365:248 ANDREW HARDACRE

Here’s one from yesterday. And a reason to be cheerful. 10 years ago I shot all my macro work off a tripod and I stacked for nice backgrounds. Canon 180mm macro lens, tripod, Live View, focus rail etc. I would never have got this. The damselfly, Calicnemia sinensis, would have flown by the time I was set up. With modern kit I can handhold and shoot at higher ISO and speed. The smaller, lighter lens (Canon RF100mm) on an R5 body gets me shots I could not have made a decade ago. This damsel is scarce and I found it for the first time locally last year. This is my nicest shot so far. But I will keep trying for the perfect shot (without the leaf behind the claspers) to make me even happier :-)