The Dragons are here

[marlunn]

Well they are in the UK now, damsels have been out for a few months now but the first dragon for me was a fresh new Libellula quadrimaculata, a Four spotted Chaser

[Shadowman]

Nice shot.

[marlunn]

Thanks John

[Wavelength]

Fantastic...supporting colors of B/G are awesome

[marlunn]

Thank you Nandakumar, nature has a way of supporting my efforts - if I look and pay attention

[bnnrcn]

Very nice and clear shot Mark

[marlunn]

Thank you Binnur, appreciated

[IzzieK]

Most beautiful Mark. I think you outdo yourself in this one! Very sharp.

[Stagecoach]

Good wing detail and I like the bright background.

[marlunn]

Thank you Izzie, he was very obliging to sit still for me, looking at the body hair he had only very recently emerged prob less than 30 mins old.It was a bit of a struggle to get the shot as the resting point he was on was halfway down a 45 degree bank covered in long grass and plants down to a stream, not a place to lose footing !

Cheers Grahame, appreciated, it was a bright day so really lit him up and the bankside

[Dave Humphries]

Worth the effort and risk Mark, especially as you didn't get wet

Great capture.

Yes, s/he must be 'new'; no wing damage at all, perhaps they've not even flown yet.

Well done, Dave

[marlunn]

Cheers Dave, yep very worth it - I think 'he' given the colouration, one of my 'go to' sites for validation - https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/s...spotted-chaser. There were a few short flights about 20ft circular from this post onto other tall umbellifer stalks then back to this one, patience was worth it to get close and the angle right for the above shot. The insect was patient with me as well - this is with no crop on the image, I did get closer but the DoF was too limiting with macro even at f14

[DanK]

Very nice! you're lucky: we have had a cold, damp spring, and I haven't seen a single damsel or dragon yet. Barely see any bees.

[Rainforest]

Both shots! so well done. Sounds like you enjoyed 'the hunt' too ;-)

[marlunn]

Thanks Dan, they will come, will prob be a good season as lots of food insects about then.

Thank you Susan, yep I did indeed and felt privileged to be that close to one

[JemC]

A cracking capture, well done,
i have quite a way to go to get to this standard,

Regards

[rpcrowe]

Great image... I have only one or two dragons visiting me each year and I often miss them. Now that I have my new 100mm f/2.8 Canon USM Macro lens, I am going to leave it set up on my Canon 7D camera in hopes of snaring one or two of these beauties...

[marlunn]

Thanks James, practice on any and all opportunities - thats the key

Cheers Richard, look forward to seeing them when they pay you a visit