Four-spotted Skimmer

Critters come in all shapes and sizes and my goal is to try and photograph them all, at least all of them in North America. I am sure that I will probably not have the time and resources to accomplish my goal but it sure is fun trying. So far the I have photographed mammals as large as giant humpback whales in Alaska and California and small insects like bees, beetles, butterflies and dragonflies that I can find right outside my door.

Over the past few years dragonflies have become on of my favorite subjects, along with birds. Last year I pushed my hobby of photographing dragonflies a bit further and got involved with the Minnesota Odonata Survey Project. I have helped to survey dragonflies in about 10 counties through out the state and have even purchased a net so that I can capture specimens, the dragons that I capture I typically release after I get some close up macro pictures.

This dragonfly is a four spotted skimmer. A fairly common member of the skimmer family that is usually found around ponds, lakes and other wetlands. If you think that you might have seen one of these around your home in Europe, Asia, Northern Africa, or Japan you may be correct because this species is circumpolar. Even though it is nice that I do not have to go far to photograph a dragon that can be found across the ocean I hope that some day I will get the chance to photograph them in a more exotic locale.