Friday 9th December 2011

Another aquatic shot, the waving fronds of a coral.

2s, f/10 (approx), ISO 800

Tuesday 6th December 2011

This photo was quite a challenge due to the fluorescent lighting and the refraction of the water. After a little tinkering with the settings and some post-processing of the colours, I got it looking fairly realistic.

54mm, 1/100s, f/5, ISO 800

Sunday 23rd October 2011

The resident frog in the cave hut cellar.

270mm, 1/60s, f/6.3, ISO 400

Sunday 9th October 2011

Black Swan at Thames Valley Park, Reading.

84mm, 1/400s, f/7.1, ISO 400

Friday 7th October 2011

Taken a little after midnight, oops, but I was driving down the motorway after work. This toy snake is from Sandown zoo on the Isle of Wight.

92mm, 1/30s, f/5, ISO 400

Friday 2nd September 2011

A friend's boisterous Jack Russell, and an artificial vignette to highlight him.

4.6mm, 1/60s, f/2.8. (auto)

Monday 22nd August 2011

I just like this picture so it's going in as my photo of the day. This are my two new chickens who are all curious about their new home. Unfortunately they're not being allowed to explore it as they'd like as the older two are being rather defensive over their home, but hopefully they'll settle in and be accepted! I put them up on the chair so that they had a bit of personal space.

14mm, 1/1000s, f/5.6, ISO 400

Friday 19th August 2011

Taken with the Kodak, but this is what it's probably best at. This is a model of an Osprey at the annual Rutland Water bird fair. Made of sheets of plastic, it's taller than a person and quite imposing. I went to take a closer look and the sign informed me that using my fair ticket I could go to the other side of the reservoir and view the real life Ospreys, so after I'd finished looking around the stalls I did just that. I took two cameras with me, one a wide angle and one without a memory card, this giving myself zero opportunity to take photos of the Ospreys through the binoculars but some things are worth watching with just your eyes. I quickly spotted a specimen through my binoculars, seeing it fly past at a distance just as I was asking someone where to look. The male switching between flying in a little circuit and sitting on a perch near the nest, and occasionally he'd plummet towards the water, making a splash then flying off. Apparently this is so that they can clean the back of their talons that they can't clean in any other way, and is characteristic of Ospreys only, helping you identify them. When he was sitting on his perch I could really appreciate the grace and beauty of this striking bird with its dominant white markings and head held high.

6mm, 1/506s, f/4.8, ISO 80. (auto)

Wednesday 17th August 2011

Since it looks like I won't be able to sort out my broken camera for a while (I really miss it!), I really have to rise to the challenge of the alternative options and use them in ways they provide good results. My old Ixus can be coaxed into life for a little while as long as it has a newly charged batter in it, so that is preferable to the poorer picture quality of the Kodak. So what does the Ixus do well? Blue skies, colourful objects, and getting in close. Thinking of the latter two, I went to a patch of beautiful flowers I've photographed previously, and took a variety of snaps. A hoverfly was kind enough to enhance this shot, so I chose it as my top shot, although pleasingly I had a few contenders.

4.6mm, 1/500s, f/2.8. (auto)

Friday 5th August 2011

Time to get the caterpillar spray out in the greenhouse! It's a shame to lose a potential butterfly, but on the other hand I don't want to lose my aubergine plants either!

1/40s, f/13, ISO 200

Friday 29th July 2011

Pond skaters are more colourful than I thought!

250mm, 1/200s, f/6.3, ISO 800

Monday 25th July 2011

Young jays.

250mm, 1/200s (auto from aperture priority), f/6.3, ISO 800

Wednesday 20th July 2011

Still working on the grasshopper shoes and I think they're improving, what do you think? I'm now going in search of a certain shot, rather than just trying to photograph grasshoppers close up. Plus this guy had a pretty colourful tail, which helps. At first just taking any photo is hard enough, but after a while you get used to the setup and the subject mannerisms and can start to bring composition into play.

1/60s, f/11, ISO 800

Sunday 17th July 2011

A greylag at Ely.

141mm, 1/125s (auto from aperture priority), f/5.6, ISO 400

Thursday 14th July 2011

Tonight's photographic experiment didn't work out quite as I'd hoped, but instead of post the gone wrong efforts, I'll have another go next month, and here's a picture of a nosey cow's dribbly nose instead.

70mm, 1/40s (auto from aperture priority), f/7.1, ISO 800

Monday 11th July 2011

More grasshoppers! When I took today's photos I was fairly pleased with them, thought I'd captured everything I wanted in a photo, but when I looked at them on a computer they seem to be looking that special zing, or maybe I've just been taking too many of them. I think I need a bit of a break, no more grasshoppers for a while!

1/100s, f/10 (approx), ISO 800

Friday 8th July 2011

I took a stroll round the lake at the end of my road hoping to find grasshoppers, but there didn't seem to be any around. I took in one more field before heading home, and happened upon some gorgeous salmon coloured damselflies that let me get REALLY close to take photos. I think they were female Common Blues. A spot to return to!

1/250s, f/10, ISO 800

Monday 4th July 2011

I decided it was time to diversify from macro grasshopper shots, although I'm still working on those for a particular photo I'm after. Today, instead, I went to the dragonfly pond at Knypersley reservoir and found a collection of Azure Blues. This one posed for me for a while letting me get right in close, all the others flew off as soon as I got within range for a photo.

1/50s, f/11 (approx), ISO 800

Sunday 3rd July 2011

I took my motorbike for a spin across the Peak District and stopped off at a climbing crag where I knew some friends would be. I spent a little while changing out of my biking clothes, then walked out of the layby, and right in front of the last car, fearless as anything, was this rabbit, just scratching about on the ground for food. It didn't seem at all fazed when I crouched down to take a couple of photos!

183mm, 1/100s (auto from aperture priority), f/8, ISO 800

Saturday 2nd July 2011

These small bugs (under a cm long) live in the hedge in my garden, and bit me when I give them their twice yearly trim. This one was crawling over my hand so I put it on the BBQ cover and grabbed the camera. Surprisingly by the time I'd reversed the lens it was still there. I haven't managed to identify exactly it as the red patches and black head are hard to place, but I've got it down to the order Hemiptera, possibly a male Stenotus Binotatus. But more to the point - look at the massive spike it's hiding underneath its thorax!

1/40s, f/10 (approx), ISO 800