Orchids & Insects

Well hello, I am now writing this post from Transylvania where it is currently raining but it is very much needed here as I'm sure it is at home. I have been here nearly a week now and I can say it has been interesting, the water has been intermittent at best but there's always a way to cope and always fun finding those ways! Field trips have been frequent and we now have camera traps in the field collecting vital night time data for us, but to read more about that you will need to head over to my National Geographic Journal where I will post an entry very soon. For now though, this post is dedicated to orchids (something until now I have never photographed in the UK) and a few insects I found whilst looking for the orchids, so here goes......

First up is the beautiful bee orchid, the only one left in flower by the time I was able to get to photograph them, but what a beautiful orchid it is and I really went to town on this one, using a star burst filter and also monochrome for a more artistic image. 

Next up we have a variety of marsh orchids on all shapes, sizes and colours! 

And finally, to close the post a few of the wonderful buggies I found whilst photographing the orchids

And one of my favourite bugs of the moment, although they are a challenge to photograph especially on hot days, the humble grasshopper! 

So that's all from me for this post, time to edit some videos for my Explorers Journal and start preparing another entry, but don't forget there are still plenty more images to come including fawns, hedgehogs and froggies! 

Just before I leave you, here is a sneak preview of the new packs cards that will be available real soon from craft markets and through my website. Each pack contains 6 cards and envelopes, either one of each design (Borneo Wildlife, British Wildlife, British Flower) or two of each design (Poppies, Orang-utans). 

and the 2014 calendar which is available now to pre-order through my website, this year the calendar is all about Borneo and is available to pre-order only, it will not be available to buy through craft markets, but you have until 31st October to place your order! To order your calendar click here: Order 2014 Calendar

Ok, until next time, happy snapping and keep safe! 

Wedding & Honeymoon

Wow, what a couple of months it has been! We had the most incredible and amazing wedding, all the time, effort and work that we put into making it personal was definitely worth it and it was so wonderful to be able to share our special day with so many friends and family. Here are just a couple of photos from our day courtesy of  Thomas and Paul from Willowstone Photography, a huge thank you for capturing our day perfectly. 

 

We had a week at home to sort out work stuff and pack for what would be an incredible 2 week adventure to Borneo for our honeymoon. It was a long flight and by the time arrived in Borneo we were exhausted, we were welcomed to our first stop the Rasa Ria Hotel right on the beach and decided to just chill out and book onto a trip to see the orang-utans for the following day so all that was left was to get some sleep! The next day after breakfast we headed off to see the orang-utans in the forest, we weren't to be disappointed! After chilling out the rest of the day, we watched the most incredible sunset then had a wonderful dinner in a gazebo on the beach! 

Borneo Sunset

Orang-utan in the forest

Atlas Moth

Next stop was the Borneo Rainforest lodge, deep in the heart of the rainforest, we arrived after a short flight and 2 1/2 hour drive but wow, what a place! Paradise in the forest, just perfect and we would spent a few nights here exploring the area with our personal guide and enjoying some wonderful food! There was so much we wanted to see, but top of the hit list was the Wallace's flying frog, we saw not one but two at their nest site, not to mention many many more frogs along the way! We also saw several wild orang-utans, some otters on the river and an Atlas moth! So here are just a couple of photos from our stay at the lodge:

Wallace's flying frog

Frog silhouette

Forest lizard

 After an incredible couple of days it was time to hit the road again and head for the Myne Resort on the banks of the Kinabatangan River where we hoped to see proboscis monkeys, pig-tailed macaques, long-tailed macaques, orang-utans and maybe even the Borneo pygmy elephants and a trip to the Gomantang caves to see the spectacle of millions of bats leaving the caves at dusk and we would spend the next few days exploring the area by boat with the odd trip into the forest. A lot happened in these few days, we saw so much, too much to go into here, but there were definitely some highlights so here goes!!! 

Baby pig tailed macaque

Praying mantis in the forest

Baby long-tailed macaque waking up in the jungle

 And now for the elephants, we found them and spent and amazing hour watching them eating and playing by the banks of the river and even swimming in the river!

baby elephant

A helping push in to the river

The Eye

Elephant greeting

Playing in the river

Alas, it was time to move on again and this time to Sepilok and surrounding area to see the orang-utans, proboscis monkeys and then on to Lankayan Island for a couple of days of paradise to finish our trip around Malaysian Borneo. First stop were the proboscis monkeys, these really are funny creatures with their big noses and crazy soft grunting sounds they make, not only did we encounter these but also some silver leaf monkeys and ...... a baby get ready for some cuteness! 

Female proboscis monkey

Male proboscis monkey

Proboscis monkey in the trees

Captivating eyes

Orang-utan silhouette

Baby silver leaf monkey

A couple of shots from the island paradise of Lankayan, the restaurant and us watching the sunset with a nice glass of wine to end what was an incredible and very special two weeks.

These are of course not all the photos, so if you would like to check out more of the images then head over to my website or Facebook page where you will find all kinds of different images! It really has been the most amazing and special couple of weeks and I am looking forward to many more adventures with the most incredible and loving man in the the world, a huge thank you to everyone who helped to make these few weeks possible. 

So, what next ............. 

Well, I head out to Romania to start the Nat Geo funded research for the Transylvanian Wildlife Project, not before I've had chance to capture some blossom and flowers before I go (that will be in the next post) and for Chris, well it is time to get the athletes ready for the Olympics! Stayed tuned for another update soon.