Wednesday 31 December 2014

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.



























Tuesday 30 December 2014

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.