Last post before the Wedding

Hello everyone, 

Well this is my last post before we get married on Sunday, keeping everything crossed for a fine day so the ceremony can be held outside. We are all ready to go with final preparations done and everything ready to go to the venue tomorrow before family start arriving on Thursday. Then it's a week at home to pack for two weeks in Borneo! 

It would seem that spring has finally arrived though, blossom on the trees, birds singing a a bit of warmth in the sun (when the wind isn't blowing!). I have managed a few daffodil shots over the last week but that has been about it as wedding plans have taken over. So, here are a couple of lovely daffodils to brighten your day:

Things are hotting up now with the Transylvanian Wildlife Project and I hope to bring you more information and links in the near future. And just before I go, a dragonfly that I photographed last year in black and white. Really looking forward to a lot more insect work this year. So for now that is it, I will post again after the wedding if I can and if not definitely on our return from Borneo!!! Have a wonderful couple of weeks and enjoy the sunshine. 

Dippers & Damselflies

Well, it has been a very busy few weeks, another very successful talk at the museum and just over one week left until the exhibition closes so if you haven't been yet, time is running out! The last day is Saturday 9th June and I will be there in person most of the day so why not pop along and say hi and you can ask me as many questions as you like.


I have been continuing to work at the caves part time which has allowed me fantastic access to a family of dippers on the River Axe and they have been busy collecting nesting material and feeding on the insect larvae in the river. I will be following their progress through the season and keep you up to date, fingers crossed for healthy and bouncing chicks in the near future! But for now here are a couple of images of their daily life so far....

Just coming up with an insect larva but before it broke the surface tension of the water








I will keep up-dating the album on Flickr as this progress so do please checking back, here's the link: Dippers

I have also been out and about with one of my favourite insects with all the good weather we've been having, the damselflies of the Somerset Levels. There is one particular photo I've been trying to perfect for some time now and finally managed it so here it is:

And something slightly different, I spent quite a while with this character as it made its way up the grass to the top and eventually started warmng its wings

but it's not just damselflies, as of a few weeks ago I had never photographed a mayfly so it has been on my list and I finally managed to capture the following image as they were emerging from the water

 I have a few more mini projects in the planning stages at the moment, so fingers crossed I will be able to bring you news and of course images and maybe even some video over the next few months! I have been trying out some new and more creative techniques (all done with in the camera of course) and these images will start to pop up on my pages so I shall leave you to hunt them out and let me know your throughts, to get you started here's one of a lovely woodland in spring sunshine complete with bluebells

I can see the next few months being very busy, with things picking up at the caves with school holidays, plenty of wedding planning and the mini projects I will certainly be busy and keeping out of trouble! Well, this is it for now what ever you have planned for the weekend and weeks ahead have fun. 

Take Off

This ladybird was just about to take off, unfortunately this flight
ended about a second later when it crash landed

Creative use of a well place flash gun, tungsten white balance and
good helping of morning dew on this beautiful wild primrose

Primroses

Beautiful wild primroses with dew drops and sun!