Water Gardening: A Dragonfly society?, 1 by Equilibrium

Equilibrium wrote:
How do I get so close...

Great question. I've done a few face plants in the water and barely saved my camera. Seriously, I've looked like the creature from the Dark Lagoon more times than I care to admit and my husband just shakes his head. Today I tried unsuccessfully to get photos of a damselfly and that little critter was incredibly uncooperative. I spent about a half hour waiting for it to land and I was so frustrated! I'll get him one of these days.

Those stakes I suggested really are the trick. For some reason the dragonflies feel as if they have a 360 degree escape route when they are perched on them and they are less likely to take off. The dragonflies that are around natural ponds seem to be less "edgie" if that makes sense. There are so many marginal plants that they feel protected. All you need do is hang out for about 15 minutes or so and sooner or later they'll pose for you. I wish I could say that I had tricks up my sleeve but it's really nothing more than exercising a little restraint in not getting a fly swatter to stop the moving target. Just kidding... I would never!

Speaking of a Blue Darner, here's a photo of a Blue Dasher taken by a friend.