Marston Vale Forest

I needed to check out different subject matter for my 300mm prime lens, so I took myself off to Marston Moretaine and what was the Millennium Park, now Marston Vale Forest. Part of the area borders on a lake formerly a claypit and it is a wonderful wilderness for bird and insect life. I entered the Nature trail via the wooden boardwalk above reed beds, and soon found several dragonflies zooming around and landing on the wooden railings.

What I really wanted though was to capture these flying, not static and foolishly thought that patience could prevail by focussing on one that had landed and then to capture it at the moment of takeoff! What a forlorn hope, I got very used to erasing blank images because my reactions were way too slow to press the shutter in time. So I made my way to the water’s edge and tried my luck following them once they came into view, but standing and trying to keep track of them was equally fruitless. I moved to another spot and waited; again there were only fleeting visits.

I walked on and then found a spot of grass fronted by reeds and finally put down a groundsheet and sat and waited, this was far more productive, an I soon recognised a pattern emerging as to where they flew, and where they hovered, and got my first two shots, one was chopped half off, but the other was average – but I had done it! Now to repeat the exercise.

I stayed there for more than half-an-hour and got a few more opportunities and a bit of ‘chimping’ showed I was getting better shots, and I tried upping the shutter speed to ensure sharpness. Eventually I felt I had succeeded in my aim, and had earned a cup of tea.