It has taken a long time but I now feel confident to say that I can take a decent photograph of flowers. I have practised, I have edited, deleted, re shot but I now have my own style and feel comfortable with what I do.

I bought myself a new lens earlier this year – a 100 – 400 mm zoom with the aim of developing my skills and trying new things. Over the last few weeks I have been taking photos of dragonflies and butterflies. What a change, what a challenge! You can’t retake several times as your subject has flown off! It won’t wait for you to ‘faff about’ with settings and lighting, you get one shot. It won’t allow you to move around it and find the best angle … you get where I am coming from. I now have hundreds of photos of empty twigs and branches as well as several blurred attempts.

However, I remain undaunted. I’m reading around my subject. I’ve learnt that dragonflies often return to the same spot. Patience isn’t one of my virtues but I am learning!

I would like to say  a special thank you to the gentleman who held the blade of grass still whilst I took a photograph of a dragonfly  this morning!