Several Eastern Ringtail dragonflies (Erpetogomphus designatus) were spotted along the Potomac River at Riverbend Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. These individuals are male, as indicated by their terminal appendages and “indented” hind wings.

28 JUN 2017 | Riverbend Park | Eastern Ringtail (male)
All of the photos in this set were taken using my Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera, Fujinon 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens, and Fujifilm EF-X500 shoe mount flash.

28 JUN 2017 | Riverbend Park | Eastern Ringtail (male)
I nicknamed the Fujinon 100-400mm lens “Big Boy” because it’s so big and heavy. I use a Sunpak 6700M monopod and Vanguard SBH 100 ball head to support the lens.

28 JUN 2017 | Riverbend Park | Eastern Ringtail (male)
Zoom in on the full-size version of the preceding photo. Notice the terminal appendages are spread apart, revealing a clear look at both the cerci and hook-shaped epiproct.
Related Resource: You complete me – a blog post published on 19 February 2016 in which I shared my first impressions of the Fujinon 100-400mm telephoto zoom lens.
Copyright © 2017 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: cerci, Eastern Ringtail dragonfly, epiproct, Erpetogomphus designatus, Family Gomphidae (Clubtails), gear talk, male, Potomac River, Riverbend Park, terminal appendages
July 19, 2017 at 7:10 am |
Wow. “Big Boy” helped you to capture some amazingly sharp images with great colors. Were you focusing manually for these shots, Walter?
July 19, 2017 at 9:50 am |
The camera was set for manual focus but I used autofocus. Huh? My Fujifilm X-T1 features focus peaking that works when using manual focus. I discovered that focus peaking still works when using back-button autofocus. It’s the best of both worlds!