Hull The Deep

 The Aquarium in Hull opened in March 2002 and was one of the reasons we chose Hull for our Christmas break. We visited every day it was was open and enjoyed the thousands of sea creatures (including seven species of shark), amphibia from the Amazon and Penguins, many of whom have lived there since it opened. The Deep is also a landmark centre for marine research. A team of aquarists look after the animals in The Deep's collection as well as carrying out research into the marine environment. 

Dorset 2:Powerstock Common

This is our usual first site to visit on our traditional CCC week's visit to Dorset and there was plenty to photograph including this Lizard sunbathing on a leaf though insects were not as abundant as previous years (shown Alder Spittlebug, Bloody nosed Beetle, caterpillar of Common Blue Butterfly, Broad-Bodied Chaser, Four-Spot Chaser, Large Skipper, Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood). Bee Orchids are in short supply but plenty of Common Spotted Orchids plus Heath Spotted Orchids on the Heathland areas

Slow Worm in Spinach Patch

First time I have seen a Slow Worm (a legless Lizard rather than 'worm) in the garden in Toft. Amazing feeling body as it wraps around your hand and the tongue that flicks out is quite fat compared to a snakes. Meredith loved handling it but accepted that it needed to be returned to the wild as soon as we had photographed it. The tongue flicks in and out and is a strong forked structure looking as if it is made of metal..

Focus-Stacked Images from Antigua

At last, I have found time to process some of the Focus stacks that I took on our trip in February. These ranged from 6 to 25 handheld individual images.

 

Antigua 7. Birds, Lizards and Focus-Stacked Insects

We are now back in the UK having been blown in by the gale this morning and I am continuing to sort through the images taken of the wildlife.

The local lizards and small birds (1,2 Leach's Anole Lizard, 3,4 Lesser Antillean Bullfinch male and female and 5,6 Banaquits) love licking up any sugar crystals. 7 Gulf Fritillary, 8, 9,10 Focus-stacked images from the early morning macro session - Tropical Chequered Skipper, Watt's Anole Lizard, Bluebottle. 

New Lighting System for Fuji Macro

My ringflash has ceased to operate so I have been trying alternatives for throwing a bit of light into my Fuji macro shots. Here a selection with a small TTL hot shoe flash that seems to give the right amount of light to work at the F22 aperture that these small beasties need. Bumblebees are almost impossible to photograph well being round and covered in very reflective hairs but this is certainly about as good as I have previously achieved. On white flowers, the flash does an excellent job in filling in shadows. Being TTL even did good job lighting a more distant lizard.