Amberwing

[Don Lacy]

I found this male Amberwing in the morning at the entrance to Shark Valley in the Everglades. These are very small dragonflies around an inch in length with the females having amber colored wings giving them their names. I have been trying for two years to get a nice image of a female but all i have been able to get so far are a few record shots:(

40D, 300 f/4 + 1.4TC + 25mm Ext tube, 1/60 at f/10, Manual Mode, Evaluative Metered, ISO 400, Raw, Tripod, Small Crop and cloned out some highlights.

[Julie Kenward]

Gosh darn you guys are making me want to go photograph DF's! Don, this is stunning. I'm sorry it's "only" a male - but wow, what a male it is. Lovely lighting and super sharp details from head to toe. It's a stunning image.

[Bob Reimer]

What makes you think this is a male? From this angle, I would expect to see the secondary genitalia on the second abdominal segment and I think I see a vulvar scale on segment 8. From the field guides I have that include Eastern Amberwing, it looks more like a female, but has more extensive shading in the wing tips than shown in those photos. (Dragonflies through Binoculars; Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West; Dragonflies and Damselflies of North East Ohio; Odonata of Canada & Alaska Vol. 3). If you had another angle a bit more parallel to the body and slightly lower, we could probably be absolutely sure.

Certainly a lovely shot!

[Ramesh Adkoli]

Fantastic Image, Don. Those warm colors on the insect and the BG is very appealing. TFS.

[Adrian David]

Wonderful DF! I love the BG color and smoothness.

[Ed Vatza]

Dang! I was seeing d-flies all morning along the local canal but they never sat still long enough for a photo. :(

This is absolutely beautiful. Stunning detail and perfect background. Another winner!!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Don,
You're crushing them! Very well done again and sweet BG!

[Bruce Murden]

Lovely image -- you'll get your female someday! I really like the angles of DF and leaf here. Plus, we get a little DF anatomy discussion going, too. A chance for us landscape and flower lovers to learn something new. Thanks!