By Friday afternoons I am usually both physically and mentally exhausted and ready for a bit of rest and relaxation. And yesterday was no exception, so on my drive home I had no more exciting plans than a nice shower, some dinner, and maybe some sort of mindless TV (if I stayed awake long enough for that!). But when I got to my front gate, there was a pretty little male green anole (Anolis carolinensis) sunning itself and just asking to have it’s picture taken. I really enjoy photographing the anoles because they are very interactive. They will look at you as you approach them, sometimes shifting their whole bodies towards you to get a better look. Their bright green color when they are happy and warm also makes them great subjects for color photography.

The anole led me to find an interesting little insect on the vine that drapes over my gate. I had never seen an insect like this before so it definitely needed to have it’s picture taken. Then I found an interesting bunch of carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) in the process of rounding up a group of aphids in the summer grape vine near my mail box. I’ve read about that behavior, but never witnessed it before. I thought that I was finally done after photographing and videoing the ants, and was feeling very satisfied with the afternoon’s efforts. But after pulling up the drive and getting out of my truck an interesting butterfly that I had never seen before fluttered by!

When the butterfly settled on a leaf I realized that it wasn’t a butterfly at all, but it was actually a damselfly! I tried to get a few images of it, but whenever I got close enough to get a good shot it would take off again. Several times, I lost sight of it completely and I started working on my evening chores only to find it fluttering around again a few minutes later. When I finally managed to get close enough I was able to identify it as an ebony jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata), also known as a jewelwing damselfly, but my photos were still not coming out well. I even got out my tripod and telephoto lens and tried photographing it from afar, but I still wasn’t terribly happy with the results.

It finally became apparent that I needed to stop chasing it (and I was trying to do so slowly, but not slowly enough, I guess) and instead to try being patient and wait for it to come to me. Patience is not always easy for me, especially when I’m tired, but it often pays off in nature photography (along with perseverance). And yesterday was no exception. I positioned myself near some of the damselfly’s favorite perches, and sat quietly. It took about 10 minutes (which really wasn’t all that long) and it was back on one of the leaves near me again. This time I approached very, very slowly and in a low position. As usual, I started taking photos as I approached. Patience and perseverance once again paid off, and the damselfly let me finally get close enough to get some good shots.

Every now and then, I need a good reminder to be more patient and yesterday I definitely got one. I was also reminded me of just how lucky I am to be able to live in a place with such diversity that I can photograph five (I also took pictures of my passion fruit vines (Passiflora edulis), which are starting to flower!) separate species with the quarter mile length of my drive way. I’m also very lucky to have a hobby that gets me outside to enjoy and appreciate all that diversity; even when I’m so tired I think I want to do nothing. Once I start shooting, the tiredness always seems to just disappear.