Christmas Log

Amazing what grows/lives in and on the various logs I have scattered round the garden. I am resisting trying to identify all the Collembolids as I think it might be a very time-consuming job - I am not even sure whether the long-legged creatures in the tird and fourth photos are Collembolids! Lots of mini fungi Grey caps, Fire Rug and Jellies plus a spikey slime mould, Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa, and what I think is Nectria gracilipes, a fungus same genus as coral spot.

Bourn Village Walk

Took a stroll round Bourn Village in he afternoon and surprised to find snowdrops in full bloom. Using a full-spectrum camera has brought out the skies and emphasized  the Christmas lights but doesn't reproduce greens well!

 

'Christmas in Cambridge'

There are the usual attractions on Parkers Piece in Cambridge this year though it no longer has the allure of going to the 'North Pole'. I was joined by some of our photography group on Saturday at the Fair and enjoyed trying to capture the lights and excitement (though not the sounds or the smell of the various food outlets)

Creative in Cambridge

My project yesterday was slow-shutterspeed and double-exposure photography in Cambridge as the light faded. As usual I got a bit distracted, this time  by reflections and the fact that the filter I grabbed was a deep red one rather than a neutral density one. It certainly cut the light to give low shutterspeeds but also added a red hue which converted to these blue/gold tones when White Balance correction was applied in Lightroom. Once the golden light had faded, the cyan colour that the double exposure gave produced a different feel to the result.

Fun with Fungi at Paxton

We had to abandon the Conservation Work Party at Paxton Pits early when the heavy rain arrived  but, after a revitalising drink,  four of the younger members of the group joined me in a fungi hunt in Rory's Wood. We got soaked through but the woods looked and smelt wonderful and we even found a few loose twigs with interesting fungi to take back to photograph at the visitor centre in the outside shelter. Tom had some small light cubes that took colour filters - I went for a blue one and then discovered that the visitor centre itself made an interesting back drop. It is unusual to see a hexagonal full moon but otherwise quite convincing - even got some surface detail one shot!!