Bug hunt and Clouded Yellows in Cheshire 24th August 2014

I am going on a macro shoot today up to Rixton clay pits up in Warrington area.
Arriving nice and early ish   for me that is  lol     i soon spot a nice back lit white feeding on a thistle flower

             And on the fence nearby a Drone hoverfly resting, shot with canon mpe-65 macro lens

                 Some sort of plant bug , i never manage to id these things.   again mpe lens used

 Good job i didn't bring Mollster , never seen this sign before , they are doing alot of work here putting up fences preventing access large areas . this will probably prevent me getting to the best areas and may have to find another place to visit .  why cant they leave nature reserves natural without boundary's!  the best wild flowers for shooting are now on the wrong side of the fenced off path! 

 another Drone portrait  , i haven't used the mpe nearly enough recently , must use it more next year.

      A couple of butterfly's feeding on the Wrong side of the fence , which is not finished so i got through the gaps  lol

                                                                     a Gatekeeper

                               Walking along the boardwalk now in search of Dragonfly's

 The common darters are sunbathing on the fence rail , i just need to creep up on them carefully now to get within a couple inches with the mpe for some portraits

                                   5 frames focus stacked to increase depth of field

                                                                           Fly on Black 

                                 a Noonday fly portrait , I'm having fun now :)  love this lens!

          I have just spotted an Emerald damselfly , never seen one here before but its difficult to get in the long grass to get a shot ,using 100mm lens i need to get the focal plane correct so all parts of it are sharply in focus,, i failed :(

                                                    a newly emerged common darter

                                         nice back lighting on the newly emerged dragon

walking along the fence i have just noticed a digger wasp ,I need to get within 3 inches with the lens for this one!    i have crawled along the ground to get close without spooking it  Yay!  gotcha :D

 In the meadow area there are quite a few Peacocks , ALWAYS great to see these common but stunning butterfly's

 I have just spotted a yellowy/orange butterfly flying in the distance over this meadow , it Must be a Clouded yellow!    i have just Got to get a shot of it, only ever once seen one of these migratory butterfly's.

running through the tall meadow with a long lens i get close and it flys off :(   but soon spot it again and just manage this poor shot.   carefully getting closer i am almost near enough to use the 100mm macro lens when Another Clouded Yellow comes down and spooks the first one!!  Bollocks

after about 3/4 hour i have spotted one again, and this time manage to get fairly close to get these two images  YAY!

                                       Stunning to see , they look more orange in flight

                                          the end of a fantastic days macro shooting :)

Various Perch Rock Sunsets August 2014

   A collection of images shot over 5 trips to Perch Rock Lighthouse on the Wirral during August.

Constantine Bay and Bedruthan Steps sunset last day in Cornwall july 2014

Our last day in Cornwall , we are going to Constantine Bay for a day on the beach , it is going to be a hot sunny day :)             Having parked at Treyarnon Bay we are walking around the coastal path towards Constantine.

                                   Superb coastline all around Cornwall with the wild flowers.

                                       We can see the beach now , looks quite busy already!

 On to the beach , walked to the far end where it is quieter , the rocks over to the right separate Constantine and Booby's bay.

                                the Bodmin Beasts are covered in sand  Ooops lol

                        
                                                                   Washed off now :)

                                 Haha  fast shutter speed to freeze the water drops :)

 Jan has been in for a swim , and now while she reads i am going to try a few long exposure images on the rocks with Mollster.

                                             8 seconds exposure with 10 stop nd filter

                                                                           17 seconds

                                                                          25 seconds

    Time to head back now after a good day in the sun , hopefully will get a sunset tonight somewhere.

                                                           The view from the caravan :)

       We have decided to go back to Bedruthan Steps for the evening , hope to get a good sunset :)
walking down to the beach the tide is coming in fast unfortunately ,but i have found a good spot to shoot half way down the steep steps.

                                                    long exposure with the sun setting.

                                              These are my favourite images of the day

                        The end of a great holiday.  Goodbye Cornwall for now, will be back.