Dragonflies...imaginary helicopters

I grew up in a rural village where life was rudimentary but pleasant in the 60s and the 70s. We children were quite content with what little we had back then and often, we used a lot of our imagination to play games. We never had toys bought for us and certainly not a lot of TVs let alone video games. In short, the only memories I have of my childhood are the long hot sunny days in the meadows and brooks playing with my siblings, cousins and neighbours. Among our favourite (but cruel, now that we are bit more conscious of our environment and Mother nature) game was playing 'helicopters'. We would quietly sneak up a resting dragonfly, pinch on its tail to hold it and tie a long thread on the tail so that the insect could fly but still be attached, like a kite. Helicopters and planes remained a very foreign object in those days ...probably explains why we had this urge to see things fly and yet be under our control...like a kind of awakening but not knowing why. And so we experimented with the only thing that was easily available...or did some adult taught us this?

Flash forward to today...the only capturing (thank God) I ever do these days is with the lenses of my faithful Nikon Coolpix P100 (upgraded that just a month back from my compact Coolpix S200).

For those 'passionate' about impressive dragonfly photos, try this blog:
http://odonata-malaysia.blogspot.com

Here's my take with my Coolpix from a morning stroll in the country: