Bald Eagle at Toledo Zoo
Yellow-Legged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)
Revisiting the Mugrage Park of Medina County Park System, we spent a pleasant Labor Day afternoon photographing dragonflies. She Who Must Be Obeyed wanted her own chance at shooting a Calico Pennant and I was only too happy to return to the pond. Today I also bagged a beautiful Yellow-Legged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) — predominantly red, despite the name! This little beauty, however, posed for a few shots. I also got some very nice shots of a cooperative Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) — a good-sized, bluish beauty with gorgeous wing markings. Among the challenges was a refreshing breeze: nice for a hot afternoon but causing dragonfly perches to sway! There were plenty to choose from and a few very impressive specimens got away! That includes a beautiful, impressively-large, Common Green Darner … always on the move, always a bit too far away. But that’s the way it goes when you’re shooting dragons!
Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)
Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa)
Checking out one of Medina County’s newest public spaces, Carolyn Ludwig Mugrage Park, this afternoon, we came across this beauty. The Calico Pennant (Celithemis elisa) is a small but very beautiful dragonfly. This male was very cooperative, posing for me several times. Eventually, however, he latched on to a mate and we watched their tandem flight and water-dipping dives; the pair was tapping the surface of their pond, depositing eggs! Happily for them, they escaped a large fish that was about to lunge for lunch.
Ah-ha! A Great Blue Heron peers from behind a fallen tree.
Today we revisited a couple of places favored by birders: Sheldon Marsh Nature Preserve, and Old Woman Creek Nature Preserve, both near Huron, Ohio. Sheldon Marsh was quiet, with Northern Cardinals peeping about, and a Great Blue Heron, nearly invisible as it stalked through tall reeds. The place was lovely to visit and gave us pleasant, green, shady wooded walking, but a bit too quiet. Later, we visited Old Woman Creek and a wonderful vantage point over a wide, open wetland. After some patient waiting, Great Blue Herons and a Great Egret provided some photo ops. Of course there are always the “ones that got away.” Still, I got a couple of “keepers.”
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website, “Old Woman Creek is one of the state’s few remaining examples of a natural estuary. As a transition zone between land and water, the site contains a variety of habitats including marshes and swamps, upland forests, open water, tributary streams, barrier beach and near shore Lake Erie. The Reserve supports a diverse assemblage of native plants and animals representative of freshwater estuaries. Old Woman Creek Reserve is managed as a cooperative partnership between NOAA and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife. Old Woman Creek is also an Ohio State Nature Preserve.”
Too quick for me was a Kingfisher’s dive into the open water to emerge and shoot into flight with a good sized fish in its beak. I got a couple of shots of the little guy speeding off with his lunch but nothing good enough to show here. The heron shown above also managed to make good its escape without my properly documenting it. Dang! Must… go… back! Will do so in another month or so.
A Great Egret seeking Better Fishing.
Green Wood
A visit to the Summit Metro Parks’ Nature Realm helped lift me from my dark mood today; sometimes getting out into a serene natural area can help. Rains last night had wet the woodlands of the park area, subdued light, and absence of park visitors — along the earthen trail — made for a soothing environment. Birds sang their songs in the canopy of trees whilst, in the understory, chipmunks and squirrels scurried about. The warm damp provided perfect conditions for varieties of fungi to grow on fallen tree trunks. The peace and beauty of the place crept inside, imparting some relief from the disappointments humanity has dished out over the past few days in national and world news.
In the dark woods I tried some experiments employing my camera’s high ISO capability. My image of a Harvestman (“Daddy Longlegs”) on a shelf fungus was shot, handheld, at ISO 8,000 at 1/125 second! Viewed at 100 percent, grain is easily visible in the photo but smooth and subtle enough to make for a good photo at smaller sizes. The “Green Wood” picture took advantage of pond water that was already a seemingly unnatural green reflecting the green of shore plants around a submerged chunk of wood — a picture I’m very happy with. That was at a more conservative ISO of 250.
Harvestman’s Shelf
Water Wheel
Water Wheel: It wasn’t supposed to be there — that discarded and rusty piece-of-junk automobile wheel — in the middle of a shallow, quiet-running stream. Still, there the thing was, and it turned out to be beautiful from a pictorial viewpoint, at least. In fact, the “water wheel” was my shot of the day! Prints of this image are available at: http://www.guilfordphoto.com
Male Slaty Skimmer
I do love photographing dragonflies. Because they are relatively small, live by the water, and are very quick fliers, dragonfly photography can be frustrating. This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be exploring a hotbed of dragonfly activity and, for the first time, got some images of a beautiful indigo-colored flier: a male Slaty Skimmer. In flight, the Slaty is so dark it appears black. When resting on a plant stem or flower head, the male’s deep blue body shows its true color. Clear wings make the Slaty, and some other dragonflies, hard to photograph unless against a featureless background such as the pond in this photo. I plan to get out a few more times, specifically for “dragon hunting” this season and maybe even shoot some video.
Eastern Amberwing
While it’s often possible to shoot closeup photos of insects such as dragonflies, it’s not always necessary or even the best approach. I spent an enjoyable time this afternoon along the edge of a pond seeking one of my favorite subjects: dragonflies! I had some very good luck and even got some very nice shots of a Slaty Skimmer — a big, indigo blue dragon I don’t believe I’ve captured before. As I walked along beside the pond I looked out across the quiet waters and saw a tiny Eastern Amberwing perched on the top of a sunken tree trunk protruding from the surface. The weathered wood was dark and in silhouette, its form reflected on the water, but the little dragonfly glowed in sunlight. I shot image after image ’til finally the Amberwing flitted away. It wasn’t one of those highly-detailed, super-macro insect photos we often wonder at; I think I actually like it better. ‘Turns out, it was my favorite picture of the day! A closeup isn’t everything!
Arches
I was reviewing my recent efforts at photographing my favorite insects, dragonflies, and was growing discouraged. Recently it just seemed I couldn’t catch a break. Maybe my missing “luck” was due to a want of recent experience. Last year wasn’t a particularly good one for dragons though this year looks to be very good. Whatever the reason, I was deleting way more images than what I considered worth keeping. Until I came across this one. It was shot late last month in Lorain County on the edge of a pond abuzz with dragonflies. It all came together: a gorgeous dragon, perched atop arches of green leaves, against a nearly black background. I’m feeling much better now.
Stars and Gulls on the Water
Down at the Lake Erie shore the sun shown brilliantly over calm waters, the sky was clear and blue, and gulls gathered on the breakwall. Moving a bit too close for their comfort, I scared up half of the gathered flock. The birds took flight to the west but soon circled around to the east, then south, and into my shot of the morning sun and diamond waves. At first I was a little annoyed at the presence of so many little black dots. Quickly, however, I realized the beauty of the flock against the sky.
PhotonStopper 