October 9, 2016 by Mike Powell
This spooky spider image that I took late Friday afternoon while hiking along part the Potomac Heritage Trail is probably more suitable for later in the month, but I just couldn’t wait until Halloween to share it.
Normally when I use fill flash I try to be subtle, attempting to add a little pop without making it obvious that I used flash. In this case, you can’t help but notice my use of the popup flash. Normally I would take a shot of a spider like this with my macro lens, but I was travelling light with just my superzoom Canon SX50. The 50x zoom of this camera has helped to bring distant subjects closer, but I had never tried to use the camera’s macro mode. I quickly learned that you have to be really close to your subject, literally only a few inches away. I was pretty happy when I was able to get the second shot below, but wanted to add to the drama of the shot.
I dropped the exposure compensation in the camera down to a minus three stops and got my favorite shot. The darkened sky and the way that the flash illuminates the spider give the image a kind of creepy look that feels appropriate for a spider that was just about at eye level.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Arachnids, Halloween, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon SX50, creepy, Halloween, macro, Potomac Heritage Trail, spider | 7 Comments »
October 8, 2016 by Mike Powell
Earlier this week I chased after this beautiful little butterfly at Green Spring Gardens, in Alexandria, Virginia. I am pretty sure that it’s a Clouded Sulphur butterfly (Colias philodice), but have no idea of the identity of the flower on which it is feeding. Although at first glance it may look like I used flash for this image, a close examination of the shadows shows the direction of the bright sunlight. I was using spot metering for this light-colored subject, which meant that the background was significantly underexposed when getting a proper exposure of the primary subject.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Clouded Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur butterfly, Colias philodice, green spring gardens, Tamron 180mm | 5 Comments »
October 7, 2016 by Mike Powell
I love trying to capture images of fierce raptors and other large birds, but there is something equally gratifying about getting a glimpse of gentle little birds, like this Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) that I spotted recently at Huntley Meadows Park. Most of the time birds like this are invisible to me, hidden among the leaves high in the trees. On the day I took this shot, however, the phoebe was perched in a sheltered area, perhaps because of the intermittent rain, and I was able to capture this simple little portrait.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Phoebe, Huntley Meadows Park, phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, Tamron 150-600mm | 4 Comments »
October 6, 2016 by Mike Powell
Cabbage White butterflies (Pieris rapae) are quite common, but many people ignore them, assuming they are “only” moths. I find real beauty in their simple elegance, like this one I spotted last weekend in the garden of my friend Cindy Dyer.
The butterfly was already white and black, so I decided to play around and remove color from the rest of the image too. I like the look of the black-and-white image, but decided to include the color version so that you can decide for yourself which one you prefer.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature | Tagged Alexandria VA, black and white, Cabbage White, Cabbage White butterfly, Canon 50D, Pieris rapae, Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm | 11 Comments »
October 5, 2016 by Mike Powell
I love ladybugs but don’t see them very often. I was therefore pretty happy on Monday when I spotted this one crawling around in the vegetation at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge. So often a ladybug will keep its head so close to the vegetation that it’s hard to see it, but this one cooperated by raising its head, almost like it was posing for me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, ladybird, ladybug, Tamron 180mm | 2 Comments »
October 4, 2016 by Mike Powell
There are a lot of fallen leaves scattered all about my neighborhood and at first I thought this butterfly was merely one of them. Then it opened its wings, revealing its inner beauty. Wow!
I am pretty sure this is a Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), though there is also a chance that it might be an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma). Yes, there are butterflies named after punctuation marks.
How do you tell them apart? Well. there is a little white marking on the wings and if it has a single part, it’s a comma, and if it has two parts, it’s a question mark. My challenge in this case was that the marking was not very distinctive. I looked through a lot of material and photos on the internet and the wing shape and coloration started to push me toward the Question Mark, but I still had questions. I came across a posting by TrekOhio.com that illustrated the differences in the spots on the inner wings and I convinced myself the spots in the second photo look like those of a Question Mark.
Whatever the case, the butterfly’s resemblance to a fallen leaf and its beautiful orange color are reminders to me that autumn is surely here, my favorite time of the year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Comma, Eastern Comma butterfly, Polygonia comma, Polygonia interrogationis, question mark, Question Mark butterfly, Runnymeade, Tamron 180mm | 12 Comments »
October 3, 2016 by Mike Powell
I am not sure what this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was doing when I spotted it this past weekend at Huntley Meadows Park, but it looked to be admiring its most recent manicure.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, heron manicure, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm | 2 Comments »
October 2, 2016 by Mike Powell
It’s probably good for the ego to have “great” in your name, like Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. Hopefully this little bird’s self-esteem is not damaged by being called a Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla). I spotted this diminutive beauty last week at Huntley Meadows Park before the start of all of the recent rain. The extremely dry weather had made the water very shallow in some portions of the marsh and had attracted tiny shore birds like this one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Calidris minutilla, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Least Sandpiper, sandpiper, Tamron 150-600mm | 7 Comments »
October 1, 2016 by Mike Powell
On a cloudy, misty afternoon yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park, this female Belted Kingfisher ( Megaceryle alcyon) couldn’t make up her mind where to perch, flying from one rotted tree to another in the marshland. I was thrilled to get this shot when she took off from one of her perches.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Belted Kingfisher, birds in flight, Canon 50D, female Belted Kingfisher, Huntley Meadows Park, kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, Tamron 150-600mm | 5 Comments »
October 1, 2016 by Mike Powell
“How can you just leave me standing? Alone in a world that’s so cold?…Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when hawks cry.” (Apologies to Prince for changing the words of the song “When Doves Cry.”)
On a gray, gloomy day at Huntley Meadows Park, hawks were crying out all afternoon. One hawk would start to scream and its call would be echoed back from somewhere in the distance. Sometimes I would hear a cry from the cloud-covered sky, but I never got a glimpse of the passing hawks.
I was fortunate to be in the right place when one hawk started crying. From the cry, I knew that the hawk was nearby, but I had trouble locating it as I scanned the trees. Finally I spotted it, a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). I snapped off a couple of images and then started to adjust the camera’s settings. I had barely taken the camera from my eye when the hawk took off.
The moment was gone and for a short period of time the marsh was silent.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Buteo lineatus, Canon 50D, hawk cry, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-Shouldered Hawk, screaming hawk, Tamron 150-600mm | 13 Comments »
September 30, 2016 by Mike Powell
I love to photograph insects with cool or unusual names, like this caterpillar known as the Smeared Dagger moth caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita). Who makes up these crazy names? (Photographed on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park.)
One of my other favorite names is the Twice-stabbed Stink Bug (Cosmopepla lintneriana). Yes, that’s a real insect. You can’t just make this stuff up, or maybe you can.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, wildlife | Tagged Acronicta oblinita, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Smeared Dagger, Smeared Dagger caterpillar, Smeared Dagger Moth caterpillar, Tamron 180mm | 5 Comments »
September 29, 2016 by Mike Powell
The leaves are speckled with blemishes and the Red-spotted Purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis) is faded and tattered, but there is real beauty in the imperfection of autumn. Photographed this past weekend at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, Limenitis arthemis, Red-spotted Purple, Red-spotted Purple butterfly, Tamron 180mm | 3 Comments »
September 28, 2016 by Mike Powell
On Monday I spent a good amount of time watching this hawk in a distant tree at Huntley Meadows Park (and, alas, missed the shot when it flew away). There is something simultaneously beautiful and fierce about hawks and eagles that never fails to attract me. Clouds covered the sky for the entire day and there just wasn’t a whole lot of light to work with. That’s why this image has an almost monochromatic look, which makes the yellow color of the talons and the eye stand out even more prominently.
I think this is a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), but would welcome a correction to my identification.
Update: A Facebook friend, who is a much more experience birder than I am, has suggested that this may be a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), while others say it is probably a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii ). Again I am proving to be identification-challenged.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Accipiter cooperii, Accipiter striatus, Alexandria VA, Buteo lineatus, Canon 50D, Cooper's Hawk, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm | 16 Comments »
September 27, 2016 by Mike Powell
I’m always happy to see a black and yellow garden spider (Argiope aurantia). I love its colorful patterns and its intricate web (and apologies to readers who are totally creeped out by spiders). I spotted this beauty this past weekend in a patch of goldenrod at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Arachnids, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Argiope aurantia, Black and Yellow Garden Orbweaver spider, Canon 50D, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, Tamron 180mm | 7 Comments »
September 26, 2016 by Mike Powell
Fog hung over the wetlands at Huntley Meadows Park early Friday morning, making the walk on the boardwalk a little eerie. When a spooked Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) took off right in front of me I was scared almost witless, but had the presence of mind to get this shot.
Here’s a shot that I took shortly after the first one that gives you a sense of what the boardwalk looks like as it makes it way through the wetlands of my favorite marshland park.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, fog, Great Blue Heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm | 7 Comments »
September 25, 2016 by Mike Powell
Water levels are pretty low in some areas of the wetlands at my favorite marshland park, providing a perfect habitat for some visiting shore birds. On Friday at Huntley Meadows Park I spotted a number of tiny shore birds including this one that I am pretty sure is a Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Charadrius semipalmatus, Huntley Meadows Park, plover, Semipalmated Plover, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto | 2 Comments »
September 25, 2016 by Mike Powell
On Friday I had a close encounter with one of my favorite dragonflies, a spectacular Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum). This species is a sign for me each year of the arrival of autumn and I eagerly await its appearance. I find the blue eyes to be mesmerizing and simply love the way that they contrast with the bold red color of its body.
I could go on and on about the beauty of this dragonfly until I too was blue in the face, but I will simply let you enjoy a glimpse of its beauty.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm | 10 Comments »
September 24, 2016 by Mike Powell
When fellow photographer and local dragonfly expert Walter Sanford posted a photo of a Russet-tailed Clubtail dragonfly (Stylurus plagiatus) that he had spotted on Thursday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, I was filled with an overwhelming urge to see if I could find the dragonfly. At this time of the year, as the dragonfly season winds down, I really don’t think much about finding new species, so this was an exciting challenge.
I knew the general location, but I forgot to ask Walter for more specific information about his find. Was it near the water or in the woods or along the stream or among the wildflowers? It was a kind of crazy quixotic quest, but I am pretty persistent, so I scoured the area, making loop after loop around a small pond.
My hope and my energy were beginning to fade when I suddenly caught sight of a dragonfly’s wings shining in the sunlight. The dragonfly was perched on some vegetation at the edge of the treeline. Moving as stealthily as I could, I approached the dragonfly and realized that I had found the Russet-tipped Clubtail. I often complain about the inappropriateness of the names of insects, but in this case it fit perfectly.
I managed to take a number of shots of the perching dragonfly before it flew off, heading deeper into the woods. After it had flown a short distance, it seemed to stop abruptly in mid-air. What was going on? I switched to manual focus and took a few shots and then began to worry that the dragonfly had gotten caught in a bit of spider web. (All morning long I kept running into spider webs at face level as I walked through the woods.) As I moved my hand closer to the dragonfly in an attempt to free it, the dragonfly flew off and disappeared. I didn’t see any evidence of a spider web, so it was probably only my overly active imagination.
This was one of my most memorable encounters with a dragonfly. I may stop by again this weekend to see if it is still hanging around, but the chances are not good that I will see it again. Still, lightning can strike twice and that kind of optimism helps to fuel my enthusiasm for photography.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, dragonfly in flight, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, Russet-tipped Clubtail, Russet-tipped Clubtail dragonfly, Stylurus plagiatus, Tamron 180mm | 7 Comments »
September 23, 2016 by Mike Powell
The rays of sunshine illuminated her face and our eyes met and Katy and I shared a moment when time seemed to stand still. Alas, the spell was soon broken and she abandoned me. Yes, Katy did.
I took this shot last weekend at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. I believe that “Katy” is a Handsome Meadow Katydid (Orchelimum pulchellum), although much of the katydid’s body remained in the shadows so I am not one hundred percent sure of the species identification, though the length of the antennae makes me confident that it is a katydid and not a grasshopper.
It was a fun challenge to get this shot, which I decided to post uncropped. I was sprawled on the ground, trying to get at eye level with the katydid and move in as closely as I could without disturbing the stalks of grass. For a shot like this, my 180mm macro lens was perfect, though I really have to focus on technique to make sure that my shooting position is steady, given that the lens does not have any built-in image stabilization (VR for Nikon folks).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Handsome Meadow Katydid, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, katydid, Orchelimum pulchellum, Tamron 180mm | 3 Comments »
September 22, 2016 by Mike Powell
Despite the “common” in their name, I don’t see Common Wood Nymphs (Cercyonis pegala) very often. I was therefore pretty excited to spot one this past weekend at Huntley Meadows Park.
I’m pretty sure, though, that my excitement does not qualify as nymphomania.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cercyonis pegala, Common Wood Nymph, Huntley Meadows Park, nymphomania, Tamron 180mm | 9 Comments »
September 21, 2016 by Mike Powell
I can identify most of the large butterflies here in Northern Virginia, but the tiny ones continue to confound me. This past weekend I was able to get some shots of some tiny beauties with my macro lens, but I am not really confident in my identification of any of them.
The first image, I think, may be an Eastern Tailed-blue butterfly (Blue Everes comyntas) or it could be some kind of hairstreak butterfly. The second one looks to be a sulphur, but I can’t decide if it is clouded, cloudless, or some other kind of sulphur butterfly. As for the final shot, I don’t even have a guess.
Despite my confusion about identification, I can’t help but be overwhelmed by the delicate beauty of this tiny creatures.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Butterflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cupido comyntas, Eastern Tailed-blue, Eastern Tailed-blue butterfly, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge, Little Yellow, Pearl Crescent. Phyciodes tharos, Pyrisitia lisa, sulphur butterfly, Tamron 180mm, tiny butterflies | 9 Comments »
September 20, 2016 by Mike Powell
Late Saturday afternoon I was exploring Cook Lake, a tiny urban fishing lake adjacent to a water park in Alexandria, Virginia. I accidently spooked a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that flew to a fallen tree on the shore. The lighting was beautiful and the heron struck a pose that I can only describe as heroic.
I never get tired of photographing Great Blue Herons.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon SX50, Cook Lake, Great Blue Heron, heron | 10 Comments »
September 19, 2016 by Mike Powell
I have always been fascinated with frogs. As a child, I remember my amazement at seeing photos of colorful tropical frogs in National Geographic, especially the green tree frogs with big red eyes. Growing older, I loved Kermit the Frog, especially his quirky sense of humor and his propensity for bursting out in song. Even now, one of my all-time favorite movie scenes is from the beginning of The Muppet Movie, where the view begins high above the trees and gradually zooms in on Kermit, who is sitting on a log playing the banjo and singing The Rainbow Connection. I try to hold on to the innocent, wide-eyed optimism of that song.
As a photographer, I have list of aspirational shots, made up of images, subjects, and situations that I would love to photograph. For a long time, I longed to capture a photo of a frog perched on a lily pad. After numerous unsuccessful attempts, I managed to capture such an image a couple of years ago. Despite that “success” I still keep my eyes open for frogs whenever I am in an area with lily pads.
This past weekend I hit the jackpot when I spotted three frogs on a single lily pad. I was exploring a small lake at Ben Brennan Park, a small suburban park in Alexandria, Virginia with a variety of recreational facilities. There is a small elevated bridge over one section of the lake and it was from this vantage point that I was able to capture this image. Initially the three frogs were all facing outwards, looking like they were defending their pad from outside intruders. Just before I took this shot, however, the frog in the back turned toward the middle and looked like he was trying to sneak up on his buddy.
Perhaps he simply wanted to play a game of leapfrog.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Amphibians, frog, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Ben Brennan Park, Canon SX50, frogs, leapfrog | 14 Comments »
September 18, 2016 by Mike Powell
Yesterday I was on a biking/walking trail that follows Cameron Run, a tributary stream of the Potomac River, when I heard the unmistakable rattling call of a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). As I moved through the vegetation to investigate, I spotted a kingfisher perched on a rock jutting out of the water. I had my Canon SX50 zoomed out to its maximum length, but it wasn’t enough—I needed to get closer.
As I made my way slowly down a steep slope, my footing gave way and I unceremoniously slid for a short distance on my back side. No surprisingly I spooked the kingfisher. What was surprising was that the kingfisher did not fly up into the trees, but instead he flew to a more distant smaller rock that was barely bigger than he was. (You can tell that it is a male because, unlike the female, he does not have chestnut stripe across his chest.)
The kingfisher soon took to the air and was joined by another one. They proceeded to fly back and forth over a portion of the stream, calling out loudly the entire time. They didn’t actually buzz me, but they did fly in my general direction a couple of times before veering off. What was going on?
I got a somewhat blurry shot of the second kingfisher, a female, that confirmed my suspicion that this was a couple. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, “During breeding season the Belted Kingfisher pair defends a territory against other kingfishers. A territory along a stream includes just the streambed and the vegetation along it, and averages 0.6 mile long. The nest burrow is usually in a dirt bank near water. The tunnel slopes upward from the entrance, perhaps to keep water from entering the nest. Tunnel length ranges from 1 to 8 feet.”
This behavior suggests to me that there could be baby kingfishers in the area. I certainly didn’t see any babies and suspect that a nest would probably be on the opposite side of the stream from where I took these photos, an area that is more remote and inacessible.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Belted Kingfisher, Cameron Run, Canon SX50, male Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, Potomac River | 6 Comments »
September 17, 2016 by Mike Powell
Have you ever gone eye-to-eye with a butterfly? Yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park this Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly (Speyeria Cybele) was so focused on feeding that it let me get pretty close, close enough to see its cool speckled eyes and its extended proboscis.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Spangled Fritillary, Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Speyeria cybele, Tamron 180mm | 10 Comments »
September 16, 2016 by Mike Powell
It’s grasshopper season and things are really hopping at
Huntley Meadows Park. Every step that I took through the tall, dry grass earlier this week produced a small cloud of flying grasshoppers. Most of them settled back down in the tangled undergrowth, but occasionally one would perch on a stem for a moment, giving me an unobstructed view.
As I was going over my photos, I was struck by the diversity of sizes, shapes, and colors of the grasshoppers that I found in a single small meadow. Most of the time I try hard to identify the species of my subjects, but this time I simply want to celebrate their beauty and the amazing details of their bodies.
The word “grasshopper” is special to me also because it is the term of endearment that my photography mentor,
Cindy Dyer, uses for me. You have to be pretty old to remember the old television series “Kung Fu” that was set in the Wild West that starred David Carradine as Kwai Chang Caine. As a child, Caine studied to be a monk at a Shaolin monastery, where Master Po referred to him as “Grasshopper,” in reference to this scene in the pilot episode, according to
Wikipedia, a scene whose message I have always liked and try to remember.”
“Master Po: Close your eyes. What do you hear?
Young Caine: I hear the water, I hear the birds.
Po: Do you hear your own heartbeat?
Caine: No.
Po: Do you hear the grasshopper which is at your feet?
Caine: Old man, how is it that you hear these things?
Po: Young man, how is it that you do not?”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, David Carradine, grasshoppers, Huntley Meadows Park, Kung Fu, Tamron 180mm | 9 Comments »
September 14, 2016 by Mike Powell
Not all people like to have insects perch on them, but I thought it was pretty cool when an inquisitive Variable Dancer damselfly (Argia fumipennis) landed on my hand Monday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge. The real challenge was getting a photo of the damselfly shooting one-handed with my DSLR and 180mm macro lens.
Sharp-eyed readers may have recognized that this is the same species of damselfly as the one featured in my blog’s banner. I just love the beautiful purple markings of this damselfly, which is also known as a Violet Dancer (Argia fumipennis violacea), if you use the name of the sub-species.
It was interesting trying to get shots as I tried to hold my left hand still and slowly extended my arm out as far as it would go. The damselfly was relatively cooperative, but moved about a little as it explored my hand. Steadying my shooting hand was an even bigger challenge. Normally I like to try to get as close to parallel with a damselfly’s body as possible, so that most of it will be in focus, but that was not possible in this situation, given the anatomical limitations of the human body.
Looking at these images, I have reached a sad conclusion—I am going to have to give up on my dream of becoming a professional hand model.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Argia fumipennis, Argia fumipennis violacea, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbot Wetlands Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Variable Dancer, Variable Dancer damselfly, Violet Dancer, Violet Dancer damselfly | 10 Comments »
September 13, 2016 by Mike Powell
Most of the Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum ambiguum) yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park were perched alone in the bright sunlight, but some of them managed to find mates and were “getting busy.” No matter how many times I have seen this behavior, I continue to be amazed by the unusual and acrobatic method that dragonflies use when mating.
I usually start to see the brightly-colored Blue-faced Meadowhawks in early September, at a time when the overall number of dragonflies is declining and they are one of the signs for me of the end of the summer. This species seems to be generally tolerant of my presence, although some individuals are quite skittish, and I have managed to get some close-up shots of them in the past.
Don’t be surprised to see more photos of the Blue-faced Meadowhawks in upcoming weeks—they are one of my favorite species of dragonflies.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Blue-faced Meadowhawk, Blue-faced Meadowhawk dragonfly, Canon 50D, dragonflies mating, Huntley Meadows Park, Sympetrum ambiguum, Tamron 180mm | 6 Comments »
September 12, 2016 by Mike Powell
It doesn’t really matter where I am—if I see a butterfly, I am almost certainly going to chase after it with the hope of capturing an image. That was certainly the case last week in Brussels when I spotted this tiny butterfly and managed to take this shot of it.
As some of you may recall, I am now using a superzoom Canon SX50 when I am travelling. I haven’t used it very often, so I am still learning its capabilities and limitations. I am pretty happy with the way the camera was able to capture some of the small details of this butterfly, including its extended proboscis, and the way that it rendered the out of focus flowers in the background. I am not ready to give up my DSLR, but I will certain consider taking the SX50 with me on those occasions when I just don’t feel like hauling my DSLR and multiple lenses.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Travel | Tagged botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, butterfly, Canon SX50 | 6 Comments »
September 11, 2016 by Mike Powell
The sun was shining so brightly in Brussels one day last week that even the ducks looked to be wearing sunglasses. Although I can clearly see the eye in the white patch of feathers, my mind keeps getting tricked into thinking the eye must be hidden behind the dark lenses of the “sunglasses.”
I spotted these ducks in the same little pond adjacent to the botanical garden of Brussels where I saw the dragonflies that I wrote about in an earlier posting. These ducks sort of look like mallards, but the colors are really different, especially those of the black and white duck. Perhaps these are hybrids or domesticated ducks.
I’d welcome comments and thoughts about the identification of these ducks that were a welcome sight for me as I explored Brussels. I realize that I really miss nature and wildlife when I am in an urban setting.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel | Tagged botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, ducks, mallard ducks | 2 Comments »
September 10, 2016 by Mike Powell
When I am traveling, all of the new species that I encounter seem rare and exotic, even if they are common in the local area. That may well be the case with these Eurasian Common Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) that I encountered in Brussels this week. I love the way the bright colors of the adult’s bill are enhanced by the contrast with its rather drab plumage.
When I saw some younger birds pecking about, it didn’t immediately strike me that they might also be moorhens. When I studies my photos, however, I could see the start of the bright coloration on the bills and a similar bill shape, so I think this final photo is of an immature common moorhen.
I took these photos with my superzoom Canon SX50 at a small pond adjacent to the botanical garden of Brussels, not far from Place Rogier in the center of the city.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel | Tagged botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Eurasian Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, moorhen | Leave a Comment »
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