He waited 3 years for "once-in-a-lifetime shot": after 200 hours watching, 17-year-old captured it
- 17-year-old wildlife photographer Maksym Breus captures a once-in-a-lifetime shot of a hobby chasing a dragonfly after three years of effort.
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The award-winning 17-year-old wildlife photographer says, "For three years I've attempted to capture a legendary shot of a hobby chasing a dragonfly.". | Credit: Maksym Breus
Capturing the dream shot is on every photographer's list – but actually finding yourself in the right place at the right moment, after all that effort, is something fewer experience. For three years, 17-year-old wildlife photographer Maksym Breus has been chasing the same elusive moment: a hobby swooping over the water, its talons poised to pounce on a dragonfly.
After more than 200 hours of observation, Maksym finally captured this moment at Redgrave and Lopham Fen on the Norfolk border, UK – and the extraordinary image has now won the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's 2026 Nature Photography Competition.
The competition called Maksym's image a "once-in-a-lifetime shot", and for good reason. Hobbies are among the fastest birds in the world in horizontal flight, making an already fleeting hunting sequence incredibly difficult to photograph. Yet he managed to freeze the split-second encounter with remarkable sharpness at 1/6400sec, using a Canon EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera and a 150-600mm super telephoto lens.
Overall Winner 'Hobby chasing a dragonfly'
Review insight : "It boasts tremendous super-telephoto reach, stretching all the way to 600mm focal length, while significantly undercutting most competing lenses for price. Not only easier on your wallet, it's much easier on your back than the Sigma 150-600mm Sports lens, which is nearly a kilogram lighter" | Credit: Future
Tech info
Canon EOS R
+ Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C
1/6400sec, f/6.3, ISO 1250
This incredible shot required a great amount of patience from the talented young wildlife photographer, as Maksym explained, "For three years I've attempted to capture a legendary shot of a hobby chasing a dragonfly.
"After more than 200 hours spent observing, the delight of achieving my dream shot was absolutely indescribable!
"For me, wildlife photography was never just about showing an animal, I want to show people the behaviour, story and fleeting moments that make each encounter special."
The Norfolk Wildlife Trust's 2026 Nature Photography Competition
The competition celebrated the best images of Norfolk's birds, mammals, marine life, bugs, plants, fungi and landscapes – taken anywhere from one of NWT's reserves to your own garden within the past year. It's your chance to feature in our 2027 calendar, as well as exhibitions around the county.
Discover more winner images on the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's website.
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Looking for competitions to enter? Here are 10 global photo contests now open for entries from September 2026 to February 2027.
