted a dragonfly patrolling over a section of a small pond. I moved closer and tried to track it in my camera’s viewfinder. Over the winter, I’ve practiced tracking birds in flight and can usually keep them in the viewfinder—the challenge is to keep them in focus. With dragonflies, however, it’s a challenge to even keep them in the viewfinder and auto focus is a virtual impossibility.
Has anyone ever challenged you to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time? That’s how I feel as I try to track a moving dragonfly and focus manually at the same time. I ended up with some out-of-focus ghostly images of the dragonfly or empty frames with a view of the water.
I managed to capture a single image that I really liked of what appears to be a Common Baskettail dragonfly (Epitheca cynosaura). There is some motion blur, but you can see some of the beautiful details and colors of the dragonfly. (Check out a recent posting that I did to see an image of a perching Common Baskettail dragonfly at my local marshland park in late April.)
I don’t always check the EXIF data for my images, but I was curious to see what the settings were that produced this image. I was shocked to see the information, because I realized that I had neglected to change the settings of my camera when I moved from shooting a stationary subject in the sun to chasing a moving subject that was flying in and out of the shadows over the water.
The camera was set to ISO 100, f/11, 275mm (on a 70-300mm zoom lens) and 1/40 sec. Needless to say, that is not the shutter speed that I would have used if I had been paying more attention, but somehow it worked out ok. I was shooting in aperture-priority mode, as I do most of the time, and I probably should have been shooting at ISO 800, which would have given me a faster shutter speed. The bonus, though, of the low ISO was that I got a cleaner image that I could adjust more aggressively.
As we move into summer, I’ll continue my quest to capture other dragonflies in flight. For the moment, I am content with yesterday’s image, but fully recognize that a huge amount of luck was involved in capturing it.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Common Whitetail, Common Whitetail dragonfly, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Lydia plathemis, Tamron 180mm macro lens on April 27, 2015| 5 Comments »
One of the earliest dragonflies to appear in our area is the Common Whitetail (Plathemis lydia) and it is also one of the last to be seen in the fall. During the summer months, these dragonflies can be seen flying all around the ponds at my local marshland. I spotted this one last Friday in a wooded area and initially had trouble seeing it as it flew made a series of short, hopping flights among the fallen leaves on the floor of the woods. As is usually the case, I tried to get as close as I could for the first shot below, but decided to also include a shot that gives you a better idea of the surroundings in which I found this little dragonfly.
Later in the seasons, the Common Whitetail will in fact be common, but this early in the spring, I am pleased with my uncommon find.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, dragonflies, Huntley Meadows Park, Walter Sanford on April 21, 2015| 1 Comment »
Fellow blogger and photographer, Walter Sanford, has an infectious passion for dragonflies and damselflies and has encouraged and inspired me to search for them in remote areas of my favorite marshland park. In today’s blog posting, he chronicles the new species that he has discovered and photographed in the park during the past two years. Individually and sometimes together, we are seeking to discover even more new species.
I encourage all of you to check out his blog to learn more about odonates and see some amazing images of these little beauties.
My interest in odonates, that is, dragonflies and damselflies, began during Summer 2011 at Huntley Meadows Park. Toward the end of Summer 2012 and continuing in 2013, my goal was to explore new venues for hunting odonates. Along the way, I spotted several species of odonates that are either uncommon or unknown to occur at Huntley Meadows, including Blue Corporal dragonfly, Stream Cruiser dragonfly, and Rambur’s Forktail damselfly, to name a few.
During 2014, continuing in 2015, I have been a man on a mission to explore the relatively unexplored areas at Huntley Meadows Park in search of habitat-specific odonates unlikely to be found in the central wetland area of the park. In retrospect, 2014-2015 has been a good run: five new species of odonates were discovered and added to the list of Dragonflies and Damselflies of Huntley Meadows Park.
Common Sanddragon dragonfly
20 June 2014
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Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, damselfly, Fragile Forktail, Fragile Forktail damselfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Ischurna posita, Tamron 180mm macro lens on April 20, 2015| 4 Comments »
This past weekend I managed to get my first damselfly shot of the season of what appears to be a pretty little female Fragile Forktail (Ischurna posita). Like the Springtime Darner dragonfly that I featured in yesterday’s posting, this photo was taken at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia. Fragile Forktail damselflies are only about one inch (25 mm) in length and it was my eagle-eyed fellow odonata enthusiast, Walter Sanford, who first spotted this tiny damselfly.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Basiaeschna janata, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Springtime Darner, Springtime Darner dragonfly, Tamron 180mm macro lens on April 19, 2015| 9 Comments »
Local dragonflies are finally starting to emerge in Northern Virginia and yesterday I was thrilled to capture some images of the appropriately named Springtime Darner (Basiaeschna janata) at Huntley Meadows Park, the marshland where I spend a lot of my time exploring and taking photos.
This is the first time that I have seen this beautiful species, which will be gone by mid-June, according to information on the Dragonflies of Northern Virgina website, a wonderful resource put together by Kevin Munroe, a dragonfly expert and the manager of Huntley Meadows Park. If you want more information specifically about the Springtime Darner, you can go directly to this page, but I think it’s fascinating to poke about in the different areas of the site.
This is also the first documented sighting of a Springtime Darner in the park and I am pretty excited to be partially responsible for a new addition to the park’s species list. Yesterday I was trekking through the muddy back areas of the park with fellow blogger and photographer Walter Sanford, who is much more knowledgeable about dragonflies than I am. He knew precisely what dragonflies we could hope to see and the specific type of habitat where we should expect to see them. After several hours in the hot sun, our persistence was rewarded when Walter spotted this Springtime Darner. Check out Walter’s blog posting called Teamwork, and some take-aways for his observations about yesterday’s discovery.
With more new dragonflies soon to come, it won’t be long before I’ll be walking around primarily with my macro lens on my camera. Fortunately, I was prescient enough yesterday to have switched midday from my 150-600mm telephoto zoom, which would have had trouble capturing the dragonfly because of its minimum focusing distance of 107 inches (2.7 meters), to my 180mm macro lens, which was more suited to the situation we encountered.
I did, however, have to rely on manual focusing to get this shot, which I find to be challenging with a digital camera, especially when shooting handheld. The Springtime Darner likes to perch low on vegetation, so I was on hands and knees, hoping not to spook this specimen, which was the only dragonfly that I managed to photograph yesterday.
I think it’s safe to say that dragonfly season is officially open and I am pretty confident that there will be new blog postings in upcoming months as my adventures with dragonflies continue.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Anax junius, Canon 50D, Common Green Darner, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on April 12, 2015| 6 Comments »
I have been seeing dragonflies at my local marshland park for a couple of weeks now and yesterday I finally got my first dragonfly shots of the spring. It’s still a little early for the emergence of the local dragonflies, so I was not at all surprised that the dragonflies that I captured were Common Green Darners (Anax junius), a migratory species.
Green Darners spend most of their time flying, rather than perching, so it is pretty tough to take photos of them. In this case, I captured the pair in tandem, as the female was ovipositing in the vegetation of a shallow vernal pool.
As luck would have it, after a day of walking around with my telephoto zoom lens on my camera, I had switched to a macro lens not long before I encountered these dragonflies. My macro lens is 180mm in focal length, but that really didn’t get me close enough to the dragonflies. I tried unsuccessfully to be stealthy in moving closer, but the Green Darners flew away as I drew nearer.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Arigomphus villosipes, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens, Unicorn Clubtail on March 20, 2015| 5 Comments »
On a beautiful sunny day this past Monday I searched diligently for the first dragonflies of the spring at my local marshland park. I knew that it was probably too early for dragonflies, but somehow I hoped that the 65 degree temperatures (18 degrees C) would magically cause them to appear.
I traipsed through the mud and along the banks of several streams; I examined vernal pools where the frogs were already active; and I walked though fields where the dried-up vegetation was neck high. I looked and looked for half a day, but came up empty-handed.
Later in the week I was going over some photos from last June and came across this image of a Unicorn Clubtail dragonfly (Arigomphus villosipes). There was something about the image that really appealed to me.
So here is a memory of the past, with hopes for an equally successful dragonfly hunting season as we move into spring.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum on December 22, 2014| 2 Comments »
Fellow photographer and blogger Walter Sanford and I both photographed this female Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly on 17 October and decided to do companion postings again, showing our different approaches to photographing the same subject.
This is the second installment in a three-part series featuring some of my favorite photos of female dragonflies spotted while photowalkingHuntley Meadows Park during Fall 2014.
The following photos show a Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum ambiguum) spotted on 17 October 2014 near a vernal pool in a relatively remote location in the forest. This individual is a heteromorph female, as indicated by its coloration and terminal appendages.
Female Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies are polymorphic: heteromorphs are duller in color than males; andromorphs are male-like in color.
Both female morphs feature the same distinctive blue eye coloration as males.
Mike Powell, fellow wildlife photographer and blogger, spotted this dragonfly while I was shooting photos of a male Great Spreadwing damselfly (Archilestes grandis) perching on thigh-high grasses a few yards away. I joined Mike after my subject flew away.
I don’t recall seeing Mike’s photos of this dragonfly. Perhaps it’s…
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Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, female Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm macro lens on December 22, 2014| 7 Comments »
This past Saturday, I searched and searched for a straggler dragonfly which might have survived our recent cold spell, but I found none—dragonfly hunting season is officially over for me. That same day, however, fellow photographer and blogger (and local dragonfly expert) Walter Sanford did a blog posting with photos of a female Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum ambiguum) that both of us photographed on 17 October and suggested that I also post some shots.
Previously this year, Walter and I did companion postings, in which we each posted photos that showed our different photographic approaches to the same subject, which in that case was a pair of mating dragonflies. (If you are interested, check out Walter’s posting Two sides to every story and my posting My view of the mating dragonflies.)
I am fascinated by the way that two photographers shooting together consciously or unconsciously make a series of creative choices that can result in very different images. Some of the differences, of course, are attributable to the choice of photographic equipment, but many of the differences are caused by the “style” in which the photographer prefers to work.
I took these shots with a 180mm macro lens at fairly close range, which meant that I had to be thinking all of the time about depth of field. The three images I selected show how the amount of the dragonfly’s body in focus changed as I circled around the dragonfly and photographed it in various positions as it flew off and returned to the same general area.
I remember going once to an exhibition showing paintings side by side of a scene that had been rendered by two impressionist artists painting together—I think it was Monet and Renoir—and since that time I have periodically considered the question of whether or not there is an objective reality when it comes to taking (or painting) pictures. What is reality?
Be sure to visit Walter’s blog and his images of this dragonfly in his posting To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before (Part 2).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on December 7, 2014| 6 Comments »
As we have moved deeper and deeper into autumn, the number of dragonflies at Huntley Meadows Park has continued to drop and the sole survivor now appears to be the Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum).
During my most recent visit to the park on the 1st of December, I observed quite a few Autumn Meadowhawks, primarily perched on the synthetic boards of the boardwalk that runs through several portions of the marshland.
Some of them, however, seemed to really like one of the signs adjacent to the boardwalk that provides tips on wildlife watching at the park. The Autumn Meadowhawk in the first image seems to be fascinated by the photo of the crayfish at which it is intently staring. (This photo is an homage to fellow photographer Walter Sanford, who did a similar posting recently with the same sign and the same species of dragonflies.)
A month ago, I probably would have photographed the dragonfly with my macro lens, but now I have a telephoto zoom lens on my camera most of the time. I decided to use the dragonfly as a test for my new Tamron 150-600mm lens and took some shots at 600mm to see if I could capture any of the details of this small dragonfly, which is at most about 1.4 inches (35mm) long. If you click on the image below, which is a slightly cropped and lightly edited version of the original, you can see that the lens did a pretty good job with the details and you can even see the dragonfly’s tiny feet.
Autumn Meadowhawks frequently seem to be quite tolerant of the presence of people and sometimes will even seek it out and land on you. I will often try to coax one to perch on my finger and one of my fellow photographers, Lova Brown Freeman, took these wonderful shots of a successful attempt. Thanks, Lova. I like the fact that her final shot gives you an idea of context in which you this activity took place. I am usually so anxious to zoom in close on the action, with macro or with telephoto, that I frequently forget to provide viewers with a view of the overall setting.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Autumn Meadowhawk, dragonflies, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum vicinum, Walter Sanford on November 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Like my friend, Walter Sanford, I am thankful to have such a wonderful suburban oasis that serves as a refuge and an inspiration for so much of my outdoor photography. Walter has had a powerful influence on me as I have gotten more serious in my pursuit of dragonflies this past year. He has always been willing to share his time and extensive knowledge with so many of us, serving as an ambassador for Huntley Meadows Park. Thanks, Walter! Be sure to check out his blog for some amazing photos and fascinating information.
It’s the traditional time of year when we give thanks for our many blessings. I am especially thankful for the opportunity to be a frequent and careful observer of the natural beauty of the hemi-marsh at Huntley Meadows Park, and for many good friends with whom I share the experience. And thanks to WordPress.com for the blog that enables me to share my sightings with others!
Last year I noticed a single male Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum) perching on the signage along the boardwalk, located near the observation tower. I wondered how many visitors wandered past the sign without noticing the dragonfly watching the “Wildlife Watching” sign.
On Veteran’s Day, 11 November 2014, I noticed two male Autumn Meadowhawks perching on the same sign so I stopped to take a few photos (shown above). Nearly a dozen people passed me and not one person stopped to see what…
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Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, dragonflies mating, Huntley Meadows Park, mating dragonflies, Sympetrum ambiguum, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 180mm macro lens on November 21, 2014| 6 Comments »
When I captured these two images of mating dragonflies on the 10th of November, I did not realize that their frantic efforts to perpetuate their species that day would mark an end to this year’s dragonfly season for me. There is a chance that some especially hardy Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) may have survived our recent spell of bitter cold, but realistically speaking, it’s time to put my macro lenses on the shelf and focus my photographic efforts and birds (and the occasional small mammal).
The Autumn Meadowhawks in the first image were a little higher off the ground that the Blue-faced Meadowhawks (Sympetrum ambiguum) in the second shot and I managed to get into a better shooting position to capture details and separate the dragonflies a bit from the background. In case of the Blue-faced Meadowhawks, I was so thrilled to see them so late into November that I was willing to settle for a lower angle shot with a more cluttered background.
Most of the time I feature only a single species of dragonflies in a posting and it’s a little hard to compare the featured dragonflies with others. It’s a whole lot easier to see the differences between the species when you compare the two photos here.
And so this year’s dragonfly season draws to a close, as the mating couples dance their last tango of the autumn.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, camouflage, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm macro lens on November 16, 2014| 18 Comments »
During most of the year the bright red body of Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum ambiguum) would really stand out, but in the late autumn, it blends in pretty well with the vegetation. However, it is almost impossible to conceal this species’ stunning blue eyes and turquoise face, which cause it to stand out from even a very cluttered background.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, compound eyes, dragonfly eyes, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 180mm macro lens on November 14, 2014| 9 Comments »
“Make sure the eyes are in focus.” I can’t even count the number of times that I have read or heard these words of advice, which I usually try to follow, even when taking extreme close-up macro shots.
These are the compound eyes of the Autumn Medowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum), a close relative of the Blue-faced Meadowhawk that I have featured in several postings recently. I took this shot on a cool day when the dragonfly was perched on a tree, trying to warm itself in the warmth of the sun. The camera’s aperture setting was in a middle range at f/9.0, but with the subject this close, the depth of field was pretty shallow and the eyes are pretty much the only portions of the dragonfly in focus (in addition to small section of the wings and the front legs).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, dragonflies mating, Huntley Meadows Park, ovipositing, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 180mm macro lens, tandem position on November 14, 2014| 7 Comments »
When Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum) have finished mating, the male does not release the female, but continues to clasp her head tightly with the tip of his abdomen. The pair flies off together in the “tandem” position and remains attached until the female has finished depositing her eggs, normally in the water.
A chivalrous interpretation of this behavior might be that the male is merely protecting his mate from clamoring suitors and allowing her to oviposit in peace. The reality, though, is that there is a fierce competition among males that can sometimes involve attempt to dislodge a rival’s sperm from a female and replace it with his own if the female has not yet laid her eggs. By holding onto the female, the male increases his odds of fathering some baby dragonflies.
Check out a 2006 National Georgraphic article called Dragonflies Strange Love for some other fascinating insights into the love life of dragonflies.
Earlier this month, I was at a small pool of water and I watched as a series of Autumn Meadowhawk couples in tandem went through the process of ovipositing and I attempted to get some in-flight shots of them. These dragonflies are really small and my success rate in keeping them in the frame was not high, but I did manage to get a few decent images.
Hopefully the practice in tracking a moving subject will carry over and help me as I move to photographing birds in flight, rather than dragonflies.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, female Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm macro lens on November 12, 2014| 8 Comments »
My concerns about the potential demise of the Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum ambiguum) were greatly exaggerated and I saw a half-dozen or more yesterday on Veterans Day (Armistice Day).
Normally we stop seeing this species of dragonflies by the end of October, but we have not yet gone below freezing and perhaps that explains their unexpected longevity. Yesterday, for example, the temperatures soared to almost 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). I have to note too that I am searching for them more diligently and in more remote locations of my marshland park, so that may help explain why I am seeing them more frequently.
As is the case with birds, male dragonflies tend to be more brightly colored and visible. Many female dragonflies are brown in colored and harder to spot. I was thus very happy yesterday to be able to get this close-up shot of a female Blue-faced Meadowhawk. Her body coloration may be a little bit drab, but those blue eyes are simply stunning.
In case you are curious, these dragonflies are small in size, with a body length of approximately 1.5 inches (38 mm), so I had to move in awfully close to get this shot. Surprisingly (and happily), this female tolerated my close presence for long enough for me to take several shots before she flew off into the distance.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alex, autumn, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, knee, mating dragonflies, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 180mm macro lens on November 10, 2014| 12 Comments »
Have you ever tried to photograph a living subject—or even worse, a pair of them—perched on one of your knees? Depth of field is a huge challenge and even trying to frame the subject is complicated, especially when you have a 180mm macro lens on your camera.
Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum) are the most friendly dragonflies I have ever encountered. I don’t know what attracts them—perhaps it’s curiosity—but I found out last year that they are prone to perch on me.
Surprisingly, they will even perch as a pair when they are still in tandem, the position that this species uses when the female is ovipositing, i.e. placing her eggs in the water after mating. The male hangs on to the female by the head, presumably to keep other males from interfering with the process.
In my initial attempt to get a shot of the couple, I focused on the male, and the female is completely out of focus. For the second attempt, I tried to twist myself around to photograph them from the side and almost fell over in the process. The female is more in focus, but the male is now slightly out of focus.
As the season progresses, I’ll see if I can find some even more cooperative Autumn Meadowhawks and try to get a shot of one perched on one of my fingertips, as I did last year.
Later in the day, a male Autumn Meadowhawk landed on my leg and I had much better success in getting some clear shots. I used a similar approach, taking the first shot from above and the second one from the side. My pants are a solid tan color and it is interesting to see how it almost looks like I was wearing a seersucker suit.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm macro lens on November 8, 2014| 8 Comments »
We’re almost at the end of the dragonfly season now in Northern Virginia and soon I’ll be seeing only the Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum), historically the last dragonflies of the year to disappear. This past Monday, though, I managed to find a few Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum ambiguum), unusually hardy survivors this late in the season.
I really enjoy trying to get close-up shots of these colorful little dragonflies and my favorite shot is this close-up of one of them, perched on a fallen leaf.
When you pull back a little, you can see how tough the season has been for this dragonfly—portions of its wings are shredded. Somehow, however, it managed to fly about as though its wings were undamaged.
Temperatures last night dropped down into the upper 30’s F (3-4 degrees C) and I doubt that I will see any more Blue-faced Meadowhawks. I am resigned to the possibility that these may be my last shots of the year of these stunning little dragonflies, but that won’t keep me from searching really hard for them later today.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, dragonflies mating, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum vicinum, Tamron 180mm macro lens, voyeur on November 7, 2014| 9 Comments »
It’s hard not to feel a little bit like a voyeur when I move in close to capture the details of an intimate encounter between two wild creatures. There is something especially intriguing about the acrobatic maneuvers of colorful mating dragonflies, like this pair of Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum) that I photographed in the “wheel” position at my local marshland park in late October.
Many times I have to assume equally acrobatic positions to capture the action. Fellow photographer and dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford photographed me in one such pose in an image that I included in a previous posting entitled “My view of the mating dragonflies.”
On this occasion, however, the dragonflies were much more accommodating and they perched at eye level on the top of some vegetation. The couple was back-lit, but a little fill flash helped to bring out the details and the colors.
In this case, at least, the brightly-colored dragonflies seemed to be exhibitionists and I felt less like a voyeur, though I must confess that I did not shield my eyes and turn away from the activity.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Autumn Meadowhawk, Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly, backgrounds, juxtaposition, Sympetrum vicinum on November 1, 2014| 17 Comments »
I am looking for some background information—do you generally prefer creamy smooth backgrounds in your photos or do like there to have some elements of texture? This is a ridiculous question, of course, and it’s a bit like asking me if I like chocolate or strawberry ice cream. I like them both, but in certain situations I may prefer one over the other.
These musings came to mind when I was reviewing the some photos I took this past week of Autumn Meadownhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum). These little red dragonflies are perennially the last species to disappear in our area and I am likely to see them well into November and sometimes into early December.
The first image below shows a male Autumn Meadowhawk with the kind of background that I usually try to shoot, blurred and uncluttered. The thorn on the green stem adds an unexpected bit of additional interest for me.
The background of the second image with a female Autumn Meadowhawk is completely different—the lines and texture of the decaying log are very evident. Sometimes when I look at the image I think that the background is too distracting, because I have to look hard to see the details of the dragonfly. At other times, I am drawn in by the organic feel of the wood in the background and I really like the diagonal lines and rough texture.
These two images work well for me in tandem, juxtaposing as they do different genders, very different backgrounds, and radically different angles of view. These kinds of sharp contrasts often prompt me to stop and think as I consider the images—and that is generally a good thing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Archilestes grandis, Canon 50D, Great Spreadwing, Great Spreadwing damselfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 180mm macro lens on October 30, 2014| 11 Comments »
Even from a distance it’s hard to miss the bright lapis blue eyes of a male Great Spreadwing damselfly (Archilestes grandis). Unlike many damselflies, which are tiny, this species, as its name suggests, is a big damselfly, about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in length (50-62mm). According to Bugguide.net, though, the bright yellow”racing” stripe, which occurs on both males and females, is the most easily seen distinguishing identification feature for this species.
I had never even heard of this beauty until the 11th of October, when fellow dragonfly hunter Walter Sanford blogged about his discovery of one at Huntley Meadows Park on the 9th of October. I had no idea if this was the only member of the species at the park or how long it would hang around and didn’t hold much hope of seeing one of these damselflies myself.
I was shocked and pleased on the 20th of October when I spotted Walter and this damselfly. Walter graciously ceded to me the prime spot for taking a close-up shot. A week later I returned to the same location and the Great Spreadwing was gone.
In past years I didn’t pay much attention to the timing and location of various dragonflies and damselflies—they were either present or they weren’t. This summer and fall, however, I’ve been learning how important the specific habitat and the time of year are for certain species and the window of opportunity to observe them opens and closes pretty quickly.
Consequently, I consider myself very fortunate that I was able to capture this little portrait of the Great Spreadwing damselfly.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 