Fowlmere Composites

A walk round Fowlmere RSPB reserve was pretty devoid of visible birds as usual so I had a play with multiple exposures and different blending modes. Here a few that I liked from the session (the first is a Photoshop composite (overlay mode) but didn't record ME mode!).

Spiders, Kestrel and 100s Chalkhill Blue

While looking for that never-to-be-achieved perfect butterfly shot, we stumbled on a Wasp Spider site. This female at one time had 4 males in attendance but only 2 stayed by the time I set up for focus stacking (first and third image). There were plenty of other spiders around including one under a Knapweed flowerhead. I was entertained by a close Kestrel  male.

Bee Wolf Wasp Video

To see higher resolution version, go to this youtube link

https://youtu.be/72lVqoJ4-yY

Cyanotype Session - Rest of images

As documentation of the session, here are the remaining images starting with my favourite of a dragonfly corpse (and larval cases in next shot). The objects that work best are those where they can be flattened completely against the paper which does preclude a lot of subjects eg. the teasel head worked ok but the stem and leaves failed to register. Quite a few of these examples (3-8) have detergent bubbles and some are parts of images enlarged for details

 

Chalkhill Blues on Royston Heath

It was a bit too breezy for taking butterfly portraits reliably today, but good light and blue skies to complement the wing colours. A lot of Gatekeepers around but otherwise single Essex Skipper, Brown Argus, one Marbled White and Small Copper (missed recording that one!). A few Burnet moths on the Knapweeds. 

 

 

 

Experimenting with Wet Cyanotypes

Before lockdown, we had plans to run a cynaotype workshop and had experimented making negative on film and printing cyanotypes on coated dry paper. I thought I would have a go at Wet Cyanotypes developed in the sunshine. Here are a few from the session showing the various stages and some results - more to follow. The things I experimented with were Clingfilm, turmeric, salt, citric acid and bicarb of soda. The images show some of the setups after exposing to the light with or without the objects in situ and before rinsing - brown coloration.  Once they are rinsed in water the prints are a blue colour.

 

Annual Visit to Sandy

We visited Sandy yesterday on a very hot day so the Beewolf Wasps were very active. I mainly shot video and you will be 'treated' to my compilation when complete but I also took some stills of the wasps with their prey, the male resting in the shade (very sensible), the Pantaloon Bees (good number of these this year). The Red-banded Sandwasp had caught a very large caterpillar and struggled to get it back to its burrow. We lost sight of it heading through the undergrowth.

I have just uploaded a page to my website of all the complex interactions that I have recorded on the heath - link here for some fascinating stories!