UV Fluorescence in Toft Churchyard

Having discovered that lichens fluoresced strongly in UV light, I decided to try some night shots at the church illuminating the gravestones with a UV torch. The exposure were 40 secs at f7.1 iso1250/2500 when the church security light were off. There is a street light a little way down the road giving some illumination to the scene. Artifical flowers fluoresce very strongly.

Soham Church Cambridgeshire

 Yesterday was our annual CCC  Points of View Day, this year set in Soham with five subjects to photograph including the church. We had to show its magnificence - not difficult as it is a very impressive building inside and outside. 

The area around St Andrew’s Church has been a place of Christian worship for over 1,300 years. The first Abbey was in use for over 200 years until it was destroyed in AD 869/70 when the Danish ‘Great Heathen Army’ overran East Anglia. It was rebuilt and much of the original 12th century building church is still standing today. Further additions and alterations were made in the 14th and 15th centuries including the construction of the bell tower, clerestory, pews with carved poppy heads, misericords and a tie-beam roof in the nave decorated with carved angels, now sadly lacking their wings. 

Oxeye Daisies at Buriton Churchyard

Buriton churchyard near Petersfield is a mass of Oxeye daisies at the moment. St. Mary’s Church was built between 1150 and 1200, but was preceded by a smaller one that is listed in Domesday Book of 1086.  I wonder if the church then was surrounded by these daisies as it is a native species though widely naturalised in many parts of the world. Considered an invasive weed as it can destroy pastures when too active and causes unpleasant taste to milk from cows that graze it.

Great Year for Snowdrops

Snowdrops are putting on a magnificent display everywhere around us including our village. Here are a few from our churchyard including a ladybird making the most of the warmer weather. Also saw our first Brimstone today though didn't manage a photo. Similar views are using different apertures to see what works best in terms of throwing the background out of focus but keeping the subject sharp.

Using Macro Wide-angle in the Churchyard

On last sunny Sunday, I used a 12mm Zeiss with a 4X close-up filter to photograph the mosses on the church walls, snowdops and gravestones. A characteristic of the lens is that it is very sharp and renders colours very brightly. The circular image of lichens has an extra 2.5Xcloseup filter in addition to the 4X giving a strong vignette. 

Close Up on Lichens Reveals Purple Springtail

I spent a couple of sunny hours photographing lichens in our churchyard using close-up filter and focus stacking. I was surprised to see a purple trail across one finished stack and found it was caused by a minute purple organism that had walked across the frame during exposure. Unfortunately with 1/15 second exposure it isn't totally sharp.  I later identifed this as Vertagopus arboreus about 2mm long and a member of the Collembola, or Springtails, one of the largest groups of insect-like organisms found in the soil. A close relative of silverfish, these arthropods include over 6000 separate species world-wide. They are no longer considered insects but remain arthropods for classification purposes.