Stunning Pearls in the Wyre forest 20th may 2012

After my first ever trip to the Wyre forest , i enjoyed the place so much i just had to go back.  since i didn't get the Pearl Bordered Fritillary shots i had envisaged , the following Sunday i made the almost 2 hour drive back early in the morning.  when i arrived , it was cold!!!!!   what a terrible summer we are having!  arghhh.   it was fairly overcast also which wasn't really going to help with finding the butterflies but the light was great IF i could find a few!
Walking down the main track towards the pipeline area , the location i had seen the most PBFs the previous weekend, i really did notice how cold it actually was!  this was not good but as there were plenty around a week ago it should not be too difficult to find a few !  the bluebells are looking great, always lovely to see them this time of year.

I soon arrived at the crossroads where the path crosses the "pipeline"  this is the area i need to search ,in amongst all the newly emerging bracken fronds where hopefully i will find a few pearls.
After just a few minutes searching i have found one!  Yay .Perched on top of a bracken frond, Perfect!  looks freshly emerged and not looking like it wants to move :)   WOW!

          I soon found a couple more , difficult to find in the cold temperatures as they are not flying.   

This next image is same butterfly as above but shot from the opposite side with dead bracken giving a different background colour!

Having got the shots i had wanted the pressure was off now, and i could have a more relaxed day!    i decided to go and have a look at the bluebells in the wood.   they are looking great at the moment too :)

Walking through the bluebells i followed a pearl for quite a long way but it just would not perch up :(
i did however notice large numbers of march flys, Biblio sp.    so just had to shoot them ,  natural light worked out really nice, with black subjects flash is always a problem.  firstly a male with its huge hairy eyes   lol

                           and here is a female perched on a bluebell :))   note the tiny eyes.

There are numerous wild flowers , with these pretty small white ones growing in amongst the bluebells :)

and a weevil investigating a bluebell!!  hehe

Walking back towards the first crossroads area i suddenly found a Pearl perched on a bluebell!  Yay  always wanted to see this!!!  and whats more , there was not just the one, two in fact!   so lucky to find these , just have to make the most of this opportunity:)))

WOW   so happy getting these shots :)))))

 As its still only just after 10 am i have decided to drive to the other end of forest to have a look around and see what i can find!  i park up at the Bewdley end  and walk up along the old "Blue bell " railway line to an open clearing with loads of bracken , looks a good place for pearls! 

   But the first thing i spot are loads of beautiful Dor beetles , that's if you can call a beetle that!  haha     these are very difficult to shoot , especially with flash, so as the light is getting quite bright now its worth a go shooting a few frames to focus stack in natural light!   this one is sitting on a dead bracken frond clear of any obstructions, so by lying down i can get a good angle to shoot from.  Unfortunately , i did not notice the nearby Wood Ant nest  and as i was shooting they started crawling all over my arms and camera!   arghhh , yes i got bit twice!     but this image is well worth a bit of pain!    Probably my best ever natural light beetle shot.  EVER!        this is a four shot focus stack.

Look at the beautiful colours!  wonderful image !

I soon found a few more pearls, so just take a few more shots haha

and a last bluebell image!

And a reminder how far from home i am , a metal sign with miles to Chester , not far from home!

What a day i have had , probably taken  some of my best ever photographs !

all images canon 5d2, 100mm L macro lens