I sound like a broken record harping on about the fabulous area in which I live, but that’s because it really is………well, fabulous 😊. The forest is home to endangered Red Squirrels, the river to wild Otter and Kingfishers and 30 miles up the road is a nature reserve known for both its bird and Dragonfly populations.

Thursday this week was hot and sunny with little breeze, which are perfect conditions for Dragonfly photography, so I grabbed my kit and went in search of my most favourite insect. My companion for the day isn’t a photographer so went on a 10 mile run along the Solway coast, leaving me sitting by a bog, with no shade in 30C of heat. I know who got the better end of the deal and it wasn’t him, but we’re still arguing about who was sweating the most when we got back to the car 😉

If you don’t know the difference between a Dragonfly and a Damselfly it’s easy to spot when you see them. Dragonflies are much larger (around 8cm in length) and have thicker bodies, while Damselflies are only about 4cm in length and are very slender.

I’ve been photographing Dragonflies for several years now and have pretty much mastered the art of still images, so I tend to concentrate more on harder to achieve shots like Dragonflies in flight. I usually end up with 50 pictures of the background, with the occasional blurred blob in the middle, and you can guarantee that when my arm gets tired from holding the camera and I put it down for a rest a beautiful Emperor Dragonfly will appear 2 feet from my face as if by magic, hover there for ages and then fly off again the second I attempt to pick my camera back up. It happens too often to be coincidence and I swear they’re doing it deliberately just to toy with me 😆

There was lots of mating activity going on (think Tinder for insects) and another shot on my bucket list is egg dipping, where the males and females are still in the mating position and the female dips her abdomen into the water to deposit fertilised eggs. This usually happens in the middle of the bog, though, and as Damselflies are small it’s difficult to get a useable image even with a long lens.

I didn’t get any award winning photos this week but I don’t care. I simply had the most joyful day doing something that I love. The stunning tranquillity of the reserve was broken only by bird song, including an echoing Cuckoo, and the sound of beating wings as the Dragonflies and Damselflies flew to and fro across the water. When males dog fight over territory their wings clash and sound like sparking electricity – having them zipping by your head is awesome.

There is something so endearing to me about Dragonflies & Damselflies. They’re innocuous insects to humans posing no threat and their little faces are adorable, often looking like they’re smiling. I know I say this often but I feel so lucky to live where I do, surrounded by the wonders of nature and the quiet environments needed for wildlife to not only survive but thrive.