Improvement Comes Slowly

Like most Americans... most people really...I want things to happen quickly. If it were at all possible, many of the things I want to improve would happen like in the movies. Inspirational music would play, there would be shots of me doing whatever it is poorly, but persevering and shot by shot I would improve and learn and pretty soon, mere seconds really, the song would end and I'd be great.  Triathlons would go from clumsy and slow to sleek and fast. Weight would be shed with a few dramatic shots of me jumping rope, running, biking and sweating a lot. And photos of dragonflies would be National Geographic perfect with every click of the shutter.

Sadly, in real life the improvement never comes in such leaps and bounds. As evidenced by my Odonata Pictures from today. The Kiddos and I went for a walk to hunt the little critters and give the Wife a chance to catch a very short nap. We saw many Ode's, and of almost 400 pictures snapped, I like the following...

I'm not sure what this is.

 But it's shadow looks like stained glass to me!

 I'm hoping one of the ode experts can help identify it from my blurry shots.

UPDATE: This is indeed a Band-winged Meadowhawk.

 Not long after shooting that little ode, this female Common Whitetail made an appearance. This is the first Common Whitetail we've seen!

 Demonstrating how well her camouflage works.

 But then she posed for a couple of glamour shots on the curb.

 

 The guy above I think is our friend the Band-Winged Meadowhawk. It was actually in the same pictures as the Common Whitetail...

Can you see both of them? I left in the stained glass shadow, too.

The shots aren't the greatest. My camera is more than adequate for taking good shots of these, I just need to become a better photographer!  And if that means taking the kiddos on walks to go hunting for dragonflies... well, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

More Later