I have been having a lot of fun with dragonflies over the past 6 months or so, and I am slowly amassing a collection of images. You can see what I have so far at my dragonflies gallery on WideEyedInWonder. This is female Varigated Meadowhawk from Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. This was by far the most common dragonfly at Bosque during our November visit. Despite the name, they were hunting the edges of the ponds and over the dyke roads. We even found them, like the male that follows, deep in the upland scrub desert, 100s of yards from the nearest water.

It was interesting to see that Varigated Meadowhawk in New Mexico in November is a good deal duller in color than VMs from California (third photo) in October.

Maybe the NM VMs were just a month older and more worn (you can see the bits of missing wing in the female)…and maybe it is regional variation.

Another shot of a NM male.

Canon SX40HS in Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 2) and 4 at 1680mm equivalent (840 optical plus 2x digital tel converter). 1) and 2) f5.8 @ 1/800th @ ISO 160. 4) same with ISO 125. 3) f5.8 @ 1/320th @ ISO 200.

Processed in Lightroom for Intensity and Sharpness.