The Emperor

It was such a  lovely sunny Sunday afternoon that I decided it was about time for a dragon hunt. I managed to spot 3 different types of dragonfly in the local water meadows, and this one, the emperor dragonfly is definitely the most visually striking.  Fortunately for me he came to rest 
on a bull rush for a few seconds and I managed to grab this shot.  Most of the time he was in the air hunting.  

Despite trying for about 30 minutes solid I just couldn't manage to get a shot of him in flight that was sufficiently in focus.  I probably should have taken a tripod. In the meantime the other insect life around the water was making a meal out of me.  In the end I gave up after being bitten four times by some sort of aggresive fly and hightailed it to safety.  

I'm now sitting rubbing anti-hystemine cream into the bites which have swollen up somewhat, and are more than a little itchy.  Still it was worth it for the photo.  Although I might invest in some DEET before I go down to the water meadows again!