Photo Highlights of 2017 (Part 1)

Well, the 2017 season has finally come to an end and on a personal note, what a season it has been, both from an educational point of view from what I have learnt but also, photographically with many hours spent out in the field striving to capture and show off these winged wonders. Like most years, I gave myself a few challenges at the start of the season from finding and photographing Emerald Damselfly nymphs, photographing the whole emergence of a Banded Demoiselle and searching for Norfolk Hawker exuviae to name a few. Most of my season was spent in and around Kent but I did cross the county border to see the stunning Southern Migrant Hawkers in Essex. I have to say though that my personal highlight of which there are many has to go to the hours I put in to capture the emergence of the Banded Demoiselle. To my knowledge, I could not find any photos of the whole emergence online and so the past few years, I have tried to rear a few nymphs during spring to capture this rarely seen sight. To cut a long story short, many hours of sleepless nights spent on the sofa and checking my artificial stream I had made in the garden were finally rewarded with what was an incredible experience to both see and photograph. More of this experience to come in due coarse. With so many photos taken this year, I have found it a challenge to pick out a selection which I consider to be my favourite photos of the year. Each photo comes with its own personal story and experience and looking back at them, they provide lovely memories. I will post my second installment soon but I hope you enjoy the first selection. 

Banded Demoiselle Emerging 

Banded Demoiselle (male) 

Banded Demoiselle (male) with Exuviae 

Banded Demoiselle at Sunrise  

Banded Demoiselles at Sunset 

Common Darter with Exuviae 

Emerald Damselfly Nymph 

Hairy Dragonfly (female) emerging 

Hairy Dragonfly (female) with Exuviae 

Norfolk Hawker (male) 

Southern Migrant Hawker (male) 

Willow Emerald Damselflies (mating pair)