Photo special: Macrophotography course

It’s easy to overlook small things, and miss the everyday beauty (and weirdness) that surrounds us. Dr C very kindly gave me a macro lens for my birthday, back in April, and since then I’ve been seeing the world differently. It’s been a revelation.

I realised I needed to learn how to use it, so booked myself on a Surrey Wildlife Trust macrophotography course, led by Adrian Davies. The course took place in an old orchard, in the most glorious sunshine. There was plenty of unexpected beauty to be found, once you start looking at it. Here are my best shots from the day.

Globe thistle

Bee on bramble flower

Irridescent fly

Water drops at the heart of a flower

Hoverfly on bramble flower

Cranesbill flowers

Butterfly

Gatekeeper(?) butterfly on bramble flower

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Photo special: robins

The robins have been very busy in our garden of late – I think they must have chicks nearby, but I’m not sure where they’re nesting. So last weekend I spent some time trying to get a good photo of one.

Here are my best attempts – not all perfect focus, and a little noisy in places, but I think some of them capture something of the character of these birds – bold and inquisitive.

Robin

Surrey Dormouse Group trip to British Wildlife Centre

Winter is a quiet period for dormousers. The dormice are hibernating, so we wash our dusters, enter our data onto the national database, and put our feet up. Here in Surrey we’ve not quite been hibernating – 30 of us met up at the British Wildlife Centre for a meeting to celebrate our achievements from last year, and discuss plans for 2016. And, of course, to see the wonderful collection of animals they have there.

It’s always good to have an excuse to visit the British Wildlife Centre. The runaway show stealers for me were the otters (as always). It wasn’t great weather for photography (very little light), but here are a few of the more acceptable snaps I took.

Red Squirrel

Otter

Otter

Otter

Mink

Red squirrel looking into a camera lens (shame the lens cap was on!)

October Photography Challenge: Autumn colour

Falling autumn leaves against a blue sky

I took advantage of the glorious sunshine to visit my local National Trust estate to take photos for this month’s photo challenge – autumn colour.

Autumn sunshine through trees

Looking up through yellow leaves on a tree to a blue sky

Autumn sunshine through the trees

A parade of fine old trees

The sun shining through a yellow leaf caught on a hedge

Autumn sunshine over the Surrey Hills

September Photography Challenge: seascapes

I had no shortage of opportunities to take photos for September’s Photography Challenge, the theme of which was seascapes. The photos below are a mix of ones taken with a proper camera, and ones taken by my phone.

Near Kynance Cove

Near Kynance Cove

St Agnes sunset

Bishop Rock lighthouse, west from the Isles of Scilly

St Agnes, Isles of Scilly

A sailing boat and Cromwell’s Castle, Tresco

Looking from Byher to Tresco

Isles of Scilly

Isles of Scilly

St Agnes, Isles of Scilly

June Photography Challenge: insects and a confession

I have a confession to make: I didn’t take any photos for my June photography challenge. I don’t know where the month went! Anyway, as the theme was insects, I thought this was a good reason to trawl through my archives, and see what I could do with the shots I already had. So, I may have failed to take new photos, but at least I’ve done something with some ones I’ve ignored up til now.

(dead) hornet

Ugandan butterfly

Bumblebee in artichoke flower

Indian butterfly

Banded demoiselle damselfly

My tormentor – a hawker dragonfly of some kind?

May Photography Challenge: garden

The theme for May’s photography challenge was the garden. I love plants at this time of year – everything is fresh and verdant, bursting with life. So I spent a happy hour pottering about the garden, trying to capture some of the textures and colours of May.

It took me a while to get round to looking at the photos I shot, and when I did I was disappointed with the results. A lot of them are unusable as the focus was off, or the composition too messy. I must remember to check the images in the screen as I go along, rather than waiting til I upload them on a computer. Here’s the best of the (poor) bunch.

Sage

Buddleia reaching to the sky

Dandelion clock (plenty of them in my garden!)

Fresh ivy leaves

wisteria

April Photography Challenge: spring

My theme for April’s challenge was spring. As it turned out, I didn’t take many classic ‘spring’ shots (apart from some bluebells).

Bluebells at Hatchlands Park

Birds are busy in spring, and I couldn’t resist when I saw this fine woodpecker.

Great spotted woodpecker

Great spotted woodpecker

Reptiles don’t come immediately to mind when you think of spring, but actually it’s a great time to see them basking in the early sun. I managed to find a few on a Surrey Wildlife Trust walk.

Grass snake on a corrugated tin sheet used for monitoring reptiles

Slow worm

Slow worm

Slow worm

Adder

Reptiles aren’t the only creatures who like to sunbathe – foxes are rather fond of it too.

Fox enjoying the sun

Fox enjoying the sun

Fox enjoying the sun

March Photo Challenge: wild birds

For my March Photo Challenge I visited my local park to take photos of the wildfowl. Spring was in the air, as can be seen from the fighting moorhens… The swan was also rather combative, chasing off ducks who came too close.

Moorhen

Mallard tail

Greylag goose legs

Greylag goose feathers

Greylag goose

February Photography Challenge: Still Life

February’s Photography Challenge pushed me beyond my comfort zone: still life. But that was a good thing – the whole idea of the Photography Challenge is to get me experimenting and trying new techniques. So, I set myself up a little still life studio, using greaseproof paper as a backdrop, and tin foil to reflect light towards the subject. I stuck with a 50mm prime lens, and used a combination of flash and a lamp to light the scene.

The photos I’m most pleased with are the single skeletal hydrangea flowers – I like the simplicity and detail. It has a melancholy feel that is right for late winter.

I used the challenge as an excuse to get some flowers, although I’m not satisfied with the flower photos I took – flower arranging isn’t my strong point, and the composition looks messy for all of them. But it’s still nice to have the real thing to look at.

Then, although it’s not really ‘still’, I took some long-exposure shots of the fire. I like the vibrant colour and movement this has captured – warming on a cold winter day.