I’ve posted a few red-veined darters before and I’ll post more, but this is the first dragonfly I photographed this year. There are a few things I love here: how its frontmost legs are tucked between the thorax and head, the more vivid red in its wing veins than many dragonflies, and the way its abdomen is translucent in this light and you can see right into the dragonfly. I wonder whether it’s a relative toddler in dragonfly terms; the vein color is more vivid than the rest of its body.

May 16, 2025. Cropped from a larger image. Nikon D850 (FX sensor), Tamron 100–400mm at 400 mm, f/6.3, 1/800, ISO 280.