Monochrome at Wicken

 The very contrasty light and the predominance of orange insects against green backgrounds produce very striking monochromes. All except the butterfly are done just with Raw converter but will perfect in Silver Efex at some stage and repost some.

Wicken Fen

 For once the weather was just right for the RPS Nature Group outing that I was running at Wicken Fen. It started cool and misty giving us time to get our eye in and adjust the cameras. These Giant Water Beetles put on quite a show including nipping my finger when I tried to move a distraction in the pool. It then cleared to a very warm, sunny and windless afternoon. There were lots of Ruddy Darters around - some mating pairs which gave the usual depth of field problems - at F16 they are well in focus throughout but the background is intrusive; at F9 parts of the wing are out of focus but a good background. I spent a lot of time trying to capture my favourite dragonfly, the Brown Hawker, in flight.

On Hunstanton Pier

When the wind got too much yesterday, I took refuge in the Pier amusements at Hunstanton. I was amazed how much the machines had changed since I last visited an arcade - all of them now have small toys and tickets for prizes rather than just the coin drop.  

Contrasting Sports in Hunstanton

It was very windy in Hunstanton this morning (stayed overnight after lecturing to Brancaster CC - thanks for your welcome). This presented difficulties for the Bowls but provided excellent condition for the wind surfers.

Thames Barge Race

After all the hot dry weather of the last 2 weeks, it was inevitable that it would change on the day I had booked to follow the Thames Barge Race from Pin Mill. It was raining hard and very windy when we left Ipswich at 6.30am and continued for most of the day with just a short dry spell in the middle of the day. The rain helped to add atmosphere to the pictures but the wind meant that we couldn't go out to the open sea as Kitty, the barge we were on, is smaller and lighter than those competing.I did get a few distant shots of the larger classes sailing out from the harbour. Anyway I enjoyed the day though may have to try again for the images I had in mind for today. 

White Admiral, Purple Emperor and Fritillary

 Two new butterfly species for me today, the White Admiral and Purple Emperor. Thanks Richard for showing us these in a Bedfordshire Wood. I would like to photograph a fully open Purple Emperor sometime,  so good excuse to return there. The Silver Washed Fritillaries are from Gamlingay - I was pleased to find female among the Brambles - she is very well camouflaged.

Silver -Washed Fritillary

 A hot sunny morning - perfect for a visit to Gamlingay wood to search out the Silver-Washed  Fritillary. I luckily didn't have to wait long as an obliging individual was feeding on the first ride . They are a wonderful orange that glows in the sunlight with the light hairs on the wings giving the silver appearance.

Marbled Whites are On the Wing

 Our local meadow was alive with Marbled Whites yesterday evening - this is about 2 weeks earlier than last year. Lovely to see them there in large numbers again. They are all in very good condition with males (black) and females (Brown) clearly distinguishable.