Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, female Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm on January 17, 2019| 14 Comments »
Female Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) do not stand out as much as their bright red male counterparts, but their beauty is at a minimum comparable, albeit in a more dignified and understated way. The male cardinal is like a loud, raucous call, while the female is more like a soft, seductive whisper.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, bird in the snow, Canon 50D, Dark-eyed Junco, junco, Junco hyemalis, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm on January 17, 2019| 6 Comments »
One of the cute little birds that I saw in the snow in my neighborhood earlier this week was this Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis). I can’t help but smile at the bird’s pose, which gives the image a really whimsical,almost cartoonish feel.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cardinal in the snow, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm on January 16, 2019| 13 Comments »
Images of a bright red cardinal in the brilliant white snow—some might view such shots as a bit cliché, but I view them instead as iconic. I ventured out into my neighborhood earlier this week after the snow had stopped falling and was thrilled to find a small group of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). They spent most of their time buried in the branches, but eventually I was able to capture some unobstructed images of some male cardinals.
Although I like the details of the second shot, the first shot really draws me in by presenting a better depiction of the snowy environment. In some parts of the country this is a typical winter scene, but here in Northern Virginia, this is the biggest snow storm we have had since 2016, so it was pretty unusual to have this kind of photo opportunity.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, D. Gray Kimel, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Potomac River, Tamron 150-600mm, tugboat, Woodbridge VA on January 15, 2019| 3 Comments »
Although I focus mostly on my attention on wildlife in this blog, many of you know that I am likely to take photos of almost anything that catches my eye. Early in the morning this past Saturday as I was scanning the waters off of Occoquan Bay Wildlife Refuge, I caught sight of some lights in the distance. As they grew larger and larger, I realized that it was some sort of ship and I was happy to get a shot of it as it passed by.
A close examination of the image and a quick search on the internet revealed that this is a twin-screw tugboat named the D. Gray Kimel. It was built in 1982 and has had several different names. When I saw it the tugboat did not appear to be assisting another boat, but I did learn that it is rated at 1350 horsepower, so it seems to be pretty powerful.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged black-and-white photography, Bucephala albeola, bufflehead, bufflehead duck, Canon 50D, male bufflehead, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 14, 2019| 15 Comments »
I love the way that Bufflehead ducks (Bucephala albeola) run across the surface of the water to gain speed before taking off, like this male bufflehead that I spotted last Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The images were already pretty much monochromatic because of the limited light, so I decided to do a black-and-white conversion of them.
If you look closely at the first image, you will see that my camera’s shutter speed was fast enough to freeze the motion of the water, but slow enough that the wings are blurred, which I think enhances the sense of speed. The wing tips are blurred in the second image as well and we also have a really cool reflection of the bufflehead after it has successfully taken to the air.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Dog, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, duck hunting, Labrador Retriever, mallard, mallard duck, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 14, 2019| 6 Comments »
Passing by one of the duck blinds in the waters of Occoquan Bay this past Saturday, I saw a larger number of decoys set out and realized it was occupied. Consequently I braced myself when I heard the sound of approaching ducks and sure enough shots rang out. A few seconds later, I saw a duck hit the water not far from where I was standing.
I was focusing on the flailing duck with my telephoto lens when suddenly a dog swam into the frame. The dog, which appears to be a Labrador Retriever, approached the duck, circled around it so it would be heading in the right direction, and then swam back to the blind with the duck in its mouth.
I am not a hunter and prefer to do my shooting with a camera. However, I can appreciate the skill of both the hunter and the retriever in securing the duck that will probably make a tasty meal.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 13, 2019| 14 Comments »
I love male Northern Cardinals in the winter. They add such a wonderful pop of bright color on a cloudy day, like yesterday when I took this shot, or on a snowy day like today (when I hope to see one in my neighborhood).
I spotted this Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) while exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, my current favorite spot for walking about with my camera. We have already had about 6 inches (10 cm) of snow and more is falling, so I probably will not make it out of the neighborhood today. The streets are not yet clear and people in this area tend to drive even more crazily than normal when there is snow.
I took a number of shots of the cardinal while he was perched in a distant tree. Although he remained relatively stationary, he kept changing his tail position, so I decided to include shots with different “poses.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, kissing eagles, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 12, 2019| 15 Comments »
Do eagles kiss? I am not sure if they do, but these two Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were definitely beak-to-beak this morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
After a week in the urban confines of Brussels, Belgium, it was nice to get out in the wild again, though I must confess that I was still somewhat jet-lagged. Not long ago I posted a photo of an eagle couple on this same perch and I suspect that this is the same pair. Earlier I had seen another eagle couple near another nesting site. Last year I was thrilled to get a peek at some young eaglets and I am hoping to be able to do the same this year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, Travel, Urban, Winter, tagged botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, daffodil on January 11, 2019| 7 Comments »
We won’t see them for a few months in Northern Virginia, but I got a sneak preview of daffodils in bloom here in Brussels, Belgium near a small pond at the botanical gardens yesterday morning.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, Winter, tagged Anas platyrhynchos, botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, mallard, moorhen on January 10, 2019| 9 Comments »
Finding wildlife to photograph in early January in Brussels, Belgium is pretty tough. There are very few hours of daylight at this time of the year and the skies are mostly covered with gray clouds during the day (when it is not actually raining). During a quick trip to the botanical gardens in Brussels this morning, I spotted a few birds and was able to capture shots of a Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) and a male Mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos).
The moorhen was swimming and my camera took the shot at 1/13 of a second, which means that the focus is not super sharp, but I like the soft, impressionist feel of the image. The mallard was more or less stationary as he groomed himself at the edge of the pond, but seemed to be keeping an eye on me.
I am here in Brussels for a brief business trip and as is usually the case on such trips, I like to try to fit in a little wildlife photography, even in the center of a city.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, nesting, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 7, 2019| 5 Comments »
Most of the year I tend to see individual Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), but recently I have been seeing them in pairs, like this couple that I spotted last week perched on a nesting platform for ospreys at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It will soon be time to occupy a nearby nest.
If you look closely at the two eagles, you will notice that one that the one on the left is smaller in size—I believe that is the male. I do not know if this is the same couple, but an eagle couple successfully raised two eaglets in a nest in a tree that is not that far away from this platform, which housed an active osprey nest last year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, duck blind, duck hunting, hunting blind, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 6, 2019| 4 Comments »
At this time of the year my peaceful pursuit of photos is often punctuated with the sound of shotgun blasts as I walk along the trails parallel to the water at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge—it is duck hunting season. As you might suspect, duck hunting is not permitted on the territory of the wildlife refuge itself, but there is a series of duck blinds not far from the shore.
Some hunters simply take their boats and occupy the blinds, while others take the additional step of putting out duck decoys. In previous years I was fooled into taking photos of the decoys, thinking they were real ducks, but my decoy identification skills seem to have improved.
Here are a couple of photos of one of the blinds to give you an idea of what they look out and how close they are to the shore. I took the final shot of a group of hunters as they slowly motored by me. I don’t know the hunting rules, but I don’t think that they can hunt from a moving boat.
I am not against hunting per se, but I am definitely a bit edgy when I hear shots fired not far from where I am walking and will definitely welcome the eventual end of the hunting season.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, catbird, Dumetella carolinensis, gray catbird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 5, 2019| 10 Comments »
I’ve read that a Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) makes a distinctive cat-like mewing sound, but I don’t recall ever having heard a catbird make any sound whatsoever. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Gray Catbirds can also copy the sounds of other species and string them together to make their own song that can last as long as ten minutes.
Even without hearing its song, I was able to spot this Gray Catbird earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. As is most often the case with catbirds, this one was in thick vegetation, but I did manage to get a relatively clear shot of its head and body.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Aythya valisineria, Canon 50D, Canvasback, Canvasback duck, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 4, 2019| 5 Comments »
The long sloping shape of the bills of these ducks in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge indicated to me that they are Canvasbacks ducks (Aythya valisineria). Most of the time I rely primarily on colors when trying to identify birds, but during the non-breeding season, many ducks share the same subdued colors, especially when viewed from a distance. This was a rare case when a single distinctive characteristic—in this case the bill—was enough for me to identify the birds with a reasonable degree of confidence.
According to Wikipedia, the duck’s common name is based on early European inhabitants of North America’s assertion that its back was a canvas-like color. In other languages it is just a white-backed duck; for example in French, morillon à dos blanc, or in Spanish, pato lomo blanco.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Towhee, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, Tamron 150-600mm, towhee, Woodbridge VA on January 3, 2019| 6 Comments »
During the winter months you sometimes have to search a little harder to find birds, but they are definitely still with us. When I caught a glimpse of this bird’s rust-colored feathers earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I assumed it was an American Robin.
When I zoomed in, however, I was thrilled to see like that the bird was an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). Towhees share many of the same colors with the robins, but they are arranged in a completely different way. I think that towhees are supposed to be relatively common, although I personally do not see them very often.
I love to play with words and “towhee” for some reason is fun to say out loud. Try it yourself—it is virtually guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, new year, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Melanerpes carolinus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 2, 2019| 11 Comments »
Many of you know that I normally post every day—in 2018 I think that I missed only 12 days. I used to be really obsessive about this and would get anxious if I didn’t have an image to post. Over time, though,I have mellowed a bit and so I am not at all concerned that I write a posting on New Year’s Day.
I have been in a contemplative mood ever since I did the retrospective look at some of my favorite photos from last year. As I looked back I simultaneously looked forward. I have never been a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but my hopes and plans for this new year can be summed up in two words “more” and “better.”
Those two words are non-specific and subjective, but for me, that is the nature of my approach to photography. I strive to spend as much time as I can in the wild, opportunistically looking for subjects. When situations present themselves, I try to react as quickly and creatively as I can.
That was the case earlier today when I visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Despite the partial federal government shutdown, the wildlife refuge is still open. It was a cool and gray day, and there was not too much activity. I was therefore thrilled when I spotted this Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) feverishly pecking away at a distant tree.
The woodpecker kept its head down as it circled the branch, but finally paused for a moment when it was upright and I was able to capture this shot. Although the woodpecker is relatively common, the organic shapes of the branches really caught my eye.
I’m ok with shooting familiar subjects over and over again. What about you? Some people like to live “widely,” seeing lots of different things in different places, while others prefer to live “deeply,” seeing the same places in different ways and in different seasons. I tend to be in the latter group, but recognize that each person has his/her own comfort zone.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Canon SX50, dawn, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, pre-dawn, pre-dawn light, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 30, 2018| 3 Comments »
A few days ago I posted a shot of a sunrise over Occoquan Bay and I remember waiting somewhat impatiently for the sun to rise. Fortunately I took some shots as I was waiting and as I finally went over those shots today, I was happy that they showed some of the beautiful colors as the night finally turned into day.
The sunrise was by no means spectacular—its beauty was more subdued and subtle. You’ll probably notice that the color changes a bit in each of the images. I think that the colors were influenced by the direction in which I was pointing my camera and the amount of light present in the scene.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Colaptes auratus, flicker, Northern Flicker, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 29, 2018| 5 Comments »
Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) have very distinctive patterns and colors, but in the early morning light this one blended in well with the bark and branches of the tree on which it was perched earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
I was able to detect the bird’s presence only when it moved its head a bit from side to side. Some of my friends are able to spot birds in the trees on the basis of their shapes, but for the most part I need some movement to be able to do so.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Claus, Santa sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm, white-throated sparrow, Woodbridge VA, Zonotrichia albicollis on December 28, 2018| 2 Comments »
White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) always remind me of Santa Claus because of their white “beards.” The effect was magnified on a recent frigid morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, when a White-throated Sparrow had fluffed up its feathers to retain heat and looked even chubbier than normal.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged bluebird, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, orange bluebird, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 27, 2018| 10 Comments »
From a distance I spotted a flash of white, high in the uppermost branches of a tree. It was vaguely bird-shaped, but I had to move closer to know for sure—I am often fooled by misshapen branches or clumps of leaves. Eventually I was able to determine that what I had seen were the white breast feathers of an Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) grooming itself in the early morning sunshine.
I love bluebirds and they invariably bring a smile to my face, especially when I recall the words of Benjamin, a young viewer of my blog, who remarked that these birds should be called “orange bluebirds,” because they have as much orange as they do blue.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cast Away, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 150-600mm, Tom Hanks, Wilson, Woodbridge VA on December 24, 2018| 2 Comments »
As the waves washed over the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) perched on a floating remnant of a tree, the solo bird looked like a shipwrecked sailor, adrift on a swamped, semi-submerged sailboat. My mind conjured up scenes from different movies with this theme.
A short time later, I encountered a basketball dashing up against the shore with each successive wave. As the ball slowly turned I caught sight of its faded lettering. Like Tom Hank’s companion in the movie Cast Away, the ball was labelled “Wilson.” Perhaps the shipwrecked cormorant had been engaging in lengthy conversations with this Wilson, as Tom Hanks did during the movie.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Buteo lineatus, Canon 50D, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm on December 23, 2018| 13 Comments »
I didn’t have to go far to find this Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)—I spotted it while walking a friend’s Cocker Spaniel in my suburban townhouse neighborhood. I rushed home to get my camera and was thrilled when I returned to find that the hawk was still perched on a broken-off tree in a small marshy area.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 21, 2018| 5 Comments »
In theory, it is easier to spot a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) now that the leaves have fallen from the trees. In reality, however, the eagles often seem to like to perch in locations where they are at least partially hidden by branches.
That was certainly the case this past Monday when I spotted this bald eagle at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. There was a lot of tangled vegetation between me and the eagle, so there was no way that I could get any closer. I was happy that I was able to find a shooting angle that allowed me to get a clear view of the eagle’s head and tail.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Belted Kingfisher, Canon 50D, female Belted Kingfisher, kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 20, 2018| 10 Comments »
It often feels like Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) are taunting me. They boldly advertise their presence with a distinctive rattling call, but keep their distance or fly away quickly before I can spot them. I dream of spotting one at close range and getting some shots before it is aware of my presence.
Well, my dream did not not come true this past Monday, but I did manage to get some shots of a female Belted Kingfisher in flight while exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I took the shots at pretty long range as the kingfisher was moving from perch to perch in the distant trees.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, blue heron, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 19, 2018| 12 Comments »
After several unsuccessful attempts, this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) pulled a good-sized fish out of the waters of a small pond on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A few second later the heron had the fish correctly positioned and swallowed in a single big gulp. I thought the heron would take a break to digest his meal, but it returned immediately to fishing.
Great Blue Herons have an amazing amount of patience. They will stand immobile for extended periods of time and then strike forcefully into the water without any notice. When I am observing a heron, it is always a challenge to remain alert and ready. Often the heron’s patience exceeds my own, but fortunately that was not the case on this particular day. I was lucky too that the heron did not turn away after it had caught the fish, which allowed me to capture some of the action.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bucephala albeola, bufflehead, Canon 50D, male bufflehead, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 18, 2018| 3 Comments »
For the first time in a while, a male Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) ventured close enough for me to get some shots yesterday when I was exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I have posted some photos of buffleheads fairly recently, but they have all been of females (or possibly immature males).
The shape and colors of these little water birds, especially the males, always strike me as cartoonish—like they were drawn by Disney artists.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Travel, Winter, tagged Canon SX50, Christmas 2018, Christmas lights, Hofburg Palace, Swarovkski, Vienna Austria on December 17, 2018| 6 Comments »
I have returned from my week-long trip to Vienna, Austria, but thought that I would share images of some of the night lights of the city on my final night. On a cold winter evening when snow was lightly falling, Vienna gleamed like one of the brilliant crystals from Swarovski.
As you can see from the first photo of one of the streets in the central pedestrian zone of Vienna, the city lights are amazing. The second shot is of of the clock tower in one of the inner courts of the Hofburg Palace. The final image shows the elegant storefront of the Swarovski store.
Thanks to my readers who have stayed with me this past week as I deviated from my normal wildlife and nature photography. It is enjoyable to mix things up a bit and a fun challenge to photograph entirely different subjects. I am heading out in a short while and with a little luck will have some new wildlife images to share tomorrow.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Architecture, Christmas, Photography, Travel, Winter, tagged Canon SX50, Christmas 2018, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Stephansdom, Vienna Austria on December 15, 2018| 9 Comments »
Last night, my final night in Vienna this trip, I had a chance to walk by Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral), an incredible building in the center of the city.
The beauty of Vienna is magnified at this time of the year by wonderful decorations and lights everywhere.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Fine-lined Emerald, Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly, fine-lined emerald in flight, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Somatochlora filosa, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on September 29, 2018| 8 Comments »
I was thrilled yesterday to see that there are still Fine-lined Emerald dragonflies (Somatochlora filosa) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was afraid that all of the recent rain had washed them away.
This particular dragonfly species is pretty uncommon, but the wildlife refuge that has become my go-to place for photography is one of the few local spots where they can be found. I think its peak period in our area is September-October, judging from my experience last year, so I was anxious to see them some more before they disappeared for the year.
It is easy to see a Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly when it is patrolling, because it often flies at knee to shoulder height. It is a whole different problem, though, to get a shot of one, because they spend most of their time in the air rather than perching. I spent quite a bit of time yesterday chasing after these dragonflies, hoping in vain to be able to catch the moment when one decided to take a break.
Finally I decided to change my approach and see if I could capture a shot of one as it flew by me. I know that it can be done, because last year I captured an in-flight image using my 150-600mm zoom lens. The lens that I had on my camera, however, was my 180mm macro lens, which meant that I had to get pretty close to the dragonfly rather than zooming in. That particular lens is slow to focus, so I decided to focus manually, which can be tricky with a moving subject. One of the downsides of the lens is it has no built-in image stabilization, so I decided to keep the camera affixed to my monopod for the sake of stability.
It took some time, but eventually I was able to capture a few shots of flying Fine-lined Emeralds that were relatively in focus, aided by the fact that these dragonflies hover a little from time to time.
I particularly like the first image because it shows both the emerald eyes and the fine lines near the tip of the abdomen that are responsible for the name of the species. It was also cool that the angle of view was unusual, given that I was looking down at the dragonfly as I took the shot. I also like the touch of brownish-orange from the out-of-focus leaves that gives the image an autumn feel.
The second shot gives a more “normal” view of a Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly as it flew by. I was happy to be able to separate it somewhat from the leafy backdrop by carefully focusing on the dragonfly. This is one of those situations when the auto-focusing system of the camera would have been challenged—the subject was pretty small in the viewfinder and the auto-focus probably would have tried to lock on the background.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature bald eagle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 8, 2018| 2 Comments »
When this immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) fixed its eyes on me on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and flew straight toward me, I couldn’t help but feel a little concerned. As it turned out, the young eagle was simply soaring and veered away—and my heartbeat eventually returned to a normal rate.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, Canon 50D, geese landing, landing, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 4, 2018| 6 Comments »
Some birds are stealthy and fly silently through the skies. Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) would not fit into that category. They like to announce their presence for all to hear, like this pair that I spotted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as they were coming in for a landing.
Unlike at the airport, there was no need for a loudspeaker to announce this landing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 