Patience, is not a virtue that comes easy to me. But I’m not as bad as some I could mention.
Patience is a virtue, possess it is you can,
Seldom in a women and never in a man.
I’ve been after a photograph of what may or may not be a broad-bodied chaser, a Libellula depressa, but don’t quote me on that, because I don’t know what I’m talking about (have you spotted a reoccurring theme on this blog?)
All I can tell you is that it is beast of an insect that whizzes around the pond, alighting only briefly and impossible to get in focus. Today all my men folk were off doing their own thing, so I sat down by the pond and waited for the big beast. I discovered that far from being random, its flight had a bit of a pattern to it. So rather than wave the lens around aimlessly, I watched and waited and at last I had it in my sights. Gotcha.
‘am fair chuffed with the result.
Of course now, the challenge will be to get a shot of one emerging form its exuvia, thingemebob.
Which, from what I’ve read means getting out of bed early.
As an added extra for this post, here are some loved up damselflies
Uphilldowndale 
Wow! Patience definitely won out ~ those close-ups of the pond beasty are prize-winningly perfect! The iridescent blue is all the more apparent against the subdued background! Well done, UHDD!! The damselflies have formed an upside down heart ~
I am impressed with your patience and skill to capture these creatures.
These are wonderful photos. Worth the wait. I don’t think I have seen these near us. Do they bite? People?
I am deeply impressed. You are an inspiration, you are.
Hm, patience. Good in the right place as here but not when it is inappropriate. We British are too patient, as when we put up with 92 different sorts of crap dished out to us by government and others.
It paid off here, though, and well done for persisting and for spotting the behaviour pattern. You’re right to be pleased with the result.
They are strange creatures, these dragonflies. A huge one flew into the library where I worked and perched on the ceiling, way above any doors or windows. How was I going to get it to leave quietly? I took the pole with a hook that we used for closing high windows and tried gently to dislodge it.
Before the pole got anywhere close to it, the dragonfly then flew down from the ceiling and in a trice negotiated a double set of doors to fly out into the open. Was that luck or did it know what it was doing? We all gawped in amazement.
Superb – well done!
Nice captures.
Yes, it’s definitely a Broad Bodied Chaser, a male. The females (and immature males) are yellow. They’re not that early as emergers go in my experience. The ones I’ve caught climbing out and <a herf="http://www.londondailynaturephoto.co.uk/index.php?showimage=50"emerging were doing so at around 9-10am.
It does take patience. You must have loads Uphill.
Good shots indeed. I just cant sit long enough.
Well done! Great shots. Having spent more than a few hours patiently watching the dragonflies and damselflies, I know how hard it can be to capture one with a camera.
Superb, I especially like the second picture! xx
Well worth the wait for these shots – they’re excellent. I love those damselflies too; the colours and the heart shape are lovely.
Exquisite!! A perfect example of how it is sometimes well worth the while to wait. Patience IS a virtue!!
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Lovely to see those damsel flies again. Never seen beasts like those before.
I’m feeling rather pleased, BBC Spring Watch Pool, on flickr, have chosen one of my images as a favourite 🙂
Congratulations!
Congratulations! It’s a great image. 🙂