A Daytime Emergence at Last

With the weekend here and a bit of time hopefully for photography, I checked the pond this morning to see if I could see any dragonfly nymphs that might emerge during the day. So far I have photographed a few species at night but really wanted the chance to capture a dragonfly species emerging during the day. As I scanned the pond, I soon found a Broad bodied Chaser nymph with its head and body out of the water and was sure that it would emerge soon. I checked throughout the morning and after having lunch as I looked out of the window, I could see some movement with the nymph starting to climb up a reed. I prepared the area and got the camera and all important drinks and snacks ready and thankfully after the nymph had settled, I was able to remove the pot from the pond and put on the grass which in turn gave me a non cluttered background. I spent the next two hours watching and photographing the whole emergence mainly using AV mode, f8, ISO 400 and the speed was normally above 350. The only time I needed the flash and to use manual mode was at the beginning when it was a little cloudy but thankfully, there was some good sunny spells which helped me capture some very pleasing shots of the emergence. I don't think I can ever tire of this spectacle and just watch in astonishment as the dragonfly emerges from the small nymph. A fantastic afternoon doing one of the things I love doing best, photographing natural wonders and hoping to strive for photographic excellence of these beautiful insects.

Broad bodied Chaser (female)