I was really hoping to bring home some dragonfly pics from this last trip to Florida. When I was in South Texas in November, there were dragonflies everywhere. I was not seriously looking at dragonflies last January when I was in Florida so I did not know what to expect. I hoped though. I kept my eye out at Merritt Island NWR, and I even got out of the car and walked a section of the dyke roads at Viera Wetlands. I did see a few (maybe 3) dragonflies in flight at a distance, but nothing I could either identify or photograph. The Butterflies, however, were very present. They were mostly Florida Whites, by the thousands, but I found a few Skippers, a Peacock, a Gulf Fritillary, and this well worn Common Buckeye as well. (All of the butterflies were well worn…summer butterflies lingering into winter, or migrants from the north.)

Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent field of view (full optical zoom plus 1.5x Digital Tel-converter). f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 320. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Fill. Minus 1/3 EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.