Redshank

Some images of Redshank taken in very contrasty light. They were busy displaying and mating with a great deal of noise.

Stourhead

We walked around the Stourhead Estate this morning in beautiful sunshine. This family were worried they would spoil my photo but I assured them that they added greatly to it! I used the fish-eye on the daffodils and oak tree, photographing at two distances from the flowers. I like the more distant one best.

Red Kites

We stopped near Watlington on our way to Newbury today and spent a while photographing the Red Kites in beautiful lighting.
Clouds built up later and the kites look great silhouetted against the sky.

Other Images from Pensthorpe

Great to see a hare fairly close from the woodland hide. The holly in the background is a bit distracting but he didn't want to pose anywhere else. The Lapwing and Redshank were having a constant fight for territory.

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw (and Beak)

Spring is in full flow at Pensthorpe with lots of the birds displaying and mating. There are also the first ducklings around. This is a sad but very common occurrence - a Lesser Black-backed gull has come into the lake edge and waited till the mother mallard was not able to guard all her 12 ducklings and then made off with one. Only a small thumbnail but you can see it larger by clicking on the image

Tests on Lenses (for Phil!)

Taken with the 100-400 X 1.4. 300 X 2 and 100-400 with no extender. I fear you can see the difference!

Reed Buntings

We spent a couple of hours yesterday photographing Reed Buntings - always one of my favourite birds and I was not disappointed.

Some of the males had very black heads, others were more mottled. I particualrly like the brown head of the female plumage and this bird was very photogenic as it kept lifting its head feathers.

I wanted to get the birds in flight but didn't manage one that I was pleased with - Phil has a great shot on his blog. It is a good excuse to go back again (and again ......)

Grantchester Exhibition and Our Swallows are Back

I have missed quite a few days as the Exhibition at Grantchester has taken up all the daylight hours (and more). The weather was not good over the Easter weekend here in Cambridgeshire so we were disappointed with the number of people walking around the village and therefore being tempted to visit the Exhibition. However, we were delighted to welcome many of our Cambridge Camera club members and other friends as well as a fairly steady stream of visitors new to us from all round the world!

My best-selling image was of snow in the Orchard Tearooms (it felt as cold as this in the Hall first thing in the mornings!) and also the Mill Pond in Autumn.

Our Swallows returned for the first time today. Great to know they remember their way home.

Black Country Portraits

I used my free return ticket to the Black Country Museum today and the weather was very similar to our last visit in November - very cold, windy and wet. I used the Shift and Tilt lens, which meant a very slow rate of working as I find the most reliable way is to put the camera on live view and focus using the magnifier.

Day in Walsall

It was particularly cold and wet today so I decided to revisit the New Art Gallery at Walsall, having greatly enjoyed exploring it a few years ago. It houses the Garman Ryan Collection - Kathleen Garman was Jacob Epstein's long-term Mistress (and eventually wife) and mother of three of his five children. The collection has lots of fine sculptures but also pictures by Epstein and by his son Theo Garman who died at the age of 30. Having soaked up all the wonderful images in the Gallery it was the toilets, which are lit with a purple light, that made a lasting impression. In the second image the cubicles can be seen reflected in the pedal bin lid.

The art galery itself is very photogenic with lots of warm wood floors, walls and ceilings and staircases.
I also went round the town and felt the Victorian Arcade was in complete contrast to the modern Art Gallery

Feathers

Spent a while at a captive bird place and decided to concentrate on the various feather patterns. The feathers belong to a demoiselle crane, a grey pheasant peacock, a pelican and a small black and white cormorant.

Tilt and Shift in Northampton

As the weather was pretty uninspiring today, I decided to give one of my under-used toys an outing. By using the lens shifted sideways with some tilt you can get some candid shots with only the subject sharp.

Kites from the Thame Travelodge

These kites are probably the most dramatic view so far from my Travelodge series. The light was poor and the sky very featureless but still good to see their antics.

Fowlmere Tree Creeper and Garden Dunnock

No sign of the Kingfisher from the Spring Hide but a very close Tree Creeper was some compensation. It pulled a grub out from the bark.

The Dunnock was in full song in the garden this morning along with the first ChiffChaff of this spring.

Lichens in Toft Wood

Toft Wood was first planted in 1995 so it is less than 20 years old but the lichens are flourishing on the trees. The yellow one is Xanthoria parietina or similar species and the grey one a Lecanora species. It is thought that the large increase in these particular

families of lichens is due to the increase in nitrogen levels from vehicles etc.

Emperor Moth

I tried various methods in an attempt to photograph a Female Emperor Moth. The moths are on the wing from April onwards - this female has hatched from a pupa that was kept indoors over the winter (thanks Bryan!). It is a day-flying moth although the females do not fly much at all being quite content to sit on a twig, smelling nice and waiting for the males to flock in.
In our area the caterpillars feed on hawthorn, blackthorn, meadow sweet etc .
I like the first picture best though I know black backgrounds are generally frowned on. I placed some black paper against the window directly behind the moth so there is light coming through the wings. I used 1/32 power ring flash to slightly boost the colours. The second attempt has natural light through the wings and has picked up the green colours of the background. The one on the log is again a combination of very low power flash and natural light. All taken with 50 mm macro lens.