Damselflies

There's a new exhibition in the Telephone Gallery featuring some absolutely stunning photographs of damselflies taken by local photographer Jill Bewley. They are truly amazing and if you're in the area, do visit!

Jill writes:

I have lived in Ashton Keynes for more than 30 years and have been a keen amateur photographer since 2019. My photography consists of a diverse range of subjects, from architecture and abstract to wildlife and water, but always images which provoke an emotional response for me. I try to bring that sense of wonder, simplicity and beauty into the photograph in the hope the viewer can feel some of the emotion also. As the famous British photographer Don McCullin said “Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures”

The images displayed in the Telephone Gallery were taken recently around the local lakes and rivers, and mainly feature my favourite species of damselfly – the Banded Demoiselle. The male can be identified by the electric blue body and dark patches on the wings, whereas the females have a more turquoise body with flashes of yellow and magenta, and unmarked wings. I always go out before sunrise to search the reeds and grasses by the water's edge for these well hidden insects - at this time they are motionless, waiting for the sun to warm their bodies and dry their wings. I use a Nikon camera with a macro lens, and occasionally a telephoto lens, and shoot both handheld and on a tripod depending on where the damselflies are located! For this delicate and intricate subject I like to use a very shallow depth of field to draw the eye to specific detail, as opposed to more straightforward ‘nature’ photographs. I hope you enjoy looking at these images as much as I do photographing these beautiful creatures, and maybe see ‘water butterflies’ in a new light! Please do post any comments below
or on Instagram @thetelephonegallery Jill Bewley LRPS Email: jillbewley@hotmail.com Instagram: @jillbewley