Shooting Dragons with a Canon

Still having a `play around` with the new camera! This time I was trying to get some shots of dragonflies and although the images below aren't amazing, I am fairly pleased with the results, especially the Broad-bodied Chaser and the Black-tailed Skimmer.

An immature Broad-bodied Chaser

Black-tailed Skimmer

An Emperor `ovipositing` (laying eggs) with a few damselflies in attendance

Emperor `ovipositing`

All photos taken with a Canon Powershot SX40 HS

Emperor dragonfly

Every year at around this time I try to get to grips with dragonflies and every year I fail. There are only 39 resident species of this insect (with 13 migrants) to get my head around, but I just can`t seem to get the I.D. features in my thick skull.

One dragonfly that I can confidently identify though is the magnificent beast in the photos above, the Emperor. Britain`s bulkiest dragonfly, measuring a whopping 78mm, a regal insect of warm summer`s evenings that can be found in large ponds, lakes and flooded gravel pits and sometimes ditches and canals. It is widespread in southern Britain and where found is locally abundant. The site where I managed to get the above digiscoped shots is Maxey gravel pits, a site known for its breeding dragonflies as well as its birds. There are several other species of this insect present, some of which I will endeavour to photograph and identify over time.