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Banded Hairstreak butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Banded Hairstreak, Banded Hairstreak butterfly, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Satyrium calanus, Tamron 180mm on August 6, 2020| 2 Comments »

Some of our smallest butterflies are among our prettiest, like this tiny Banded Hairstreak butterfly (Satyrium calanus) that I spotted on Tuesday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. I always check out a patch of wildflowers in one corner of this small refuge and once again it paid dividends.

I was able to photograph this butterfly as it nectared on one of the many black-eyed susans that are now in bloom. Actually I am not entirely certain if these flowers are black-eyed susans, but they are the same shape and color and may be part of the larger rudbeckia flower family.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tiger Spiketail dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Cordulegaster erronea, Prince William County VA, Tamron 180mm, Tiger Spiketail, Tiger Spiketail dragonfly on August 6, 2020| 11 Comments »

I was really happy yesterday morning when I spotted a female Tiger Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster erronea) while exploring a small stream in Prince William County, Virginia and absolutely thrilled when she started ovipositing, giving me a chance to capture these images. For several years I have been trying to photograph this elusive species. In the past I have gotten a glimpse of a Tiger Spiketail on several occasions, but never managed to get a shot of one.

Why have I had such problems? Kevin Munroe, who developed the wonderfully informative website Dragonflies of Northern Virginia, described the species in these words:

“This secretive and seldom seen forest dweller has an almost elven quality. It lives deep in mature woodlands and spends most of its life around tiny, almost invisible spring-fed seepage streams. When startled, it disappears into the leafy canopy, which is also where pairs fly to mate, often hidden for hours. Their larvae live in such small, food-scarce streams that they take several years to mature. Tigers live in smaller streams than any other Northern Virginia spiketail. Their numbers are relatively low, and it’s unusual to see more than one or two together. There’s a certain thrill to finding a Tiger Spiketail at its stream—you know you’ve stumbled upon a clean, quiet and special corner of whatever park you’re exploring.”

Tiger Spiketails fly patrols low above the water of these tiny forest streams. If you find the right kind of stream, you stand and wait, hoping that a Tiger Spiketail will fly by. If one appears, you might have a second or two to get off a shot of the flying dragonfly before it disappears from sight. You repeat the cycle and if all goes well, the dragonfly may come back again within fifteen to thirty minutes or you may never see it again.

I was really lucky yesterday. Earlier in the morning I had had several sightings of a Tiger Spiketail, but had gotten only a single very blurry shot. When a Tiger Spiketail flew into view, I immediately started tracking the dragonfly visually and I was shocked when she began to dip the tip of her abdomen in the water to deposit an egg, a process known as ovipositing. What this meant was that she would hang around in a spot for several seconds and then move upstream a bit and repeat the process.

Although I had the Tiger Spiketail in sight, getting a decent shot was a challenge. In addition to her lateral movements, she was also moving up and down as she deposited her eggs. Much of the stream was in the shade or the light was heavily filtered, so it was hard to get enough light to capture a moving subject. I managed to get a few reasonably sharp action shots of the Tiger Spiketail. If you double-click on the first image, you can actually see the dragonfly’s “spiketail” and other details including its beautiful markings and striking green eyes. The second shot gives you a better view of the environment in which I found this dragonfly, which is considered rare in the area in which I live.

Whenever I manage to capture of a new species, I am so excited that I do not worry much about the quality of the images. Before long, though, the excitement dies down and I will hit the trails again, determined and hopeful that I will be able to get some better shots. That crazy, quixotic vision is what drives most of us nature and wildlife photographers to go out repeatedly, always in search of the next best photo.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Obelisk posture

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 50D, Eastern Amberwing, Eastern Amberwing dragonfly, green spring gardens, obelisk, obelisk posture, Pachydiplax longipennis, Perithemis tenera on August 5, 2020| 17 Comments »

What do you do to cope on a hot sunny day? Most of us stay indoors in an air-conditioned space, possibly with a cold beverage. Dragonflies do not have those options, so many of them assume a pose, often known as the obelisk posture, in an attempt to regulate their temperature by reducing exposure to the direct sunlight.

You may seen dragonflies in a handstand-like pose, looking like gymnasts in training—that is the obelisk posture. The dragonfly lifts its abdomen until its tip points to the sun, thereby minimizing the amount of surface area exposed to solar radiation. At noontime, the vertical position of the dragonfly’s body suggest an obelisk, which in my area immediately brings to mind the Washington Monument. According to Wikipedia, scientists have tested this phenomenon in a laboratory by heating Blue Dasher dragonflies with a lamp, which caused them to raise their abdomens and has been shown to be effective in stopping or slowly the rise in their body temperature.

While visiting Green Spring Gardens last week on a hot humid day, I observed obelisking behavior in a male Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) and a male Eastern Amberwing (Perithemis tenera). I have always been intrigued by this pose and would love to try it out to see if it works for thermoregulation in humans too. Alas, I lack both the upper-body strength and the lower body flexibility to make a go of it, so I’ll continue to be merely a spectator of these beautiful little acrobats.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, green spring gardens, Papilio glaucus, Tamron 180mm on August 4, 2020| 14 Comments »

Most folks who live in the Eastern part of the United States can probably identify an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) when they see one. Eastern Tiger Swallowtails are large and have a distinctive pattern of bright yellow and black on their wings. However, not all Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies are yellow—females come in two distinctly different variants, black and yellow.

The yellow morph looks a lot like a male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwings that the males do not have. The dark morph female has similar markings, but most of its body color is black, like the one below that I spotted last week at Green Spring Gardens. The perfect condition of its wings this late in the season suggests to me that this is a newly emerged butterfly.

So what do the females come in two colors? I read an interesting on-line article about this subject entitled “Why are you that color? The strange case of the dark phase tiger swallowtail.” The author speculates that the dark morph is an evolutionary attempt to mimic a similar-looking Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly that predators know is toxic, a practice known as Batesian mimicry. So, in theory the dark morph would have a better chance of survival. For unknown reasons, however, the males do not seem to be as attracted to the dark morph females, “These guys are apparently traditionalists and prefer the good ol’ yellow and black that their species is known for.” So the genes that might benefit species survival are not always passed on.

If you are interested in seeing photos of both female variants, check out a 2012 posting entitled “Swallowtail ladies are not all the same.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dogwood Sawfly larva

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Dogwood Sawfly, Dogwood Sawfly larva, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Macremphytus tarsatus, Tamron 180mm on August 4, 2020| 14 Comments »

Last week when I was exploring Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, I spotted this very strange looking caterpillar in one of the trees. It was quite small and was in motion, so getting a photo was somewhat of a challenge. As I was doing research, I was a little shocked to discover that this is actual the larval stage of a Dogwood Sawfly (Macremphytus tarsatus), a wasp-like insect. The larvae go through a number of different phases of development and this looks to middle-instar stage.

No matter how many times I return to a location, there always seems to be something new and different to see, as long as I take the time to look slowly and carefully.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First Monarch of the season

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, clover, Danaus plexippus, green spring gardens, Monarch, monarch butterfly, Tamron 180mm on August 3, 2020| 20 Comments »

This butterfly had its choice of flowers as I chased after it last week at Green Spring Gardens, but it chose instead to grab some nectar from a lowly clover plant. Still, I can’t complain—it was my first sighting of a Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) this season.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fishing Spider

Posted in Arachnids, Nature, Photography, spiders, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, creek walking, dolomedes, Fairfax County Virginia, fishing spider, spider, Tamron 50D on August 3, 2020| 19 Comments »

I am catching up on some photos and thought I’d post this image that I captured in mid-July of a cool-looking fishing spider that Walter Sanford spotted while we were hunting for dragonflies at a creek in Fairfax County. I am not sure of the specific species of the spider, but I am pretty confident that it is of the genus Dolomedes. Most of the times in the past when I have spotted similar spiders, they have actually been in the water, but this one seemed to be hunting from a crevice in the rocks at the edge of the water.

I love the texture of the rocks and especially the lichen that add a lot of visual interest to this image. If you would like to see Walter’s take on our encounter with this spider, check out his post ‘Fishing spider Friday.’ Walter noted that he sees “a mean monkey face on the front half of the spider and a baboon face on the back half.” Be sure to click on the image to see the spider more closely, if you dare and let me know what you think.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Glad it is August

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cindy Dyer, gladiolas, hope, Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm on August 2, 2020| 19 Comments »

July was a crazy month no matter how you look at it. Who knows what the new month will hold for us all? When I checked the garden of my friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer a few days ago, I was thrilled to see that some of her gladiolas are now in bloom, symbolic of the new life and growth that is still possible in our own lives, even in these troubled times.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tiny damselfly

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Fragile Forktail, Fragile Forktail damselfly, Ischnura posita, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 180mm on August 2, 2020| 9 Comments »

I had forgotten how small Fragile Forktail damselflies (Ischnura posita) are until I spotted one perched in some vegetation last week while I was exploring at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. Even by damselfly standards, Fragile Forktails are tiny at only .8 to 1.1 inches (21-29 mm) in length. The good news is that they are relatively easy to identify, because they have pale interrupted shoulder stripes that look like exclamation points.

I love how the green of the damselfly’s thorax and in its eyes match the soft green palette of the rest of the image. For me, there is something really soothing about this simple portrait of a tiny damselfly.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Particularly photogenic perches

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Amberwing, Eastern Amberwing dragonfly, female Eastern Amberwing, green spring gardens, odonart, Perithemis tenera, Tamron 180mm on July 31, 2020| 28 Comments »

It love it when dragonflies cooperate and choose particularly photogenic perches, as these female Eastern Amberwing dragonflies (Perithemis tenera) did on Tuesday at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia, not far from where I live. The males of this species, whose wings are a solid amber in color, mostly seemed to be hanging out at a pond at the bottom of a hill, while the females were flitting about among the flowers in the gardens at the top—the gender separation reminded me of the awkwardness of junior high dances when I was growing up.

As many of you may recall, dragonflies and damselflies are part of the Odonata order of flying insects. My friend and fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford has coined the term “odonart” to refer to artsy-style photos that we manage to capture of our favorite aerial acrobats. I think that both of these images qualify to fit into that self-created category, given the beauty of the dragonflies and their particularly photogenic perches.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tattered beauty

Posted in Art, Butterflies, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, beauty, Canon 50D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, green spring gardens, Papilio glaucus, perfection, Tamron 180mm on July 30, 2020| 13 Comments »

Many butterflies are looking a little tattered this late in the season, like this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) that I spotted on Tuesday at Green Spring Gardens, but I still find their beauty to be breathtaking. True beauty, I would argue, is often to be found in imperfection, not in some superficial notion of perfection.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hummingbirds in July

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Archilochus colubris, Canon 50D, green spring gardens, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Tamron 180mm on July 29, 2020| 31 Comments »

During a short visit to Green Spring Gardens yesterday I was thrilled not only to see some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris), but also to get some shots of at least one of them. I am not sure that a 180mm macro lens is optimal for this subject, but it worked, albeit with a need for an often significant crop of the original images.

Even though it was over 90 degrees (32 degrees C) when I set out, I felt a need to get out of the house, stretch my legs, and shoot a little. I chose this county-run historic garden because it is not far from where I live and I knew it had some shady areas. I expected to be photographing mostly insects and flowers, so my trusty 180mm macro lens was affixed to my camera.

As I was chasing some little dragonflies in one patch of flowers, I remembered that I had seen hummingbirds in this same patch a few years ago. Recently I have seen some awesome shots of hummingbirds on Facebook taken by local photographers at this garden, so I was certainly aware I might spot the speedy little birds. Once I spotted a hummingbird flitting among the flowers, I decided to stay at this spot and see if I too could capture a shot.

This sun-lit patch of flowers was long and narrow and the hummingbird would make short forays into one part of it and then would fly up into the shade of a tall tree. I never could establish if I was seeing a single hummingbird, which looked to be a female, or if there were multiple hummingbirds taking turns.

As you can see from the photos below, the hummingbird gave attention to a variety of different flowers, none of which I can identify for sure—maybe that is bee balm in the second shot. I have read that hummingbirds prefer red-colored flowers, but this hummingbird did not seem to discriminate on the basis of color. It is interesting to see how the hummingbird’s approach varied a little depending on the characteristics of the flower, such as the length of the tubular section into which the hummingbird inserted its long, thin bill.

Be sure to click on the final photo and you will see that the hummingbird is using its tiny feet to perch on an unopened flower to get greater leverage and a better angle of attack. You’ll also see a little bee in flight that had been disturbed by the hummingbird’s efforts.

When I returned home, I saw an amazing close-up hummingbird photo on Facebook taken earlier that morning on the same bluish-purple flowers that you see in my final photo. When I asked the photographer how far away he was when he took his photo, he said he was at the minimum focusing distance of his lens—15 feet (457 cm)—so I suspect he was shooting with a 600mm lens. I think that I might have been at the same distance when I took my shot.

Periodically I think about purchasing one of those monster lenses, but am somewhat deterred by the $12,999 price tag for the newest Canon 600mm lens and by its weight and size. All in all, I am quite content with the results I get from my current camera gear, including these images of hummingbirds in July.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Newly emerged damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, damselfly, Fairfax County Virginia, Tamron 180mm, teneral damselfly, Walter Sanford on July 28, 2020| 21 Comments »

When dragonflies and damselflies complete the metamorphosis from water-dwelling nymphs to air-breathing aerial acrobats, initially their wings are clear and shiny, their bodies are pale and colorless, and they are very vulnerable. At this stage of development, it is often difficult to identify the species to which they belong. Over time, their wings harden, their bodies take on the markings and coloration of their species, and identification becomes easier.

During a dragonfly-hunting trip earlier this month with fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford, I spotted several damselflies that had recently emerged, a stage often referred to as “teneral.” The first one was perched on a rock in the creek that we were exploring and the second was perched in some vegetation alongside the creek.

If you click on the images to get a more close-up view of the damselflies, you will note some indication of stripes on the thorax and thin rings around some of the segments of the abdomen. During the day, we saw adults of at least three different damselfly species, so we can infer that these tenerals belong to that small group of species, but there is not enough information to make a call. I’m happy that I was able to capture some cool images of the damselflies.

If you would like to read Walter’s discussion of the first damselfly and to view his photos, check out his blog posting that he titled “Acceptable uncertainty.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Silvery Checkerspot

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Chlosyne nycteis, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Silvery Checkerspot, Silvery Checkerspot butterfly, Tamron 180mm on July 27, 2020| 16 Comments »

In one corner of Jackson Miles Wetland Refuge there is a patch of wildflowers that I love to explore whenever I visit the refuge. In the past I have spotted bird, butterflies, and dragonflies amidst the flowers. Black-eyed Susans are now in bloom in that patch and I was thrilled on Saturday to capture this image of a Silvery Checkerspot butterfly (Chlosyne nycteis) feeding on one of the flowers. As I noted in an earlier posting, I have not seen many large butterflies this season, so it is especially nice to see the smaller ones.

I am pretty sure that this is a Silvery Checkerspot butterfly, though I have sometimes had troubles in the past distinguishing between Silvery Checkerspots and the somewhat similar Pearl Crescent butterflies (Phyciodes tharos).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Predator and prey

Posted in damselfly, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 180mm on July 27, 2020| 26 Comments »

Dragonflies are carnivorous—they feed on other live insects. Most of their diet consists of gnats, mosquitoes, and other small insects, but they also prey upon bees, butterflies, damselflies, and even on other dragonflies.

When I first spotted this male Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) on Saturday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, it had just perched on a stalk of vegetation. As I moved a little closer, the dragonfly changed its position, looking almost like it was trying to hide behind the stalk. What I did not realize at the time was that the dragonfly had just snagged a damselfly and was preparing to eat his lunch. Obviously he did not want to share it with me.

Almost all of the times that I have seen dragonflies with prey, they been Eastern Pondhawks, which seem to be particularly fierce predators. Some dragonflies eat their prey in mid-air and I never see them do so. It may also be the case that some other dragonflies fly up into the trees and consume their prey out of sight, while the Eastern Pondhawk is content to eat in public.

It is often difficult to judge the relative size of dragonflies and damselflies. This images lets you see how much smaller and thinner damselflies are than dragonflies. An Eastern Pondhawk is about 1.7 inches (43 mm) in length and the unidentified damselfly looks to a bit over an inch (25 mm) in length.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Double tiger lilies

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cindy Dyer, double tiger lily, Lilium Lancifolium 'Flore Pleno', Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm, tiger lily on July 26, 2020| 18 Comments »

I was a little shocked when I first spotted the newest flowers blooming in the garden of my neighbor Cindy Dyer—they looked like some mutant variant of a lily, with octopus-like tendrils coming out of the center of the spotted flowers. Cindy had previously told me that she had planted some tiger lilies that she had bought at a half-price clearance sale, but it is safe to say that these are not like any tiger lilies that I had ever seen.

Yesterday I learned that these are double Tiger Lilies (Lilium Lancifolium ‘Flore Pleno’), a variety that has double the normal number of petals. Wow. It looks like only one set of petals had opened for the lily in the first image, with more to come soon. The flower in the second and third photos is at an ever earlier stage of growth, but I was intrigued by its exotic shape, colors, and patterns. Every time that I look at the middle image, I see a dragon’s head with an open mouth, but perhaps my imagination is simply in overdrive these days.

While taking the photos, I noted the two little gray things on the stem in the second and third images. I did not investigate more closely, but Cindy believes that they are insects of some sort.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Swallowtail in July

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, green spring gardens, Papilio glaucus, Tamron 180mm on July 25, 2020| 33 Comments »

It seems like I have seen fewer butterflies this year than in previous years, so I was especially thrilled to spot this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) last week during a trip to Green Spring Gardens with my photography mentor Cindy Dyer. Normally by this time of the year I have seen lots of Monarchs and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, but I have not seen a single Monarch yet and only a few swallowtails. This butterfly was the only large butterfly that I saw that day—all of the others that I spotted were the much smaller skipper butterflies.

Generally I prefer to have a natural background when photographing wild subjects, but that was not possible in this case. The blurred background is part of the welcome center of the gardens. The bands of color at the bottom of the image add some visual interest without being distracting, so I am not all that dissatisfied with the way the shot turned out.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Living on the edge

Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Argia fumipennis, Argia fumipennis violacea, Canon 50D, green spring gardens, Tamron 180mm, Variable Dancer, Variable Dancer damselfly on July 25, 2020| 21 Comments »

This stunning Variable Dancer damselfly (Argia fumipennis) was living life on the edge when I spotted him amidst the leaves last week during a trip to Green Spring Gardens with my good friend Cindy Dyer. Many of you probably realize that this violet-colored beauty is one of my favorites, given that my most frequently used banner image for this blog is a photo of a Variable Dancer. Perhaps there are other insects that are this color, but none come to mind.

As for the title of this post, consider it to be a sign of the times—the content could easily have gone in multiple directions.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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White water lilies in July

Posted in Art, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, Water Lilies, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Claude Monet, green spring gardens, Nymphaea, Tamron 180mm, waterlilies, waterlily on July 24, 2020| 17 Comments »

How do you capture the beauty of a water lily? Claude Monet chose to paint massive canvases with wide expanses of ponds dotted with water lilies. My normal instinct is to focus on a single flower and to capture images like the first one below.

My photography mentor Cindy Dyer likes to challenge me to slow down and to look for interesting groupings of flowers. So I lingered longer at the water lilies and tried to compose images in different and more creative ways, resulting in the the second and third images below that contain more than just a single flower.

I took these photos last week during a trip with Cindy to Green Spring Gardens, a local county-run historical garden. In previous postings I have featured the pink water lilies and the lotuses at the small pond there. My goal today was to turn the spotlight on the more “traditional” white water lily.

If you click on these images to examine them more closely, you will see that I captured a number of “bonus bugs” on the leaves of the lily pads. “Bonus bugs” is a term that Cindy coined to refer to insects that show up when you are processing your photos that you never saw when you were taking them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Skimmer in July

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern gamagrass, female Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Tripsacum dactyloides, Woodbridge VA on July 23, 2020| 18 Comments »

We are definitely in the summer doldrums, with day after day of oppressive heat and humidity. This week has been a bit different only because we have had some violent thunder storms. In terms of dragonflies, the common skimmer species are flying about in great numbers. In my area, that means that on a trip Tuesday to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I saw lots of Common Whitetails, Eastern Pondhawks, Needham’s Skimmers, Blue Dashers, and Great Blue Skimmers.

Although I have photographed these species many times, I still chase after them, trying to capture new behavior or interesting portraits, perches, or backgrounds. That is why I was able to capture this image of this smiling female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) as she perched on some stalks of Eastern Gammagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides). I do not know vegetation very well, but I remember my friend Walter Sanford identifying this type of grass to me a few years ago and somehow the name has stuck with me.

In many ways, this photograph is indicative of my favorite approach to wildlife photography. Although I will sometimes look for rare species to photograph, I especially enjoy photographing common species and highlighting their uncommon beauty. Beauty is everywhere.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Almost perfect portrait

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, female Halloween Pennant, halloween pennant, Halloween Pennant dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180, Woodbridge VA on July 22, 2020| 20 Comments »

I ventured out into the heat for a couple of hours yesterday and was rewarded for my efforts by this beautiful female Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina) that I spotted at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

What makes a portrait perfect? For me, an optimal portrait captures an interesting subject in a dynamic pose with good lighting and a complementary background. I think that this images ticks all of those boxes. Why, then, do I call it “almost” perfect in the title? I guess that there is a part of me that is never completely satisfied, that is steadfastly convinced that I can do better. That is why I was out walking the trails yesterday when temperatures soared above 95 degrees (35 degrees C). Don’t worry, I stayed in the shade, carried lots of water, and took it slowly. The good news was that social distancing was a breeze—I saw only one other crazy person walking about in the midday heat.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pink lilies in July

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm, Cindy Dyer, lily, pink lily, Runnymeade on July 21, 2020| 6 Comments »

The garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer continues to provide me with an almost inexhaustible supply of subject matter for my photography. Among the flowers currently blooming are some beautiful pink lilies. The first image shows a pair of pink lilies blooming in a container in Cindy’s backyard garden. One of the coolest things about that part of her garden is that there are all kinds of decorative elements scattered everywhere, like the copper-colored butterfly in the background of the image.

The world changes and is often abstractly beautiful when viewed through a macro lens, as you can see in the second photo below featuring an extreme close-up view of a lily. I am utterly entranced as I explore the shapes, colors, and textures in the image, unconstrained by practical considerations like figuring out what it is.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue Dashers in July

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 50D, green spring gardens, male Blue Dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 180mm on July 21, 2020| 21 Comments »

Blue Dashers (Pachydiplax longipennis) are one of our most common dragonflies and were an early favorite when I started to get more serious about my photography eight years ago. I still enjoy capturing images of them, especially when the lighting is as interesting as it was last Tuesday during a visit to Green Spring Gardens with my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer.

I had a lot of fun trying to track the male Blue Dasher dragonflies as they flew among the lotuses and water lilies at a small pond. Most of the time they would perch on distant plants, out of range of my macro lens, but on a few occasions they came closer. The first image shows one perched on the broken-off stalk of a lotus, partially in the shadow of other lotuses. The second image shows a Blue Dasher perched in the light, atop what I believe is one of the lily pads, though there is a slight chance that it might be a lotus leaf.

Yes, Blue Dashers are still among my favorites, even after all of these years.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pink water lilies in July

Posted in Art, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, Water Lilies, tagged Alexandria VA, Camon 50D, green spring gardens, Pac-Man, pink water lily, Tamron 180mm, water lily on July 20, 2020| 25 Comments »

There were only a few water lilies in bloom when I visited Green Spring Gardens last week, one of my favorite local gardens, but I was thrilled to see that a few of them were pink ones. I love all water lilies, but there seems to be something extra special and exotic about the pink ones.

I was using my trusty 180mm macro lens, which meant that if I wanted a closer view, as in the first image, I had to physically move closer to the flowers, which, of course were floating in the water. It was interesting to try to vary the angle of view of the same flower by, shooting from a low angle for the first image and shooting the same flower from a higher angle (and farther back) for the second shot.

I also played around with including and excluding the lily pads. The water lily in the final shot, for example, is almost in the center of the frame, which is generally frowned on when composing a shot, but I liked the arrangement of lily pads so much that I kept it there.

I am very much a child of my generation, so I can’t help but think of the video game Pac-Man when I look at the second image. Did anyone else have that same response?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Inside a lotus flower

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, bee, Canon 50D, green spring gardens, lotus, lotus flower, Tamron 180mm on July 19, 2020| 11 Comments »

This bee seemed to be having a great time inside of a lotus flower when I spotted it last Tuesday during a brief visit to Green Spring Gardens with my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. This county-run historical garden has only a relatively limited number of lotuses and waterlilies at a small pond, but it is much more accessible and less crowded that Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, an amazing facility in Washington D.C. operated by the National Park Service that has multiple acres of cultivated ponds with a wide array of water lilies and lotuses.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Brown Thrasher in the open

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, brown thrasher, Canon 50D, Cindy Dyer, green spring gardens, Tamron 180mm, Toxostoma rufum on July 18, 2020| 9 Comments »

Usually when I see a Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), it is buried in the underbrush, so I was excited to spot this one in the open during a visit on Tuesday to Green Spring Gardens with my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. Two things that always stand out to me whenever I see Brown Thrashers are their extremely long tails and their beautiful yellow eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue-tipped Dancer damselfly

Posted in Art, damselfly, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Argia tibialis, Blue-tipped Dancer, Blue-tipped Dancer damselfly, Canon 50D, creek, Fairfax County Virginia, streamwalking, Tamron 180mm on July 18, 2020| 6 Comments »

Many of the species that I photograph have names that do not match up that well with their physical appearances. While I was exploring a creek this week with my friend Walter Sanford, it was wonderful, therefore, to spot a dark damselfly with blue at the end of its abdomen that is appropriately called the Blue-tipped Dancer (Argia tibialis). If you click on the images, you will note that this male damselfly has beautiful purple stripes on its thorax (upper body) in addition to that blue tip.

When photographing damselflies like this one that perch on the ground, I try to get as low as I can in order to see eye-to-eye and simplify the background. I managed to do that in the first image and I really like the soft glow in the background from the waters of the creek.

I did not get as close for the second shot, in part because the damselfly was a bit skittish. However, I do like the way that I was able to capture the colors and textures of the rocky environment along the edge of the stream, giving the viewer a better idea of this damselfly’s habitat.

Like most damselflies, Blue-tipped Dancers are tiny, no more than 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length, so it is always a challenge to get detailed shots of them. The largest damselflies that I have ever photographed were the appropriately named Great Spreadwings, that are as much as 2.4 inches (61 mm) in length. If you want to see what one of those beautiful “giants” looks like, check out this posting from October 2015 entitled “Great Spreadwing damselfly (male).”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Sanddragon in July

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Common Sanddragon, Common Sanddragon dragonfly, Progomphus obscurus, Tamron 180mm, Wickford Park on July 17, 2020| 7 Comments »

I tend to associate dragonflies primarily with marshes and ponds, but a few dragonflies also like sandy beaches. Most of the times that I have observed Common Sanddragon dragonflies (Progomphus obscurus) they have been perched directly on the sandy edges of forest streams, which makes sense, given their name. On Monday I was thrilled to spot some Common Sanddragons at Wickford Park, a small park adjacent to Huntley Meadows Park, a marshland refuge where I used to do a lot of shooting before it became too popular.

Although the dragonfly in the first image may look like he was perched on the ground, he was actually on the slanted side of a concrete drainage ditch. Normally I try to avoid man-made backgrounds for my subjects, but this shot provided a good overall view of the entire body of the Common Sanddragon. It might be my imagination, but it looks to me like this little guy was glancing up at me and smiling. Double-click on the image and see what you think.

In many ways I prefer the second shot, with the Common Sanddragon dragonfly perched amidst the rocks at the edge of the stream. I love the different colors, shapes, and textures of the rocks and don’t mind that the dragonfly itself is harder to spot. I consider the image to be a kind of environmental portrait.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Prothonotary Warbler in July

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea, Tamron 180mm, warbler on July 16, 2020| 16 Comments »

I was both shocked and delighted to spot this brilliant male Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) on Monday during a trip to Huntley Meadows Park, a local marshland refuge. All of the other times that previously I spotted these colorful little birds were during the early spring and I did not know that they were still around in our area.

It is hard for a bird so brightly colored to hide itself completely, but I am used to seeing only flashes of yellow amidst the foliage high in the trees. In this case I spotted the warbler when it was perched on a wooden fence. As I got a little closer, it dropped down to ground level, but I was able to find a small visual tunnel that gave me an unobstructed view of this beautiful little warbler and was able to capture this image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sycamore Tussock caterpillar

Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Fairfax County Virginia, Halysidota harrisii, Sycamore Tussock Moth, Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar, Tamron 180mm on July 16, 2020| 13 Comments »

As I was exploring the banks of a creek yesterday hunting for dragonflies with my friend, Walter Sanford, I stumbled upon a really cool-looking caterpillar. I love fuzzy white caterpillars and apparently I am not the only one—an August 2013 posting that I entitled “Fuzzy White Caterpillar” is my third most-viewed posting ever, with over 1820 views. The photos in that posting are definitely not among my best ever, but somehow people find their way to that posting when doing Google searches.

I was immediately struck by the bright red head and the “horns” and the front and back end of the caterpillar. Those characteristics made it easy to identify the caterpillar as a Sycamore Tussock Moth caterpillar (Halysidota harrisii). I do not know trees very well, so I cannot tell if the fallen log that the caterpillar was exploring was a sycamore, but perhaps one of my viewers can identify it for me.

Be sure to double-click on the images if your would like to get a closer view at the wonderful details of this unusual-looking caterpillar.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Swamp Darner

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Epiaeschna heros, Huntley Meadows Park, male Swamp Darner, Swamp Darner, Swamp Darner dragonfly, Tamron 180mm on July 15, 2020| 17 Comments »

As I was walking past one of the fields Huntley Meadows Park on Monday, I spotted a large dragonfly patrolling back and forth, flying low over the heavy vegetatation. I tracked the dragonfly’s movements with my camera as it flew tantalizingly close to me, only to abruptly change directions each time. All of the sudden, the dragonfly zoomed past me and disappeared into the foliage of a tree on the other side of the trail on which I was standing,

Fortunately I was able to see where the dragonfly had landed and eventually I found it perched on the underside of a branch. The second shot shows the view that I had after I had approached the dragonfly cautiously. If you look closely at the space between the dragonfly’s head and the branch, you will see that it is in the process of eating what looks to be a black and yellow insect of some kind. In my experience, when dragonflies are eating, they tend to be so focused on their food that I can get closer to them than might otherwise be possible.

From that distance I could already identify it as a Swamp Darner dragonfly (Epiaeschna heros), one of the largest dragonflies in our area, almost 3.5 inches in length (89 mm). I was happy to be able to get the side shot, but wanted a different angle, so I maneuvered my way around and captured the dorsal view shown in the first photo. From this angle you get a really good view of its amazing blue eyes and the wonderful circular ring markings on its abdomen. The angle of view also showed me some body parts that allowed me to determine that this is a male.

I spent only a couple of hours hunting dragonflies on Monday, but had a very successful day, finding the elusive Mocha Emerald that I featured yesterday and this gorgeous Swamp Darner. Folks frequently ask me why I like dragonflies so much and I think that the first photo is a convincing visual response to such a query—no further explanations should be required.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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