When I go for a walk with my wife, I always take a camera with me. But not the whole pack, just the camera with zoom lens. Because there is not much real photography time (that is the agreement I made with my wife, you must want to keep the sweet peace 😉).

So, we walked through the woods (Dordtse Biesbosch), chatting in the warm sun. And then we saw a photographer, because she had a camera in hand and a photo bag on the back, searching and walking from left to right and back on the path in front of us. I’m always willing to start a conversation, showing interest in what she’s doing and whether she’s already spotted and took some nice photos. (By the way, I don’t just start talking only with female fellow photographers. I always in for a chat when others start a talk with me, showing their interest.) It turned out she was trying to get a picture from the Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) or Blue emperor (Dutch: Keizerlibelle). But he didn’t really want to sit still, so it hadn’t worked out yet. But the retainer will probably win. After wishing her success, we walked a lot further.

My wife suddenly shouted: Look, over there…! (The deer in the neighborhood were gone now…). There was a beautiful emperor in the grass a few meters away from us, sitting in the sun! I was so glad I had the camera with me! And I got the time to take some nice pictures. Could my wife also see me busy ‘in the wild’ 😊. I couldn’t believe my luck!

I later tried to find the photographer again to indicate where she could try it also, but unfortunately, she had already flown. Whether she could have shot beautiful pictures is therefore unknown to me.

Tip for photographing dragonflies: Move slowly and carefully (‘slow-motion’), do not make sudden movements. Approach them slowly from the side, then you have the best chance of success!

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