Oregon Dragonflies - Digital Odonata Photo Gallery, by Phil Huntley-Franck, at where art meets the heart

To view an enlargement of a Draqonfly image (below), click on the image you want enlarged.

PHOTOGRAPHIC LOCATION:
All odonata images, except "Aeshna Interrupta - Variable Darner", were taken in Northern Douglas County, around Elkton, Oregon. The "Aeshna Interrupta - Variable Darner" image was taken in my mother-in-law's yard in Coos County, Sumner, Oregon.

AND DATES:
The date each photograph was taken appears under each thumbnail.

07/31/07 - Dragonfly Update:
This has been a pretty good year for taking pictures of Dragonflies. Whereas last year I only managed to capture a few different kinds, this year I managed to capture 16, and in most cases, I managed images of both sexes. Many of the Dragonflies are beautifully colored and marked, but even the less colorful varieties are magnificent in their own right. And by the way, you don't necessarily need to be around a body of water to have Dragonflies visit you. We have no bodies of water on our property. There is a seasonal creek that runs through our neighbor's property (about 150 - 200 yards away), but from June until the rains return in October, the creek is dry.

Since Dragonflies appear to like perches to display on, and lurk from for passing bugs, I set up numerous dead branches in the sunny spots around the yard, especially around the wild blackberries - where they like to perch on last years dead runners; I assume that's because of all the bugs blackberries seem to attract. If you decide you want to take pictures of Dragonflies, the main thing to remember is that when you approach them, do so very slowly, and have the camera set as soon as you start your approach. As soon as I spot a Dragonfly, I turn on the camera and set it to full zoom - in the case of the Fuji S5200, that's 10X - and I turn on the Macro Mode. I then slowly maneuver to within 6 to 8 feet of the subject. After taking 1 or 2 images, I take another slow step forward and take another few images. I keep repeating the step-and-shoot process until I'm within the near range limit of the lens - by then, I can usually move fairly freely around the Dragonfly without spooking it, though I have noticed they watch me intently. I've also found that Dragonfly bodies are highly reflective. As a result, I often either increase my shutter speed or use a narrower aperture (sometimes both) to eliminate some of the brightness. Next year I'll be experimenting with filters, starting with polarizers and diopters. I'm now experimenting with flash, even in full sunlight; it seems to bring out the colors and feature definition better. And it may sound odd, but I've had the best luck approaching dragonflies when I'm wearing a white shirt (and with having silvery white hair and beard, I've wondered if I might just look to them like a harmless shiney white cloud, approaching).

For your viewing enjoyment and identification purposes, I've completely rewritten the Dragonfly pages, and where before I displayed only 10 images without names, I've now added over 100 images with both Latin and common names of each variety. As this years season progresses, more will be added on a regular basis.

Lastly, I'd like to give special thanks to Dr. Dennis Paulson, Director Emeritus of The Slater Museum of Natural History at the University of Puget Sound and Steve Valley of the Oregon Dragonfly And Damselfly Survey for their help in identifying the various dragonflies presented below.

Contained on this page are thumbnail links to the following Dragonflies:

Aeshna Interrupta - Variable Darner
Anax junius - Common Green Darner
Cordulegaster dorsalis - Pacific Spiketail
Erythemis Collocata - Western Pondhawk
Llibellula Forensis - Eight Spotted Skimmer
Libellula Luctuosa - Widow Skimmer
Libellula Pulchella - Twelve Spotted Skimmer
Libellula Saturata - Red Flame Skimmer
Ophiogomphus Occidentis - Sinuous Snaketail
Pachydiplax Longipennis - Blue Dasher
Plathemis Lydia - Common Whitetail
Sympetrum Corruptum - Variegated Meadowhawk
Sympetrum Illotum - Cardinal Meadowhawk
Sympetrum Madidum, Red-veined Meadowhawk
Sympetrum pallipes - Striped Meadowhawk
Tramea Lacerata - Black Saddlebags

Aeshna Interrupta
Variable Darner
*Spotted Female*

Anax junius
Common Green Darner
*Female*

Cordulegaster Dorsalis
Pacific Spiketail
*Female*

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
*Female*

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
*Young Female*

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
*Male*

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
*Young Male*
No longer completely immature, but not yet quite adult.

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
*Western Female*
Western has white markings on wings

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
*Eastern Female*
Eastern has no white markings on wings

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
*Western Male*
Western has more white on the wings and abdomine

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
*Eastern Male*
Eastern has less white on the wings and abdomine

Libellula Luctuosa
Widow Skimmer
*Female*

Libellula Luctuosa
Widow Skimmer
*Male*

Libellula Pulchella
Twelve Spotted Skimmer
*Female*

Libellula Saturata
Red Flame Skimmer
*Male*

Ophiogomphus Occidentis
Sinuous Snaketail
*Female*

I apologize for the cluttered background on the following Ophiogomphus Occidentis - Sinuous Snaketail images - the clutter makes the wings difficult to view. When I intentionally disturbed them, I couldn't coerce even one of these guys to land on anything but the ground - they'd fly 3 or 4 feet ahead and always return to the driveway stones.

Pachydiplax Longipennis
Blue Dasher
*Female*

Pachydiplax Longipennis
Blue Dasher
*Male*

Plathemis Lydia
Common Whitetail
*Female*

Plathemis Lydia
Common Whitetail
*Male*

Plathemis Lydia
Common Whitetail
*Immature Male*

Notice the wings are those of a male and the abdomine appears to be that of a female. The abdomine will whiten over time.

Sympetrum Corruptum
Variegated Meadowhawk
*Female*

Sympetrum Illotum
Cardinal Meadowhawk
*Male*

Sympetrum Madidum
Red-veined Meadowhawk
*Female*

Sympetrum Madidum
Red-veined Meadowhawk
*Male*

Sympetrum Pallipes
Striped Meadowhawk
*Male*
The Striped Meadowhawk is very similar in appearance to the Red-Veined Meadowhawk. The most easily recognizable difference is that the Striped Meadowhawk does not have red veins on the front part of each wing.

Tramea Lacerata
Black Saddlebags
*Male*

Please note that due to the nature of the beast, Where Art Meets the Heart will evolve over time. Check back periodically to see what's new.

From Here to There to Vi's Place

Where Art Meets the Heart

Dragonflies - Odonata - Odonate

Nature Photography, up close - By Phil

This site is image intensive. To best view it as designed, you should have a highspeed Internet connection, a Firefox browser and a 17 inch monitor. You should also have the font "Calligrapher" installed.

ODONATE: large predacious winged insects of the order Odonata, including dragonflies and damselflies which are characterized by long brightly colored bodies, two pairs of membranous wings, and large compound eyes.

Aeshna Interrupta
Variable Darner
Spotted Female

Anax junius
Common Green Darner
Female

Cordulegaster Dorsalis
Pacific Spiketail
Female

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
Female

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
Young Female

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
Male

Erythemis Collocata
Western Pondhawk
Young Male
No longer completely immature, but not yet quite adult.

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
Western Female
Western has white markings on wings

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
Eastern Female
Eastern has no white markings on wings

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
Western Male
Western has more white on the wings and abdomine

Libellula Forensis
Eight Spotted Skimmer
Eastern Male
Eastern has less white on the wings and abdomine

Libellula Luctuosa
Widow Skimmer
Female

Libellula Luctuosa
Widow Skimmer
Male

Libellula Pulchella
Twelve Spotted Skimmer
Female

Libellula Saturata
Red Flame Skimmer
Male

Ophiogomphus Occidentis
Sinuous Snaketail
Female

Pachydiplax Longipennis
Blue Dasher
Female

Pachydiplax Longipennis
Blue Dasher
Male

Plathemis Lydia
Common Whitetail
Female

Plathemis Lydia
Common Whitetail
Male

Plathemis Lydia
Common Whitetail
Immature Male

Sympetrum Corruptum
Variegated Meadowhawk
Female

Sympetrum Illotum
Cardinal Meadowhawk
Male

Sympetrum Madidum
Red-veined Meadowhawk
Female

Sympetrum Madidum
Red-veined Meadowhawk
Male

Sympetrum Pallipes
Striped Meadowhawk
Male
The Striped Meadowhawk is very similar in appearance to the Red-Veined Meadowhawk. The most easily recognizable difference is that the Striped Meadowhawk does not have red veins on the front part of each wing.

Tramea Lacerata
Black Saddlebags
Male

whereartmeetstheheart.com does not control content on external sites linked here. If a site has moved or been replaced with something distasteful, please let us know.

From Here to There to Vi's Place

Where Art Meets the Heart

Dragonflies - Odonata - Odonate

Nature Photography, up close - By Phil

This site is image intensive. To best view it as designed, you should have a highspeed Internet connection, a Firefox browser and a 17 inch monitor. You should also have the font "Calligrapher" installed.

ODONATE: large predacious winged insects of the order Odonata, including dragonflies and damselflies which are characterized by long brightly colored bodies, two pairs of membranous wings, and large compound eyes.

Aeshna InterruptaVariable Darner*Spotted Female*

Anax juniusCommon Green Darner*Female*

Cordulegaster DorsalisPacific Spiketail*Female*

Erythemis CollocataWestern Pondhawk*Female*

Erythemis CollocataWestern Pondhawk*Young Female*

Erythemis CollocataWestern Pondhawk*Male*

Erythemis CollocataWestern Pondhawk*Young Male*No longer completely immature, but not yet quite adult.

Libellula ForensisEight Spotted Skimmer*Western Female*Western has white markings on wings

Libellula ForensisEight Spotted Skimmer*Eastern Female*Eastern has no white markings on wings

Libellula ForensisEight Spotted Skimmer*Western Male*Western has more white on the wings and abdomine

Libellula ForensisEight Spotted Skimmer*Eastern Male*Eastern has less white on the wings and abdomine

Libellula LuctuosaWidow Skimmer*Female*

Libellula LuctuosaWidow Skimmer*Male*

Libellula PulchellaTwelve Spotted Skimmer*Female*

Libellula SaturataRed Flame Skimmer*Male*

Ophiogomphus OccidentisSinuous Snaketail*Female*

Pachydiplax LongipennisBlue Dasher*Female*

Pachydiplax LongipennisBlue Dasher*Male*

Plathemis LydiaCommon Whitetail*Female*

Plathemis LydiaCommon Whitetail*Male*

Plathemis LydiaCommon Whitetail*Immature Male*

Sympetrum CorruptumVariegated Meadowhawk*Female*

Sympetrum IllotumCardinal Meadowhawk*Male*

Sympetrum MadidumRed-veined Meadowhawk*Female*

Sympetrum MadidumRed-veined Meadowhawk*Male*

Sympetrum PallipesStriped Meadowhawk*Male*The Striped Meadowhawk is very similar in appearance to the Red-Veined Meadowhawk. The most easily recognizable difference is that the Striped Meadowhawk does not have red veins on the front part of each wing.

Tramea LacerataBlack Saddlebags*Male*