Elephant at Large

It's Autumn. There's no escaping it. There will probably be no belated summer sunshine, it's likely to be rain from here on in. In the little free time I have at the moment I will be trying to get in more photography as I miss it.

Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila elpenor) Caterpillar

 Here is the Caterpillar of an Elephant Hawk Moth that was found in my neighbour's garden. A stunning, Alien-like creature in a very cunning disguise. Even knowing that the head and the face are the tiny muzzle shape at the front, my gaze is always drawn to those giant faux snake eyes. 

Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila elpenor) Caterpillar eating

This beautiful and bizarre creature will hopefully overwinter as a Pupa and be seen again next Summer. I've never seen an Elephant Hawk Moth so the prospect of seeing such giant, vibrant native species is exciting.

These images were taken with on-board flash which I am often apprehensive to use but it really gave depth to the greens here.

Onwards

Where in the World? Northumberland and Scotland

For the second week of Gallivanting we stayed in Northumberland, surprisingly near to a train line. 'Station Cottage" turned out to be right next to a level crossing. Hooray for double glazing.

As it is so very close we did dip in and out of Scotland. I've been to Scotland a few times now and it is beautiful however, like here in England and in Ireland and in Wales, it's no stranger to rain.

Here are some images of what Motorways call THE NORTH:

Bamburgh Castle

Statue of St. Aidan in the shadow of Lindisfarne Priory

St Abb, Scotland

 The Northern half of the trip was less about Manor houses and a lot more focused on Castles, ports and windy hilltops. A nice contrast to the immense lushness of Dartmoor and the sandy Devon Coast. 

I am now back in the West Country and unsure whether to prepare for Winter or hold out for a late Summer. For now I'll be the one wandering around in a coat, sunglasses and espadrilles.

Where in the world? Devon

I have been absent for about a month and in the blogging world that is a lifetime. To make up for it, I have holiday photographs. Nothing far-flung and exotic but a glimpse of the UK.

For the first week we stayed in Devon in a town, across the water from Plymouth, known as Turnchapel. Here are a few photographic highlights:

The Gates at Antony (National Trust Property)

Cheeky Cupcake

Blue Hydrangea (with Bokeh) at Greenway

Deckchairs at Greenway

As a family we have been to a vast amount of National Trust properties across the British Isles but I have found myself more keen on this pursuit as I get older. Antony was interesting because the family still lives there amongst the giant portraits. 

Greenway was Agatha Christie's Summerhouse. I've never read an Agatha Christie before but I love books and I felt it was only polite. I've since read 'Five Little Pigs' which I actually really enjoyed. I deem it a gentle murder mystery.

Stay tuned.

Bees, Bokeh

There has been a brief week long respite from the rain. That may have been the British summertime: blink and you'll miss it. 

Honey Bee Apis Mellifera on Blue Hebe

 I have been darting around a Hebe, challenging auto focus to capture Bees for the nth time. 

Honey Bee in flight

 It's been enjoyable playing around with photography again, I love the difference that a change in aperture can make. In these images there is a very shallow depth of field with, dare I say it, a hint of Bokeh. Hopefully more Bokeh  to come.

Honey Bee feasting on Blue Hebe

Until next time...

The Swarm

It's taken me the best part of a day (thanks to file formatting/compression/my Youtube account using a different email address to my Blogger, etc, etc) but it is finally here. This is my bee movie. I apologise for the quality but it had to be small enough to upload. I have gone for the inevitable 'Flight of the Bumblebee' soundtrack: it's a classic for a reason.

Now for something completely different

It has been some time since my last post and there has been one reason for this: rain. Here in England it has rained almost every single day in June.


I'm trying to get back on top of things by using some of the ideas I had for images I took back when there was still some semblance of Summer. 


This blog has so far, featured insects alone. I'll admit I love photographing insects but they are not the only thing I aim my camera at. Wildlife photography is my favourite kind of photography, I love the thrill of being in the right place at the right second and getting that shot. I do want to branch out and develop my skills in other fields, like architectural photography, Landscapes and maybe even a little abstract. 


For now, Wildlife is my focus (I love puns) but it's not all beetles, bugs and butterflies.


Sometimes I shoot birds*

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

 These are just some off the cuff photos I took when on a walk near the Severn bridge but I really want to add a little variety, otherwise I may have to change the name to 'Frances Photographs Bugs'.

Pied Wagtail (M.alba alba)

I will leave you with this Wagtail stretching its wing and the promise that I will update more regularly, despite rain (maybe a little rain photography?) and the bee video is in the works, I promise.

*With my camera, obviously

Rose Chafers

2012 has definitely been a big year for bugs. The UK was cold and grey for month after unforgiving month and the invertebrate world is definitely making up for lost time.

The most recent addition to the insect world my garden has become are an army of Rose Chafers.

Rose Chafer Cetonia aurata

If you’ve never come across one, they’re hard to miss. About the size of a large Bumblebee, with a louder buzz and iridescent Blue/Green (with hints of yellow, purple and red) they are not subtle. Their colouring is the result of Circular Polarisation.


With this beautiful May weather we've been having, it is completely normal for them to be emerging in large numbers however they've decided to ignore the roses their name suggests they should feed upon and have taken up residence on a small Tamarix.

Rose Chafers Mating on Tamarix

 They should start disappearing in the coming days and weeks because, like most insect species, their driving purpose as adults is to reproduce. Once they have eaten, successfully mated and eggs have been laid, they will die.

Rose Chafer eating Tamarix flowers

Some may find them intimidating due to their size and the amount of noise they make but I love the seasonality of them and am pleased I was able to capture the spectacle.

Rose Chafer

Until next time

Wildlife on your Doorstep

Sometimes you have to travel far and wide to photograph wildlife. Sometimes you have to battle across mountains, over seas and through forest…

Other times you find wildlife, quite literally, on your doorstep.

Angle Shades Moth (Phlogophora meticulosa)

That is where I came across this Angle Shades Moth.

I am no stranger to Lepidoptera (I volunteer at a Zoo, partially in a Butterfly house featuring mostly Costa Rican species) and I have spent a lot of time over the years stalking moths and butterflies through field and marsh however I have never come across this species before.

It is a common species, found throughout Europe, that can often be found resting on fences and plants during the day. That would explain the doorstep.

It seemed like this would take a lot of work to identify as Moths can look very similar but I found it on UK Moths ‘Beginner's top 20’. In defense of my Moth Knowledge, I recognised most of the other 19.

Obviously this was not the most taxing of photo shoots but it does put paid to the excuse that you have to travel to see interesting wildlife.

Be seeing you.

The Bees

It has been almost a month since my last post which is inexcusable but I'm going to come up with all kinds of excuses anyway.  Mostly involving being busy and torrential rain. Terrible excuses.


Anyway, Today has brought the dawn of something that had to be photographed: a swarm of Honeybees.

Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Swarm

That which looks like yellow snow is all Honeybees. Thousands of them. I am living in a Hitchcock film.


They originated in my neighbours hive and decided that the second said neighbours went away for the weekend, that was the time to swarm. 

Honeybee swarm resting in Dog Rose

I'm not going to go into the depths of why bees swarm as I would just be quoting the internet. This hive was about a year old and I think there were just too many off them so some scouts set off to find a new place, form a new colony. Certainly startled some barbecues in the neighbourhood.

So many Honeybees

They have now returned to a bush next to the hive they came from. I have a lot of footage of the swarm which I'm going to edit together soon so stand by for a little bee film.


Exciting stuff.

Chasing Perfection

Photography, the art of ‘writing with light’ is by its very nature about control. The majority of the time photographers have control over their images. As a photographer I decide what time of day I take my photographs, I decide where I take them. I decide whether to use natural light or set up my own. I set the aperture, I set the shutter speed and I set the ISO. Photography can turn that image in your head into the image on your screen.

Until you work with wildlife.

People can be instructed, buildings tend to do as they’re told and even landscapes can be obedient, if you account for light and weather. Wild animals, however, are under no obligation to help you to make your vision a reality.

Nature often has a way of making you wish it would move slightly to the left, in order for you to get the image you want. Branches get in the way, birds fly off, a passing creature casts a shadow and scares off your subject...there are many things outside of your jurisdiction. Obviously studying your subject helps enormously. If you know where a species grows or how it behaves then you increase your chances of success  10-fold. However sometimes nature decides to unexpected or just downright weird things.

Take this snail – in a Vanhoutte Spirea, I don’t even know how it got up there (about a meter from the ground) or the cabbage white caterpillar that opted to fall off a leaf the moment I thought about photographing it.

Despite not always being able to anticipate a successful outcome, sometimes I find myself with a project. Most of them, I will admit, stem from annoyance at not being able to get the shot I want on the day. Most recently we have the Bee Fly (Bombylius major).

Bee Fly (Bombylius major)

I first saw these this time last year and I was confused. It Looks like a Bee, sounds a bit like a Bee, isn’t a Bee and when you see it up close definitely isn’t a Bee. I photographed it at the time and then thought no more about it. Now they’re back and trickier than ever. They’re like teeny tiny hummingbirds, adept at both speed and evasion. I have studied them and tracked them down, only for them to disappear without a trace time and time again.

Here is just one of a selection of near misses:

Bee Fly

Although it's going to take work to get the outcome I want, I wouldn't switch exclusively to studio or another, more structured, form of photography. The buzz (pardon the horrendous insect pun) you get from chasing and, eventually, capturing the shot is utterly worth it.

Ladybird, Ladybird...

Seven-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)

 This recent spell of warm weather we’ve been having in the UK has meant that the trees are alive with the sound of buzzing. For the time being, insect life is abundant and so I have been enjoying the macro possibilities.

Harlequin Ladybirds (Harmonia axyridis) 

This image shows two Harlequins (recognisable by the black 'W' on their pronotum) mating. In hindsight, a narrower aperture to blur the rosemary would have been more aesthetically pleasing but the colours translated really well. Ladybirds of a variety of species covered this rosemary but the Harlequins were definitely in the majority.

Seven-spot Ladybird

There are definitely divided opinions on what should be done about invasive species. Some think culling is the answer, others biological pest control, others letting nature find its own balance. Personally I'll be doing a bit more research and taking many more photographs before I do anything hasty.

Water for Honeybees

Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Drinking

Recently I noticed Honeybees (Apis mellifera) that appeared to be ‘drinking’ from the soil in my garden. I had never seen this before, in all my time bee stalking, and it made me wonder if there was some wonder component to soil that I had previously overlooked. So I investigated.

Honey Bee

It transpires that the reasons for bees sipping from the soil are fairly straightforward:

• It’s easier for them to take in warmer water. Although they can drink it cold, being cold-blooded, warmer is better for keeping the metabolism going

• Soil smells. If you get around using your sense of smell, the scent of dirt is a reliable way of quickly tracking down water

• They can’t drown in it. It seemed so obvious after reading it. If a bee lands on a pond or a birdbath there is a chance they will fall in and meet their inevitable demise but it is much safer to drink on (fairly) solid ground

These are just a few of the shots I took. My favourite being the one below of the bee walking away. I think it adds a certain shine to a normally matte creature.