September 19, 2017 by Mike Powell
For quite some time I chased after a male Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora filosa) one morning last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but it seemingly had endless energy and would not stop to perch. Unwilling to give up, I decided to try to shoot him in mid-air as he patrolled a section of a trail.
As you might suspect, it is pretty challenging to shoot dragonflies in mid-air. If you have a high-end camera with a really good focusing system and a fast, responsive lens, you might be able to use auto focus, assuming you are able to track the dragonfly in your camera’s viewfinder. I was using my somewhat older Canon 50D DSLR, a camera that was made starting in 2008, and my Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens, which is sometimes slow in acquiring focus, so I was focusing manually. In this situation, I was helped a little by the fact that the dragonfly would hover a bit from time to time, although usually he would do so while facing away from me.
Patience and persistence paid off and I was pretty excited when I was able to capture this shot.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, dragonfly in flight, Fine-lined Emerald, Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Somatochlora filosa, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 9 Comments »
September 18, 2017 by Mike Powell
It seems a little late in the season for Calico Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis elisa) to be mating, but I nevertheless spotted this couple in action this past Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, Virginia. In case you are curious, the male is the red one near the top of the image that is clasping the female by its head. I like the way that the soft background and simple composition draw our eyes to the shapes, colors, and patterns of the dragonflies, rendering the subject in a beautifully abstract way.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in abstract, Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Calico Pennant, Calico Pennant dragonfly, Canon 50D, Celithemis elisa, mating calico pennant dragonflies, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 1 Comment »
September 17, 2017 by Mike Powell
Although some folks find spiders to be creepy, I look at them as wonderfully creative architects and artists and I was thrilled to capture this image of one in its web that I spotted early yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I have found that early morning is the best time to get shots of spider webs and they tend to show up best in shots that are backlit, which is to say that light is shining from the front. In this case I tried to frame the shot carefully for maximum effect and did not have to crop the image at all.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Arachnids, Art, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife | Tagged Argiope aurantia, Black and yellow garden spider, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, spider web, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 13 Comments »
September 17, 2017 by Mike Powell
The loud cries of an osprey (Pandion haliaetus) echoed though the early morning air yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was never able to figure out what was bothering the clearly unhappy osprey, but did manage to capture this image of the screaming bird just before it flew away.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, screaming osprey, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
September 16, 2017 by Mike Powell
I was thrilled this morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to see that there are still quite a few Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in our area, including this beauty that I was able to photograph as it was feeding on a thistle plant.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Danaus plexippus, Monarch, monarch butterfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, thistle | 7 Comments »
September 15, 2017 by Mike Powell
At first I thought it was love, but looking closer I realized that Tina Turner was right—what’s love got to do with it. Both the predator and the prey in what appears to be an act of cannibalism look to be Big Bluet damselflies (Enallagma durum), which I spotted this past Sunday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
The pale coloration of the victim suggests to me that it is newly-emerged, a phase referred to as “teneral.” At this stage of development, dragonflies and damselflies are relatively immobile as their bodies and wings are transforming and are particularly vulnerable.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Big Bluet, Big Bluet damselfly, cannibalism, Canon 50D, Enallagma durum, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 4 Comments »
September 14, 2017 by Mike Powell
As the seasons change, some dragonflies begin to disappear, but happily some new ones appear, like this spectacular female Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum) that I spotted this past Monday at Huntley Meadows Park.
One of the really cool things about this species is that there are two different color variants of the females. Most of the females (and young males) are brown in color and are sometimes referred to as heteromorphs, while a smaller number of females, like the one in the photo, have a bright red color matching that of mature males and are sometimes referred to as andromorphs. This is roughly parallel to the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, which has two different varieties of female, a yellow morph that matches the males and a black morph.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, andromorph, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, female Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm | 6 Comments »
September 13, 2017 by Mike Powell
What is a Fine-lined Emerald? It may sound like some kind of exotic jewel, but it is actually a relatively rare dragonfly that is found in coastal plains areas. I don’t recall having heard of this species until several weeks ago, when fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford alerted me to keep an eye out for them when visiting nearby Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
I met Walter this past Sunday at the wildlife refuge and we began out search for the elusive Fine-lined Emerald (Somatochlora filosa). This species tends to hang vertically from bare branches at about eye level, so we walked slowly past the never-ending vegetation, hoping that we would spot one. I honestly was not optimistic that we would be successful and was shocked to almost stumble upon one only about four feet from me. I had two big problems. First of all, I was using my Tamron 150-600mm lens that has a minimum focusing distance of almost 9 feet (2.7 meters), so I had to back up. Secondly, in my excitement, I was unable to clearly explain to Walter exactly where the dragonfly was perched. In the end, the dragonfly flew away before either of us was able to get a shot.
Eventually we were able to track that dragonfly and several other Fine-lined Emeralds and to capture some images of these beautiful creatures. Walter and I agreed that we would both do blog postings with some of our shots today to give readers an idea of how two photographers standing almost side by side can come up with very different photos of the same subject. We have done this type of companion pieces and it had always been interesting to compare results. Some of the differences can be attributed to the very different gear that we are using and some are caused by our different backgrounds and approaches.
Once I publish this posting, I will finally take a look at Walter’s posting and update this posting with a link to it.
UPDATE: Here is the link, as promised, to Walter’s post, in which he shares some scientific observations and some wonderful photos.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Fine-lined Emerald, Fine-lined Emerald dragonfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Somatochlora filosa, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | Leave a Comment »
September 12, 2017 by Mike Powell
This spectacular Black Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) spread its wings wide and seemed to be posing for fellow wildlife enthusiast Walter Sanford and for me as we explored Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past weekend. We have a number of different dark-colored swallowtail butterflies in our region, including the black morph of the female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, the Pipevine Swallowtail, and the Spicebush Swallowtail, but this is the only place that I have encountered the Black Swallowtail.
Whenever I photograph a swallowtail that is black, I will usually refer to a very helpful blog posting by Louisiana Naturalist that compares some of the identification features of the four different dark swallowtails.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged black swallowtail, black swallowtail butterfly, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Papilio polyxenes, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | Leave a Comment »
September 11, 2017 by Mike Powell
When I spotted this praying mantis today at Huntley Meadows Park, I couldn’t help but think that it had chosen an appropriate pose to remember those who died and countless others whose live were forever changed by the tragic events of 9/11.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged 9/11, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, prayer, praying mantis, Tamron 150-600mm | 1 Comment »
September 11, 2017 by Mike Powell
When a Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) traps a prey in its web, it often moves so quickly to wrap it up completely that it is difficult to identify the prey. That was not the case with the damselfly that I spotted yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as it was being encased in a silken shroud.
The damselfly looks to be a bluet damselfly and if pressed, I’d guess that it might be a Familiar Bluet (Enallagma civile) or possibly a Big Bluet (Enallagma durum). The spider seems to be experiencing the same kind of problem that I encounter when I am trying to wrap an awkwardly-shaped present at Christmas time—it is hard to be neat and tidy, the process uses up lots of wrapping material, and the package always end up irregularly shaped and easy to identify.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, damselfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife | Tagged Argiope aurantia, Big Bluet, Black and yellow garden spider, bluet damselfly, Canon 50D, damselfly, Enallagma civile, Enallagma durum, Familiar Bluet, Familiar Bluet damselfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 4 Comments »
September 10, 2017 by Mike Powell
When I first saw this dragonfly land yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I had no idea what it was. Zooming in, I was shocked to see that it was a Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens), a migratory species that almost never perches.
The Wandering Glider is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica. According to odonatacentral.com, “It is a strong flier that is regularly encountered by ocean freighters and a well-known migratory species. Because of its ability to drift with the wind, feeding on aerial plankton, until it finally encounters a rain pool in which it breeds, it has been called “…the world’s most evolved dragonfly.” ”
After I got the initial shots of the dragonfly on two different perches, I decided to follow the dragonfly and wait for it to perch again. It wandered about through the air over my head for an extended period of time and never again came down to land. The last photo gives you an idea of my view during that period of waiting—note the long wings that help it to fly such long distances.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Canon SX50, dragonfly in flight, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pantala flavescens, Tamron 150-600mm, Wandering Glider, Wandering Glider dragonfly, Woodbridge VA | 4 Comments »
September 9, 2017 by Mike Powell
I was really happy to spot a couple of male Calico Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis elisa) during a visit today to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, Virginia. The weather was pretty cool when I set out early this morning, about 56 degrees (13 degrees C), so I was not certain that I would be able to find many dragonflies. Fortunately for me it warmed up a bit and a few dragonflies appeared.
The bright red color of this dragonfly helps a little in finding them, but Calico Pennants are pretty small and it is easy to lose them in the vegetation. I shot the first two shots with my Canon 50D DSLR and Tamron 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens and the third one with my Canon SX50 super zoom camera. The poses are not identical, but I think that you can see how much shallower the depth of field is when using the DSLR than the point-and-and-shoot—I think it is related to the difference in the size of the sensors in the cameras.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Calico Pennant, Calico Pennant dragonfly, Canon 50D, Canon SX50, Celithemis elisa, male Calico Pennant, Tamron 150-600mm | 4 Comments »
September 8, 2017 by Mike Powell
When I spotted this odd-looking bird yesterday at the Botanical Garden in Brussels, I couldn’t make my mind up if it was a duck or a goose. It seemed too big to be a duck, but its markings seemed too colorful for a goose.
After a lot of searching on the internet, I have concluded this is probably an Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca). As its name suggests, this species is native to Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile Valley and is an introduced species in Europe, according to Wikipedia. There are in excess of 250 breeding pairs in Belgium, primarily around Brussels and the Flanders area, according to a posting on birdforum.net.
This bird did not hang around for very long, so I did not have a chance to see if, as The Bangles famously sang, it walked like an Egyptian (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv6tuzHUuuk).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Alopochen aegyptiaca, botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Egyptian Goose, goose | 1 Comment »
September 7, 2017 by Mike Powell
Initially I did a double take when I saw the sign for a restaurant in Brussels called O’Tacos and I figured it was some kind of Irish-Mexican fusion cuisine. I almost burst out laughing, however, when I read the words, “Original French Tacos.” French tacos? Who knew?
I did some further investigation when I returned to my hotel and found out that O’Tacos is a chain that is now worldwide. OK, but what exactly is a French taco? A review on foodrepublic.com described it in these words—”Less like a taco and more like a pressed San Diego-style burrito, the French taco is stuffed with fries, a white creamy cheese sauce, a protein (choices include grilled chicken breast, nuggets, tenders, ground beef or sausage), an additional sauce (mustard, Tabasco, ketchup, mayonnaise, barbecue) and other ingredients (cheese, mushrooms, grilled veggies, an egg, bacon, ham and more) all wrapped up in a flour tortilla.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in food, Humor, Travel, Urban | Tagged Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, O'Tacos, original French tacos | 7 Comments »
September 5, 2017 by Mike Powell
The most colorful dragonfly that I have spotted in Brussels during this trip has been a spectacular male Migrant Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna mixta) that was flying patrols over a small pond at the botanical garden. It spent a lot of time in the air, but occasionally would perch for a short while. Every now it then it would hover over the water, which let me capture the second shot of the dragonfly in flight. My Canon SX50 is a little slow in acquiring focus, so I didn’t think that I would be able to capture any action shots of the dragonfly. However, I kept trying and eventually was able to get a reasonably sharp shot. When I checked out the shooting data for the image, I realized that the shutter speed had dropped to 1/100 second because of the dark water, so it’s almost a miracle that I stopped the action at all—I was shooting in aperture priority mode and was letting the camera choose the shutter speed.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Aerosmith, botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, dragonfly in Brussels, dragonfly in flight, male Migrant Hawker, Migrant Hawker | Leave a Comment »
September 4, 2017 by Mike Powell
When I spotted a red dragonfly in flight while exploring the botanical garden in Brussels, I immediately gave chase. Unfortunately the dragonfly chose to perch on a weathered wooden fence a good distance away. Unable to get any closer to the dragonfly, I did my best to incorporate the fence into the composition.
I kept looking later in the day for the elusive red dragonfly, which looks a little like the Autumn Meadowhawk dragonfly that I see in my home area, but I never saw it again.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, dragonfly, red dragonfly | 3 Comments »
September 2, 2017 by Mike Powell
Over the last few years it has become traditional for me to be in Brussels over Labor Day weekend in early September for meetings. After I arrived today, I had some free time and captured these images of damselflies in the Botanical Gardens. Some of them are quite similar to those that I see at home, while others appear to be a bit different. As is often the case when I am traveling for work, I left my big camera at home and took these shots with my Canon SX50 HS superzoom camera.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in damselfly, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, damselflies, damselflies mating, damselfly | Leave a Comment »
September 1, 2017 by Mike Powell
Do you have a favorite insect? This is such a strange question that most folks would not have an immediate answer and would have to stop and think a bit before responding. The quickest responses would undoubtedly come from those who simply do not like insects at all. The most common positive answer, I suspect, might well be a Monarch Butterfly.
Many readers know that I see lots of beautiful dragonflies and butterflies, but my favorite insect is almost certainly the Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum), like this one that I photographed on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I remember my sense of awe and amazement the first time that I spotted one—I couldn’t believe my own eyes, because the combination of colors seemed so bright and almost unreal. When I initially posted a photo of the Handsome Meadow Katydid, one of my friends thought that I had added the colors in Photoshop.
To this day, I never fail to marvel at a Handsome Meadow Katydid’s spectacular rainbow colors and incredible blue eyes and am always thrilled to discover again their amazing beauty when I am fortunate enough to find one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, favorite insect, Handsome Meadow Katydid, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Orchelimum pulchellum, rainbow grasshopper, rainbow katydid, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
August 31, 2017 by Mike Powell
The biological clocks of some species seem to be ticking as the summer winds down, compelling them into frantically mating sessions, like this pair of Halloween Pennant dragonflies (Celithemis eponina) that I spotted this past weekend at Lilypons Water Gardens in Adamstown, Maryland. The challenge in photographing this type of activity is to present it in a way that is artistic rather than purely sexual.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer | Tagged Adamstown MD, Canon 50D, Celithemis eponina, halloween pennant, Halloween Pennant dragonfly, halloween pennants mating, Lilypons Water Gardens, Tamron 180mm | 1 Comment »
August 30, 2017 by Mike Powell
Whenever I see bees buzzing around flowers, I keep an eye out for hummingbird moths. For some unknown reason, I have seen more of these colorful moths this summer than in past years.
Although you could argue about whether or not thistles are flowers, my vigilance was rewarded when I spotted this beautiful Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) feeding on this thistle bloom on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Hummingbird Clearwing, Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, hummingbird moth, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, thistle, Woodbridge VA | 8 Comments »
August 29, 2017 by Mike Powell
As summer begins to wind down for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, some of the dragonfly species in our area are starting to disappear. Fortunately, though, some new species appear late in the season to take their places, like this Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly (Stylurus plagiatus) that I spotted yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge, Virginia.
Unlike many of the dragonflies that I see regularly that seem to prefer pole-like perches or perch flat on the ground, Russet-tipped Clubtails like to hang from the leaves of vegetation either at an angle, as this one is doing, or vertically. I was pretty excited to find this dragonfly, because I have seen a member of this species only once before, last year at a different location, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Russet-tipped Clubtail, Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly, Stylurus plagiatus, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA | Leave a Comment »
August 28, 2017 by Mike Powell
“Beautiful Spider”—I know that some people would consider that an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. I, however, am fascinated with spiders and photographed this Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge as carefully as if I were doing a beauty shot in a photo studio. The spider had constructed her web on some vegetation overhanging a small pond, which is why I was able to get such an uncluttered gray background.
Earlier this month I captured an image of a spider of the same species while exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge—this seems to be the prime season for these spiders, which I have seen at multiple locations. This image shows well the amazing reach of the spider’s amazingly long legs and, as was the case in the first image, shows the ziz-zag portion of the web that is associated with this species.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife | Tagged Argiope aurantia, Black and Yellow Garden Orbweaver spider, Black and yellow garden spider, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
August 27, 2017 by Mike Powell
When it comes to dragonflies, what catches your eye? Is it their bright colors or their acrobatic flying skills? When it comes to male Twelve-spotted Skimmers (Libellula pulchella), it is definitely the bold brown-and-white pattern on their wings that irresistibly attracts me. I somehow feel compelled to chase after one whenever I spot it.
Yesterday I made a brief trip to Lilypons Water Gardens in Adamstown, Maryland. This sprawling facility has over 150 acres of amazing ponds and water gardens with fantastic displays of water lilies, which are for sale. (I’ll feature some of the different colored water lilies in an upcoming post.) Although I saw a lot of dragonflies there, I saw only a few Twelve-spotted Skimmers.
Most of them were remarkably elusive, but one finally perched on some vegetation overhanging the water. The bank was fairly steep, so there was no way that I could get a side shot or a head-on shot, which is one of my favorite shots of a dragonfly. What was I going to do?
Then it dawned on me that I had a perfect view of the magnificent wing patterns as I looked straight down the body of the dragonfly, facing in the same direction that he was facing. Boldly I decided to commit what is normally a cardinal sin for a photographer—I intentionally chose not to focus on the subject’s eyes. Lightning did not strike me as I pressed the shutter and I captured an almost abstract portrait of the dragonfly. For me, there is a real beauty in the simplicity and minimalism of this image.
In case you get confused about counting the twelve spots, you’re supposed to count only the brown spots. According to Wikipedia, though,some folks prefer to count the white spots and therefore call this dragonfly a “Ten-spot Skimmer.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in abstract, Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography | Tagged Adamstown MD, Canon 50D, Libellula pulchella, Lilypons Water Gardens, Tamron 180mm, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly | 3 Comments »
August 26, 2017 by Mike Powell
The bright blue color of a juvenile skink’s tail is so startling and whimsical that I never fail to smile whenever I see one. When I first spotted this Common Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), it was basking in the sun on top of a concrete fishing platform at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. As I approach, it scurried under the platform and I stopped and waited. Eventually the skink poked its head out and cautiously crawled forward and I was able to capture this image.
Generally I prefer a more natural backdrop for my shots of insects and amphibians, but in this case I really like the varied colors and textures of the man-made materials. I also like the angular lines that contrast nicely with the curves of the skink’s body. Finally the neutral colors of the image help to draw the viewer’s eyes to the beautiful blue tail.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Common Five-Lined Skink, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, juvenile skink, Plestiodon fasciatus, skink, Tamron 180mm | 13 Comments »
August 25, 2017 by Mike Powell
As the days of summer gradually wind down, I can’t help but notice a significant amount of wear and tear on the bodies and especially the wings of some of the dragonflies and butterflies that I see. Clearly it has been a long, tough season for some of them. Despite its tattered wings, this male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) that I spotted on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park seemed to have no trouble flying, though I suspect that his days are numbered.
I hope that all of you have managed to survive this season well and that your “summer wear” refers to your clothes and not to the condition of your body.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 150-600mm | Leave a Comment »
August 24, 2017 by Mike Powell
Different species of dragonflies fly in different ways. Some soar high in the air and some cruise just above the surface of the water. A dragonfly’s wings allow it to perform all kinds of aerial acrobatics that are entrancing to observe. Given their size and speed, it’s a significant challenge to try to capture them in flight, though frequent readers of this blog know that I will sometimes spend extended periods of time trying to meet that challenge.
During a recent trip to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I noticed a dragonfly flying above my head. Its flight reminded me of eagles and hawks that I have seen gliding effortlessly on thermal updrafts. I couldn’t make out the flight pattern that it was following, but it repeatedly flew over me. Each time that it returned, I would point my camera almost straight up and eventually I was able to capture this shot of an easy-to-identify Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata)—the pattern of black blotches on the wings are very distinctive.
Later that same day I spotted a dragonfly making repeated patrols above the water. The dragonfly never seemed to rest or to perch, so I tried and tried to capture some shots of it as it zoomed on by me. Most of my shots were out of focus, but I like the one below. The choppy water in the background reminds me of the clouds that I will sometimes see when I look out of the window of an aircraft that has reached its cruising altitude. In my mind’s eye, I can imagine this dragonfly flying high in the sky, peacefully soaring above the clouds and the turbulence below it.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Black Saddlebags, Black Saddlebags dragonfly, Canon 50D, Epitheca princeps, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Prince Baskettail, Prince Baskettail dragonfly, Tamron 180mm, Tramea lacerata, Woodbridge VA | 2 Comments »
August 23, 2017 by Mike Powell
A clump of what I think is Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) seemed irresistible to a trio of Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies (Speyeria cybele) on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park. For a brief moment they coexisted peacefully, until one of them encroached into the territory of another and they all began to jostle each other for the prime spots.
I quickly snapped off a series of photos before the butterflies flew away. As is the case with almost any group, it was almost impossible to capture an image in which all of the subjects were more or less facing the camera and had interesting poses. It was roughly equivalent to trying to photograph a group of wiggly little children—single subjects seem easy by comparison.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Asclepias incarnata, Canon 50D, Great Spangled Fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Speyeria cybele, swamp milkweed, Tamron 150-600mm | 6 Comments »
August 22, 2017 by Mike Powell
When is a cluttered background so distracting that it draws attention away from the primary subject? When I have the luxury of time, I will normally attempt to compose my shots so that the background fades into the background as a creamy blur. As a wildlife photographer, though, I am often photographing live subjects that are likely to flee as soon as they become aware of my presence. Frequently I barely have time to bring the camera up to my eye and am forced to react rapidly and instinctively—I just don’t have time to think about the background.
Yesterday as I was walking along the Mount Vernon Trail in Alexandria, Virginia parallel to the Potomac River, I spotted a bird at the very top of a distant tree. Earlier in the day I had seen an osprey in a similar position, so I initially assumed it was another osprey. I had just zoomed in on the bird when it exploded out of the tree into the air. From the way that it was flying, I realized that it was probably an eagle or a hawk. I tracked the bird, which I believe is a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) as it flew behind some trees and eventually into the clear blue skies.
Here are my three favorite shots of the encounter. Two of them are cluttered and one has a plain blue background. Which one do you like most? I am not bothered by the branches in the first two shots and like the way that they help to give a sense of context to the action that is depicted. The third shot shows some of the wonderful details of the beautiful hawk, but it seems a bit more sterile to me. (For the record, the first shot is probably my favorite of the three images.)
Are cluttered backgrounds ok? Like so many factors in photography, the correct response appears to be that it depends on the specific circumstances.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Buteo jamaicensis, Canon 50D, hawk, Mount Vernon Trail, Potomac River, Red-tailed Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm | 12 Comments »
August 21, 2017 by Mike Powell
The beautiful Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is often featured in conservation efforts that focus on its dwindling numbers and shrinking habitat. It was therefore a little disconcerting to stumble upon a Monarch that had been ensnared in the web of a Black and Yellow Garden Spider (Argiope aurantia) during a visit this past weekend to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
I have no idea how long the butterfly had been in the web, but it appeared to be totally immobilized. Spiders like this one, known also as Yellow Garden Spiders or Writing Spiders, kill their prey by injecting venom and often wrap them up in web material for later consumption.
I considered cropping this image to focus more attention on the spider and the butterfly, but ultimately decided that I liked the context provided by the elements of the spider’s web and the murky, out-of-focus background.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders | Tagged Argiope aurantia, Black and Yellow Garden Orbweaver spider, Canon 50D, Danaus plexippus, Monarch, monarch butterfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA | 3 Comments »
August 20, 2017 by Mike Powell
One of the coolest looking butterflies in our area is the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus). In addition to having beautiful coloration, it has amazingly long “tails” that flutter when it is in flight. It is not a species that I see very often, so I will spend a lot of time chasing after one when I spot it, hoping, often in vain, that it will perch long enough for me to get a shot.
This Zebra Swallowtail, which I chased this past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, was reasonably cooperative, though it refused to open its wings to give me a view of its entire wingspan.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Eurytides marcellus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA, Zebra Swallowtail, Zebra Swallowtail butterfly | 3 Comments »
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Mike Powell 