Libellula vibrans | Mike Powell

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Dragonfly perching positions

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, dragonflies perching, Dythemis velox, Fort Belvoir VA, Great Blue Skimmer, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Libellula incesta, Libellula vibrans, Slaty Skimmer, Swift Setwing, Tamron 18-400mm on September 25, 2022| 8 Comments »

As I was looking over my photos from my visit last Wednesday to Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, I was struck by the variety of perching styles of the dragonflies that I had photographed. The dragonfly on the left in the first photo, a Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta), was using the style that I see most often—he was perched horizontally with his wings extended outwards. The dragonfly on the right, a male Swift Setwing (Dythemis velox) had his abdomen raised to about a 45 degree angle and had pulled his wings forward.

In the second image, the dragonfly was perched at a slight angle as it held onto the vegetation. The coloration of this dragonfly is so faded that it is hard for me to identify its species, though I think it might be an old Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans).

In the final photo, the dragonfly is in an almost vertical position as it clings to the stalk of the vegetation. The shadows make it tough to identify this dragonfly, but I am not worried about that—I like the “artsy” feel of the photo.

This little posting barely scratches the surface of the topic of dragonfly perching behavior, but I hope it raises your awareness of the diversity in the world of dragonflies, not just in their appearances, but also in their behavior.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Faded beauty?

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on September 9, 2022| 5 Comments »

It is almost autumn, late in the season for most dragonflies. For many of them, their bright colors have faded and their wings are growing increasingly tattered. Yet somehow their beauty still shines through in their mature days.

With dragonflies, as with people, I am often drawn to their eyes, the so-called “window to the soul.” Dragonflies have such striking eyes and I invariably feel myself being pulled in as I gaze into them.

This past Monday I photographed several female Great Blue Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula vibrans) as I wandered the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In both of the photos below, the beauty of the dragonfly’s eyes really shows through. I encourage you to click on the images and you too can marvel at the wonderful colors and patterns of those eyes.

Our society tend to focus on youthful external beauty, which will inevitably fade. True beauty, I would argue, is not dependent on age—it depends more on the perspective of the beholder. If you look for beauty, you will find it for it is present all around us—beauty is everywhere.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Perching dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, wildlife, tagged Blue Dasher, Canon 7D, Great Blue Skimmer, Libellula needhami, Libellula vibrans, Needham's Skimmer, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on July 17, 2022| 13 Comments »

Dragonflies perch in many different ways and in many different places. Here are some simple shots of three dragonflies that I encountered last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

The first one is a Needham’s Skimmer (Libellula needhami) and I love the way that its coloration contrasts so well with the sea of green vegetation in which it is perched. The dragonfly in the second photo, my personal favorite of the three images, is a Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis). When it’s hot outside, some dragonflies, like this one, like to assume a handstand-like pose, often called the “obelisk” position, to reduce their exposure to the direct sunlight. The final photo shows a Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) perched on the tip of a leaf.

Each of these shots represents my efforts to isolate a dragonfly a bit from its surroundings and to highlight its beauty and its behavior. None of theme is spectacular or award-worthy, but they are pleasing little portraits of some of my summer companions.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Skimmer dragonflies

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on June 28, 2022| 12 Comments »

The calendar and the temperatures both tell me that we have entered into the long, hot, lazy days of summer. Here in the Washington D.C. area, where I live, that often means a lot of humidity too. Some days it can be a bit of a challenge to motivate myself to go out into the wild with my camera.

However, many dragonflies seem to love this kind of weather and the fields and ponds are abuzz with dragonfly activity. One of our common species is the Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans). This past week I noticed a sharp increase in their numbers as I wandered the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Blue Skimmers have stunning blue eyes and white faces, which help to distinguish them from similar species. The Great Blue Skimmer in the first photo, which looks to be a young male, was cooperative and let me get quite close to him to get this close-up view of his head. Dragonflies of this species seem to have a pronounced overbite, which gives them a goofy grin that I find endearing.

I think that the dragonfly in the second shot is a female Great Blue Skimmer. Several dragonfly species share the same black and yellow coloration and pattern for juveniles and for females, so it can often be a real challenge to make a definitive identification. Fortunately, the differences among the species become more pronounced as the dragonflies mature.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Stragglers and survivors

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue Dashher, Canon 50D, Eastern Pondhawk, Erythemis simplicicollis, Great Blue Skimmer, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 5, 2021| 7 Comments »

I am still on the lookout for summer dragonfly stragglers and survivors. There are certain dragonfly species that I expect to see during the autumn, but there are also a few particularly hard individuals from the summer species that are managing to hang on. Over the past week and a half I have spotted one Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans), one Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), and one Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis), as shown in the photos below.

It is interesting to note that all three of these dragonflies appear to be females. I wonder if female dragonflies tend to outlive their male counterparts, as is the case with humans.

I went looking for dragonflies today, after several frosty nights, and did not see a single dragonfly. The daytime temperature was only about 52 degrees (11 degrees C), which is a bit cold for dragonfly activity. Temperatures are forecast to rise to 68 degrees (20 degrees C) early next week and I anticipate that I will see a few dragonflies then.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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To everything there is a season

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Ecclesiastes 3, female Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on October 11, 2021| 42 Comments »

Most people are familiar with the words, “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Perhaps they have heard them read in a church, where they would be identified as coming from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. For folks of my generation, it is ever more likely that they would be associated with the words of a song by Pete Seeger made popular by the Byrds in the 1960’s.

Recently I have been really conscious of the changing seasons, of the never ending cycle of life and death. I have seen this phenomenon in nature and I have been very sensitive to it in other parts of my life.

Some of you may have noticed that I have not made a blog posting in several days, after more than a year of posting every day. I have spent the last few days in Massachusetts with my family celebrating the life and mourning the death of one of my younger brothers who died a week ago of lung cancer.

So often we think of growing older with grace and beauty, like the female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) pictured below, thinking that we can somehow live forever. In fact, our days are numbered—life is so precious and yet so fragile. Celebrate life and love freely.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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You looking at me?

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on August 23, 2021| 8 Comments »

As I focused on this male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans), he wearily looked up at me. His wings were tattered and his body was scratched—it had already been a long summer for him.

I was fascinated by the shape and texture of the branch on which he was perched and positioned myself to capture those details. I made sure that the nearest eye was in focus, but did not worry that most of the body was blurry and that the angle made the wings almost disappear.

The resulting photo reminded my of the diagrams in my childhood geometry textbook depicting various angles—a cute dragonfly in an acute angle.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Summer love

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dragonflies mating, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, mating Great Blue Skimmers, Tamron 180mm on August 21, 2021| 15 Comments »

As we move deeper into summer, the days of the dragonflies are gradually coming to an end. Their biological clocks are ticking as they feel compelled to make efforts to ensure the perpetuation of their species.

On Thursday I made a trip to Huntley Meadows Park, a local marshland park, and spotted this pair of mating Great Blue Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula vibrans). I could not help but notice that the wings of the dragonflies were looking tattered, especially those of the female, the dragonfly that is light brown in color. I can also see scratches along the the body of the male.

I also noticed that the female appears to be holding onto some kind of insect in her front legs. Was she planning for a snack during mating? Is the insect the dragonfly equivalent of a post-coital cigarette? I know a lot about dragonflies, but some things are meant perhaps to always remain a mystery.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Looking down, looking up

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Libellula luctuosa, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Widow Skimmer, Widow Skimmer dragonfly, Woodbridge VA on August 6, 2021| 6 Comments »

How do I find all of the different dragonflies that I feature on my blogs? I like to visit a variety of habitats starting early in the spring and going later into the autumn. When I am out in the wild with my camera, I try to move relatively slowly as my eyes scan the ground, the vegetation, and the air for indications of dragonflies. Most of the time I need movement for me to detect a dragonfly and track a dragonfly, but sometimes I am able to spot a perched dragonfly.

During a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I photographed two dragonflies that help to illustrate the importance of looking up as well as down when hunting for dragonflies. The male Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) in the first photo was perched low in some vegetation at the edge of a small pond. I watched the dragonfly fly to that perch, but my view was blocked by vegetation until I found a small visual tunnel that gave me a relatively clear view as I pointed my camera down at the dragonfly.

The male Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) in the second photo, on the other hand, was perched high in the air in a field. Visually I had no trouble getting this shot as I pointed my camera toward the sky, but the ground was uneven and mucky and thorns were pricking my ankles as I composed the shot.

Down? Up? Straight ahead? My eyes are constantly moving when I am in target acquisition mode—that is one of the “secrets” of my dragonfly photography.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Curlicue branch

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on July 25, 2021| 13 Comments »

The dragonfly was high in the tree and almost completely silhouetted when I spotted it on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Conditions did not seem optimal for capturing an image, but as I looked through the viewfinder of my camera, my eyes were attracted to the curlicue shape of the branch on which the dragonfly was perched. The branch, I realized, was actually the main subject of the image that I wanted to create.

I was far enough away that I could move about freely without fear of spooking the dragonfly, so I tried a number of different angles of view and shooting positions. As I later looked through the images on my computer, the placement of the sky and the clouds in the frame made me decide to feature this particular shot.

As for the dragonfly, I believe that it is a female Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans). Despite the shadowy silhouette created by shooting into the sun, there are just enough details for me for me to identify the dragonfly with a reasonable degree of certainty, though, as I noted earlier, my primary goal was to draw the viewer’s attention to the spiral shape of the curlicue branch.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Skimmer in July

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

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

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

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

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Smiling at me

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on June 26, 2020| 16 Comments »

Can dragonflies smile? It sure looked like this male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) was flashing me a toothy grin when I spotted him last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Perhaps it was just my imagination, running away with me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Smiling at me

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, female Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on September 29, 2019| 3 Comments »

This female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) seemed to be grinning at me one morning this past week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Smiling is contagious, I have found.

I hope that your Sunday brings an equivalent smile to your face.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Great Blue Skimmer

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Libellula vibrans, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 180mm on August 29, 2019| 4 Comments »

Great Blue Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula vibrans) are really common, but I enjoy photographing them anyways, like this grizzled male that I spotted earlier this week at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. The curling vines of the plant on which this dragonfly chose to perch add some additional visual interest to these photos.

I must confess that ordinary blue dragonflies have a special place in my heart, because my very first blog posting on July 7, 2012 featured a photo of a Blue Dasher, another common species. My photography skills and my knowledge about dragonflies have increased significantly since that time, though I am still quite proud of that initial photo that started me on this long journey into photography.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dragonfly refugee

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, refugee, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on August 14, 2019| 6 Comments »

This tattered male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) seemed to be auditioning for a role as a replacement for the goose on this sign on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Or perhaps he was merely seeking a place of refuge—all dragonflies are welcome here.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bright-eyed dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on September 3, 2018| 12 Comments »

It almost looks like this Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) was wearing cool wraparound sunglasses this past weekend when I spotted him chilling out at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. From a distance, it looks like dragonflies have smooth bodies, but when you get a good look up close, you discover that they have tiny hairs covering various parts of their bodies.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Amazing dragonfly eyes

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, compound eyes, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, ommatidia, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on August 25, 2018| 14 Comments »

Dragonflies have amazing compound eyes that wrap around their heads. With up to 30,000 facets (ommatidia, to be technical), dragonflies have incredible vision and can even see colors beyond human visual capabilities, like UV light. For an easy to read discussion about dragonfly eyes, i.e. not overly scientific, check out this posting by “grrl Scientist” that was posted on scienceblogs.com.

I captured this close-up image of a Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. At least once a season, I manage to get a shot like this when a cooperative dragonfly lets me get close. I captured the image below with my trusty Tamron 180mm macro lens on my Canon 50D DSLR. This lens, which has a longer focal length than most macro lenses, gives me some stand-off distance so I can get a macro shot like this without actually being on top of the subject. The only downside to the lens is that it has no built-in image stabilization, so I have to pay extra attention to remaining steady when shooting with it—I generally use a monopod to help reduce camera shake and I think it helped for this image.

The image is framed just as I saw it in my viewfinder. Most of the time I end up cropping my images as part of my normal post-processing, but in this case it looked pretty good without any cropping whatsoever.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Immature Great Blue Skimmer?

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula incesta, Libellula vibrans, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Slaty Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 180mm, Woodbridge VA on July 19, 2018| 2 Comments »

When they are immature, the males and females of many dragonfly species are very similar in coloration. To make matters worse, immature dragonflies of several different species are also similar in appearance, with only subtle differences to distinguish one species from another, like the color of the upper portions of their legs.

As a result, I am not really sure of my identification of this particular dragonfly. I lean towards it being an immature male Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans), but it might instead be a Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta). (The adults of these two species, by contrast, are very different in appearance and would never be mistaken for each other.)

Whatever the case, I love the two-toned eyes and overall body position of this beautiful dragonfly. It might be my imagination, but it seemed to me that the dragonfly had tilted its head a bit to check me out.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Summer wear

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 on August 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

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

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Great Blue Skimmers (male)

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 180mm macro on June 2, 2017| 9 Comments »

Most folks can readily identify a Great Blue Heron, but would you recognize a Great Blue Skimmer if you encountered one? This dragonfly’s wing pattern is fairly distinctive, but I usually look for its beautiful blue eyes and bright white face. I spotted these male Great Blue Skimmers (Libellula vibrans) on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Great Blue Skimmer in mid-August

Posted in Dragonflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 150-600mm on August 21, 2016| 2 Comments »

Many of the dragonflies that I see this late in the summer have wings that are torn and tattered, yet they seem to still fly perfectly well. The dragonflies clearly are survivors—survivors of encounters with predators and thorny vegetation or even of overly energetic mating sessions.

Last Friday I spotted this Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) as it perched on some bent stalks of grass. He is not a perfect specimen, but I can’t help but be drawn in by his beautiful speckled blue eyes.

Yes, he still deserves to be called “great.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Female Great Blue Skimmer

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, female Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 180mm on June 13, 2016| 6 Comments »

Females are a real mystery to me, especially when it comes to dragonflies. At this time of the year I see a lot of different dragonflies and I have featured a number of the colorful males over the past few weeks. They are relatively easy to identify when they are mature—immature males, however, often have the same coloration as females.

The challenge with females, particularly a number of the members of the Skimmer family, is that they all look pretty much the same. This past Friday I photographed this beautiful female dragonfly and I love the two-toned coloration of her eyes. After consulting with my local dragonfly expert Walter Sanford, I have concluded that she is probably a Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans), though she doesn’t have a spot of blue on her

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Skimmer in early June

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 180mm on June 10, 2016| 3 Comments »

I love the speckled blue eyes of the male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans), like this spectacular specimen I spotted Monday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tattered survivor

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Summer, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on September 20, 2015| 19 Comments »

How was your summer? Did you take a vacation and relax or at least take some time off from work?

There are no vacations for dragonflies. It looks like this has been a long, hard summer for the male Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans) that I spotted earlier this month, judging from the almost shredded condition of his wings. Yet somehow, he is still able to fly and continues to survive

Autumn is almost upon us and the number of dragonflies that I observe is dropping. Before long, only a few hardy species will remain. For now, I take joy in seeing the tattered survivors, whose beauty is undiminished in my eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tattered dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, female Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 9, 2014| 9 Comments »

One of the dangers of shooting with a macro lens is that I am often so focused on shooting close-up that I forget to step back and look at the bigger picture.

A couple of days ago, I posted a photo of a dragonfly basking in the sun and felt pretty content that I had been able to capture a detailed shot of its eyes and face. I had instantly gravitated to several close-up images to the point that I temporarily forgot that my initial shots had been from a greater distance. As a result, I made my preliminary identification on the basis of the facial shot alone.

After I posted the image on Facebook, one of my fellow photographers, Walter Sanford, who is much more of an expert on dragonflies than I am, asked me if I had any shots of the dragonfly’s entire body, probably with a desire to check my identification. When I reviewed my more distant shots of the dragonfly, I was immediately struck by how tattered the wings were of this female Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans). Sure, I’ve seen lots of dragonflies with minor damage to the wings, but these are seriously tattered.

When I posted these follow-up images on Facebook, Walter replied, “Definitely an old female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, as indicated by its tattered wings, coloration, and flanges beneath the eighth abdominal segment. The flanges are used to scoop and hold a few drops of water when laying eggs (oviposition), hence the family name “skimmer.” ”

Be sure to check out Walter’s blog for his wonderful shots of dragonflies and his more scientific descriptions of his subjects. My background was more in the liberal arts area rather than in science, and my writing in my blog tends to be a reflection of that background.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Basking dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Alexandria VA, basking dragonfly, Canon 50D, dragonfly, female Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 7, 2014| 8 Comments »

I was suffering in the heat and humidity on Friday, but this dragonfly, which I think is a female Great Blue Skimmer (Libellula vibrans), seemed to enjoy basking in the sunlight and let me get really close for this shot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fly united

Posted in Dragonflies, Humor, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Summer, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, fly united, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, mating dragonflies on July 30, 2014| 13 Comments »

Am I the only one who remembers a poster from the 1970’s featuring the slogan “Fly United” and depicting two ducks mating in mid-air?

That’s what immediately came to mind earlier this week when a pair of Great Blue Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula vibrans) flew by me at my local marsh. Anyone who has ever watched dragonflies mate knows that it is an acrobatic endeavor, requiring tremendous flexibility by both parties. Imagine trying to fly while still in the “wheel” position. Amazingly all of the wings seemed to able to move freely, though I didn’t notice if they were both using their wings for propulsion.

I was able to snap off these shots as the pair flew toward me over the water of a pond, which reflected wonderfully the blue sky and the clouds up above us.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Hovering Skimmer

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, female Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, hovering, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, ovipositing, Tamron 180mm macro lens on June 29, 2014| 21 Comments »

It’s tough to photograph a dragonfly in flight, but when it chooses to hover, there is a slightly better chance of getting a shot. That was the case recently when I encountered this female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) that was in the process of depositing her eggs in the water. As her mate circled overhead, the female dragonfly would hover over the water and then periodically dip the tip of her tail in the water before returning to the hovering position. I was able to get several images of the hovering dragonfly, but got only a single image of her depositing the eggs.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue Skimmer in flight

Posted in Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, dragonfly, dragonfly in flight, Great Blue Skimmer, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Libellula vibrans, Tamron 180mm macro lens on September 17, 2013| 16 Comments »

As summer fades, I have been seeing fewer and fewer dragonflies, so I decided to attempt some in-flight shots and managed to capture these images of a female Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans).

Photographing dragonflies in flight is one of my toughest photographic challenges, but I have learned a few tricks about capturing these kinds of shots. One way is to find a favorite perch of a dragonfly and try to photograph the dragonfly arriving and departing from that perch, given that dragonflies often return to the same perches. That was not the approach that I used this time.

The approach I used is to capture the dragonfly while it is hovering and is therefore in the same spot for a few seconds. I watched as two blue skimmers mated quickly and I knew that I had a target of opportunity, because the female would soon deposit the eggs in the water. She hovered in the air and then dipped her tail end down to the water to deposit some eggs and returned to the hover position and repeated the process. It was during this process that I got these shots.

I am always struck by the beautiful blue eyes of the Great Blue Skimmer, particularly in the female. The male is all blue, so his eyes don’t provide the same visual contrast as the drabber colored body of the female.

The dwindling dragonfly population is yet another sign of the changing of the seasons—it won’t be long before I begin to focus my camera lens more frequently on birds than on insects, but I am not giving up on my insects quite yet.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Skimmer

Posted in Art, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dragonfly, Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Libellula vibrans, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on September 8, 2013| 7 Comments »

Do you ever take shots and find that you like the way that the background turned out even more than the way the subject looked? That was the case with this image of a male Great Blue Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula vibrans) that I photographed this past weekend.

The lighting was a bit harsh and the pose is pretty ordinary, but I love the two-tone background, caused in part by the use of my 135-400mm telephoto zoom at its full extension.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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