Sunday 21 June 2015

...and the living is easy...

...if only it was - they say one of the most stressful things you can do is move house - well over the last two weeks of June that is what we are doing and as I have been charged with organising it all I can attest that it is the most stressful thing...things just don't happen when you want them to...but more importantly they do happen at just the time when you need it the least...deliveries seem to arrive at school pick-up time and skilled workmen are so busy that you have to wait weeks and weeks for a spare space in their diary... Needless to say, photographic opportunities are rare - here are a few grab shots from the week...




click beetle...





cock's-foot...






common mallow...






dog rose...








common sorrel...








lady's-bedstraw...








meadow buttercup...







summer meadow...

But whilst waiting for a delivery at the new house I did manage a brief visit to the orchard adjacent to our property...






so this was a surprise to find - it is a scarce chaser - restricted in distribution and not at all common. However, on of its strongholds is just down the road so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised... The picture isn't so good as the insect was quite high in an apple tree...





These three images are of a 4-spotted chaser - love this dragonfly...such great colours...






The intricate patterns of the wings are a delight...

I did find an hour to spare on Thursday and managed to get to the Country Park in Ely...here I found...





bee orchid - a favourite of mine - not particularly rare, but can be tricky to find....





above and below a female blue-tailed damselfly - the rufescens form...








the flower beetle Oedema nobilis - male holding territory on a dog rose...





figwort flower..





fox and cubs or orange hawkweed...great colour...





giant horsetail...primeval...





who says hogweed is unattractive - lace like in form...





honey bee





large skipper...






nipplewort...





melilot...

Again, not a bad set for so short a time spent out and about... and sadly, that about wraps it up for this week... I can see that DIY is going to be a priority for me over the next few months which means paying gigs for photography will have to be the mainstay - I will try and get out and about one day a week at least...
You can keep up with me here... or here... as ever... and I hope you all can join me next week...

Ramadan Mubarak...

TTFN







Sunday 14 June 2015

In the sweet summer time...

The week began with glorious sunshine and a workshop...a workshop for people wanting to learn more about wild flower and insect photography...running from 10 until 2 a host of keen amateur photographers met with me and Emily Paxton - a local Photographer with a great eye in many genre... Well, it seemed to go well - everyone produced some great images as seen through their own eyes...Photography is very personal - how I see a picture differs to how others see it - when you put pictures out there it is always nerve racking..."who will like it?...will anyone like it...?" acceptance is great, rejection tears out a small piece of soul...I can honestly say the pictures taken by the people at the workshop were excellent...and with small pointers would be even better. Let's hope we can run more workshops for keen amateurs...

So, what did I take at the workshop? Well not that much, I was too busy helping and advising...but I did see...




4-spotted chaser...







black knapweed...






yellow flag...






Agapanthia villosoviridescens...longhorn beetle...






mare's-tail...





water boatman...

Not a bad set for restricted opportunities... We are hoping to run a Lightroom for beginners course soon...if you are in the area keep your eyes open for that one...

The rest of the week has been frustrating - mainly due to good weather and me having to sort out our new house...photography has been limited to a few grabbed shots here and there plus some insurance shoots mixed in...the latter are not very exciting but...




blue water-speedwell...






bluebell...







columbine...





now I don't know what these are - they are garden plants from my new garden - if anyone has any ideas please let me know...









or either of these - above or below...










above is grape hyacinth seed pods...










the three images above are mullein moth caterpillars...






one of the many rose we have inherited in the garden...I'm not a gardener but the roses are spectacular (now all I have to do is work out how to garden...)

The best bit about the garden is that it comes with a pond...at the moment it is a koi pond, but the fish are due to be taken away and then my winter project it to create a wildlife pond...great for the environment and great for my photography...I shall document that of course...

Now come the links - you know the various places my work is displayed and sold...so the first in is Facebook - updated on a daily basis with up to the minute images from my various shoots...if you like it click the "Like" button... and then there is Flickr - usually has slightly different images to Facebook - well maybe more to be honest. I also have a person portfolio at Behance - here you will find different facets of my photography, so not just natural history but commercial shoots and photo-journalism - worth a look if you have time. Finally the link to my Dreamstime Portfolio. This is the main place I sell my images. All these can be bought (as can the images on any of the other pages) if you so wish...

And that about wraps it up for the week - - how apt that I pick a Van Morrison lyric as the title when he has just received his Knighthood - richly deserved... hope you are all safe, happy and at peace. Hope to speak to all again next week...

TTFN...









Sunday 7 June 2015

The warmth of a summer walk...

After an appalling run of rain and wind, the summer paid us a visit this week...lovely warm sun from the middle of the week onwards...a brief rest for some predictable thunder storms and then some more sun...with a workshop planned this weekend let's hope it stays.

The readership of this blog is still low - our friends in the Ukraine appear to have gone for good but thank you to all who continue to read on a regular basis...you are all welcome.

Work-wise it has been a busy week - I have had several insurance shoots (where I produce images of damaged cars for insurance companies) and have managed to get out shooting wildlife. In addition I have been planning for the workshop on Sunday. Finally we have bought a house...so that has had to be sorted - the planning for that will start now.  The interior bit will be planned by Lucy...the garden I will convert into a wildlife haven. There is a large pond which will be converted from the koi hotel it is now to a wildlife paradise - my winter project.  The garden also borders a large orchard, to which we have access. Over time I hope this will produce some great wildlife imaging opportunities...I have a project springing in my mind as I type...

So, what have I managed to photograph apart from damaged cars? A trip to Wicken Fen last Sunday allowed me to do my first dragonfly survey of the season - nine species recorded including a big emergence of red-eyed damselfly.

Unfortunately I didn't manage any pictures of that species - the count was the priority; but I did manage to capture ovipositing azure damselflies...







...and a four-spotted chaser - holding territory






In addition, I found these around the reserve...



cleavers...





common spotted orchid...





hoverfly on cow parsley...






linnet...







scattered scrub and a swathe of cow parsley...






sorrel...








southern marsh orchid...








water dropwort...









yellow rattle...






...water violet.

Not a bad way to spend Sunday...

A brief trip into Ely found me these...













You can find wildlife anywhere...I love the red valerian on the old walls...

And in my back garden, in between showers this guy appeared...

green woodpecker...



Waiting for the weather to break paid off...and on a warm sunny day I had an insurance booking close to an ancient earthworks called the Devil's Dyke...this wonderful landscape feature is a great place to walk and to see wildlife as it is chalk grassland with scattered scrub...








species-rich grassland - thin soils mean tough perennials find it difficult to get a hold...annuals and less vigorous species abound...a wondrous place in summer - plants and insects everywhere...








A shady spot beneath a hawthorn tree - good for a picnic or just a rest...

So, within the species-rich grassland what do we find? Well...I found...





...bird's-foot trefoil...






...bladder campion...








...common gromwell...







...hoary plantain...








...horseshoe vetch and bee...









...oxeye daisy...








...common rock-rose...









...sainfoin...








...white bryony.

All lovely stuff...but the highlight was this...




This is lizard orchid - one of our rarest wild flowers...Not yet in flower - so keep an eye out for the blog with it in full flower...for a botanist even like this it is thigh-rubbingly exciting!!!

Occasionally hawthorn can gain a hold, creating scattered patches of scrub...ideal for...




common whitethroat...and its food...

That about wraps it up for this week...Saturday is spent doing things to the new house and preparing for the workshop on Sunday...I don't know how many pictures I will get to take on either day...

I have been sharing my Flickr images on the BBC Springwatch site and they have received a good number of hits...you could join them if you like...

I have also added a couple of new projects to my Behance portfolio - so you can catch up with my work there - as you can as ever on my Facebook site. If you feel the urge to buy any images, many can be found in my Dreamstime Portfolio - in addition all images you see here are for sale and I undertake commissions...as well as one to one tutorials...

Have a good week one and all...see you next time...

TTFN