photoartflightCommon Whitetail Male Dragonfly At Davidsons Mill Pond Park
It finally started to get back to normal here after the storm went though. Power in the area seems back to normal, traffic lights are working so we could finally drive to a local park to see what we could find to photograph. I was mostly looking for dragonflies or butterflies. I was surprised that there were only a few people in this usually busy park.
As I was walking to the first pond I found this Common Whitetail Dragonfly on a fallen tree limb. It was warming in the sun and allowed me to get very close without flying off. I started from a distance and then worked getting gradually closer, taking a series of images along the way.
photoartflight 
A very smart species, nice shots Reed.
Thanks! It was fun to get out to a park and see what we could find to photograph!
Very nice series, a real photo model that fits nicely against a perfect background.
Thanks Hans! It was a very cooperative dragonfly subject! It did not fly off as I got closer!
Nice shots, Reed. I know that I always have to be really careful when photographing a male Common Whitetail or I risk blowing out the highlights on his bright white body.
Thanks Mike! I agree their light body can “blowout” if not careful. I usually just do a -1/3rd or -2/3rds exposure compensation automatically when photographing them. So even if I am still a little too bright an exposure on the body, in Camera Raw I can recover or darken the body. Also in Camera Raw I adjust the exposure for the dark markings on the wings and head. Thanks again!
Very nice, Reed!
Thanks Belinda! Dragonflies are some of my favorite photo subjects! Plus they fit in with my blog theme “PhotoArtFlight” since the have wings!😊