It is nearly 2 years since I visited RSPB at Sandy so today I took the opportunity to walk all round the reserve finishing at the impressive house and gardens. The trees as always are wonderful in their variety and stature. I forgot a spare battery so many of the photos are with my phone. I did take a couple of hoverflies, Hornet mimic and Pied Hoverfly early on.
Last June, I attached a Canon macro lens to my Fuji via a piece of transparent hose giving a lens that acts like a Lensbaby in being able to move the focus point but also produces soft diffuse image due to the light coming in via the hose. Here are a few garden images taken with the Hosebaby today.
Last Tuesday, I took part in the monthly wildlife survey at a chosen area of Paxton Pits. This time it was the edge of one of the disused gravel pits and an area of meadow which was flooded all winter. There was a huge abundance and diversity of insects and other invertebrates so I could only record a fraction of the species. Here are some of the more photogenic subjects. The Green leafhopper comes in two forms - the first with jade green wing cases, the second with blue .
As Saturday was a sunny day, I decided to have a play with more cyanotypes (see previous attempt last July here) The first of the three images shows the coated paper with specimens and various added substances - salt, paprika etc; the second after exposure before rinsing and the third when rinsed and dried. I think I probably exposed some for a bit too long to get the subtle tones - the 4th image shows the exposed brown state - interesting that the veins show on the leaves before washing but not after. I will try on a duller day for comparison.
