The Dewy Golden Hour

Whilst camping at Nethergong last week, I was able to get up at 5am on a few mornings and take the short walk to the stream where a lot of the damselflies can be found. It was made even better on both mornings by a windless chilly start which meant the grasses were soaked by dew and the spectacular sight of hundreds of spiders webs as far as the eye could see. I was hoping to find a few dewy damselflies and at this time of the day, it is often made easier to locate them by listening to the wings beating in the undergrowth as they start to shake the dew off. You don't have a lot of time to capture these shots as you can imagine as they start to get active quite quickly as the sun rises but with patience, you can often find a few perched up with nice backgrounds from which to take a few photos. After a brief search, I had found a few Emerald Damselfly low down in the grasses but it took a while to locate a Willow Emerald Damselfly which was thankfully perched up quite nicely. With the sun producing some lovely low lighting during the first hour of the day, I was then able to take a number of images with some partial dew still on the wings and body.

Willow Emerald Damselfly (female)

Like any other wildlife photographer, I am always looking to improve on the shots I take and there is normally something learnt during the session about settings, fieldcraft etc. I do however, make time to sit back and study the species I photograph as there is still much to be learnt.

Willow Emerald Damselfly (female)

I returned back to Nethergong this morning at the later time of 11am where I hoped in the sunshine, the Willow Emerald Damselflies would be more active. I walked the stretch of the stream and didn't see a single individual but did see a few Emerald Damselfly and Blue tailed Damselflies. I then looked on the eastern edge of the site where over c100 metres, I saw c50 Willow Emerald Damselfly resting out in the sun on the end of sticks and branches. I spent a while taking a few photos and was also aware of 2 Southern Hawkers patrolling the pathway but when they did perch, they were often high up. I did get some nice views though through the binoculars and I hope to get the chance to photograph a male of this species this year. I also saw c10 Migrant Hawker flying around as I walked back to the entrance. No sign of any Willow Emerald Damselfly mating pairs yet but I will endevour to return to hopefully capture this on camera and improve upon my single attempt last year. 

Willow Emerald Damselfly (female)