Banded Demoiselle or Banded Agrion Damselfly. (Calopteryx splendens).

The Banded Demoiselle is found on rivers, streams and canals with moderate to slow water flow over beds of silt or mud and with plenty of waterside vegetation. Banded Demoiselles have a graceful butterfly-like fluttering flight and are usually seen flying over riverside vegetation.

This species occurs throughout most of Europe. In Britain, the Banded Demoiselle is generally distributed in the lowlands and can be mostly found south of a line drawn from Blackpool to Middlesbrough. 

However both these images were taken in Tynedale, a relevantly new site and proof that the species is advancing north.

The top image shows a female damselfly resting in bright sunshine, the bright light really shows off the iridescent colours.

The bottom image is of the male resting near the river. It was sitting further down on the leaf to protect itself from the wind. I used fill in flash as it was quite shaded amongst the leaf stems. However this has produced a slight double image as the wind moved the damselfly during the exposure.