A Change of Pace

After sleeping the day away while under the weather, I needed a bit of sunlight and fresh air. I didn't go far, just up the road, and came upon this male Blue Dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis, a skimmer of the Libellulidae family. Such marvelous complexity and beauty in a little package.

More Dragonflies

Here are a few more dragonflies and lastly also a damselfly. Damsels like to sit with their wings held close to their bodies.

I'm using a new macro flash unit that seems to be allowing better detail. I've had it on the camera for only a few hours but I'm really liking it. I may have something of a review in the future.

Dragonfly

I've been collecting dragonfly photos for a couple of weeks and I wrapped up a series today when a pack followed me up the road. As I walked along, they seemed to be staying right with me, stopping to pose, and then coming along as I moved away. Yes, they really seemed friendly! :-)

Wikipedia has a wonderful article on these amazing creatures, quoted in part here:

"Female dragonfly lay eggs in or near water, often on floating or emergent plants. When laying eggs, some species will submerge themselves completely in order to lay their eggs on a good surface. The eggs then hatch into nymphs. Most of a dragonfly's life is spent in the naiad (that is, nymph) form, beneath the water's surface, using extendable jaws to catch other invertebrates or even vertebrates such as tadpoles, fish, etc. They breathe through gills in their rectum, and can rapidly propel themselves by suddenly expelling water through the anus.^[1] Some nymphs even hunt on land,^[2] an aptitude which could easily have been more common in ancient times when terrestrial predators were clumsier.

The larval stage of large dragonflies may last as long as five years. In smaller species, this stage may last between two months and three years. When the larva is ready to metamorphose into an adult, it climbs up a reed or other emergent plant. Exposure to air causes the larvae to begin breathing. The skin splits at a weak spot behind the head and the adult dragonfly crawls out of its old larval skin, pumps up its wings, and flies off to feed on midges and flies. The adult stage of larger species of dragonfly can last as long as five or six months."

"Dragonfly." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Aug 2009, 02:02 UTC. 4 Aug 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dragonfly&oldid=305932692>.

Another Wandering

It felt so good to finally make it out about the lake. I didn't go far but did pull in some work for this week's posts. There are a couple of plants that I've wanted to present with more photographic detail and I'm content with what I've picked up on that today.

Tomorrow it's time to try out the monopod with the telephoto beast. Expectations are running high that detail will improve...

So here's a real mix for today! We'll recognize a couple of species from this past week's posts.

White Campion starts us off, followed by what is probably a hybrid of White Campion with Red Campion (Silene dioica). Then it's a group shot of Yarrow. On a Royal Fern, a nice little dragonfly who seemed rather sluggish gave up an easy shot. The bees all over a hill of daisies paid me no mind at all. And lastly, this blackbird who was making sport of me--giving me all kinds of teasers but never the winning shot.

Weekend Wandering

I always have lots of pictures stashed for upcoming posts, leading to group processing, research, and scheduled posting. It's a workflow that works well for me. Only thing is that between inclement weather and life's speed bumps, my workflow has come unhinged. The good news is that the weather was great on Sunday and life in general is so much better.

While I fill the pipeline and get back on track, I'll take you along on Sunday's adventure around the lake. No species will be identified; this is simply a fun outing. :-)












I hope you enjoyed the trip! :-)

By the way, I captured a couple of terribly exciting avian species. I mean, really cool.

One species, I have been hunting for weeks. By using new stalking techniques, a fractal capture took place. (Ya, that wasn't much of a hint...)

The other species, I had never seen and it wasn't even close to being on my radar. It's a good thing that as a little boy I had a bird coloring book. I knew what I was seeing based on that book!