Emperor Dragonflies

Emperor Dragonflies seem to becoming more and more common , this year I have found at least one at about every pond visited and up to three at one site , getting photos is another matter altogether , with July being very warm and long spells of sunshine Emperors can stay on the wing for long periods of time ion the search for females and to keep away rival males or anything else it sees as a rival, so although this year I have seen more Emperors than any other year to date they have been so active . I did find several that had indeed landed  but usually well away from the me 

 They nearly always land with their backs to the sun  or to the suns last  position if it clouds over for some time

 Female egg laying

close up of the ovipositor

Size in relationship to a Damselfly 

Two Emperors clash together , right beside me unfortuanatley a rush stem was in the way it's all over in a split second

 Emperor Male with Four Spot Chaser  to the right

And one a little closer

A Day of Emperors

Last week on Thursday it was sunny for a change so it was off to look for Dragonflies , it took me about twenty minutes to find the first Emperor of the year , but the problem with these on a sunny day is they just fly and fly it patrolled in front of me but try as I could ,it was impossible to get a fix on it, occasionally it flew up and caught an insect but they are so fast I couldn't see what happened to it . A cloud covered the Sun and it settled on the rush stem but a bit to far away . Wandered looking for other photo  subjects a Spider with a Large Red Damselfly caught my eye , having taken this I turned and there just a couple of yards away a coupled pair of Emperors what luck and they where accessible so I rattled a few shots off , this is when a tripod would be handy as the camera and lens was getting heavy , but how do you set up a tripod without chasing away your subject .

 Later I caught up with it again as it chased another Male , brilliant afternoon just getting absorbed in the action. 

Emperor Anax imperator

 They always land facing the direction of the Sun so when it returns they are warmed up immediately

  A difficult shot trying to get it in flight ,but now it's against the light

 This Spider must have  finished with this Large Red Damselfly because it isolated it then cut the thread letting it fall to the water. Turning from this to see this ........

 Doesn't look the most comfortable mating pose and look how hairy the body is  

 As they where already landed I don't know how long they where coupled , but the Female finally struggled and freed herself and they both flew off would have been a wonderful moment for video !

 I tried to get some close-ups of the Males head but vegetation  across the view blurred the shots slightly , you can't always see this in the viewfinder

 Another Spider catches a Large Red and comes down to secure it

 The Male settled a few more times , this below could have been a nice shot but again leaves obscure it slightly

Another flight shot I have taken better but today was just glad of the chance to catch up with some Dragonflies