To the pond

One of my favorite subjects to shoot is dragonflies, and this is the time of year to do it.  So, the other day, the Bachsters and I went to a gorgeous pond to take some shots and play.  It's really amazing how much life can be at a pond, things you don't often notice until you stop and observe for a while......this is one of the reasons I love photography!

This shot is a male Eastern Pondhawk - they are common all over the state of Ohio.  The males have a powdery blue body, while the females have a really cool green color with a black pattern.  We saw both while we were at the pond, as well as at least 3 or 4 other kinds of dragonflies.

One of the things I love about bringing the Bachsters along with me on photoshoots is that they love to explore.  What could be better than exploring and playing at a pond on a lovely summer afternoon?  My oldest was fascinated with the fish in the water, Little Dude sat by me and helped me spot dragonflies.  And the 6-year-old?  She was busy saving a damselfly from a spider's web (luckily, the owner was out at the time).  So, here is her tiny Fragile Forktail damselfly, saved from a horrible fate:

I was pleasantly surprised to see these beautiful purple flowers at the pond's edge.  And even happier to see that butterflies, hummingbird moths and bumblebees were all over them.  So, this is where I spent most of my time: sitting by these flowers, just watching (and occasionally photographing) all the activity around me.

It was such a lovely afternoon, hanging out at the pond:

What is one of your favorite places to spend a summer afternoon?

-Cheryl