Grasshoppers, Nothing But Lovely Grasshoppers

Hello! Hope you are all well and have been enjoying summer (although today is most certainly an office day!), well I have been out and about a fair amount lately continuing with both my Somerset, Chapmanslade and invertebrate projects which are all coming together nicely, but as the title of this post may suggest there is nothing but grasshoppers here! 

People often ask me why grasshoppers, and indeed just the other day a lovely chap who was out walking his dog asked what I was photographing, was it butterflies? When I reply no he asked if it was dragonflies, again I said no and when I said grasshoppers he seemed very surprised replying "you don't often hear of people photographing grasshoppers people normally come here for the butterflies and dragonflies, why grasshoppers?" Well here is why: Last year I took what still remains one of my favourite images of a grasshopper and it was completely by chance as I had planned that day specifically to photograph orchids, before I go any further here is that photo:

I was actually photographing bee orchids when I noticed this grasshopper watching me, so my focus turned to trying to capture the expression on its face, and it was at this point that I fell in love with grasshoppers and wanted to really showcase how cute they are! And really that's it, I wasn't able to do much last year due to other work commitments but this year I have been out looking for them in numerous locations looking for different ways to capture their lives and comical facial expressions, during this time I have also been fascinated by the variety of colours and markings that they come in, including would you believe pink, orange and white! So here are the pink grasshopper (more about these later in the post including an explanation), the tango'd grasshopper and the ghost grasshopper (names I have given them). 

Away from the colours, there are so many creative photographic opportunities to be had. The next two images show two very different angles, the first (which is a Rufous Grasshopper Gomphocerippus rufus) peering over the top of a dead plant head. This was a difficult image to capture in focus as the head is not the biggest area to focus on plus on that day it was particularly windy! 

The second image, again a very tricky one to capture in focus (there were many failed attempts due to the wind) but also there were a couple of different compositions that I tried out and this one sticks out for me above the others. As you may be starting to notice by now I like to have a lot of space around my subjects when composing my creative shots but for me this helps to give a sense of place more than the close up images. 

My work with grasshoppers is very much ongoing and will continue through autumn and then start again next year when they start to reappear. For some reason not many people take the time to concentrate on grasshoppers as a photographic subject, which is fine by me as I'm happy to have them all to myself, but next time you're out and you see one just take a closer look. The more time I spend with these wonderful critters the more I start to notice, the other week whilst working with one particular individual, I noticed that as I moved my head to get a different angle it would mimic me and when I moved my head back it would do the same, this game went on for around five minutes!

Now, as promised earlier in the post some more details about the pink grasshoppers. So why are they pink?
Well, it is actually a little understood genetic mutation caused by a recessive gene similar to that which affects albino animals and is called erythrism. The mutation results in one of two things happening or a combination of the two: you get a reduction or even absence of the normal pigment and/or the excessive production of other pigments, in this case red which results in pink or sometimes purple morphs. Although the condition was first discovered in 1887 in a katydid species, it is still rare and not often seen. although there are more reports of them coming in but this could be that people are now actually looking for them!

So here are a couple more images of the pink grasshoppers I found in one particular location, I will be back next year to see if I can find some more!

I promise these haven't been altered in any way, they really are that colour! 

Right time for me to go and get on with writing an article about a bag, coming soon will be some beautiful butterflies like you have never seen them before! Bye for now and have a wonderful evening. 

Victoria 

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. 

The Last Month or So & some very cute Dormice!

Apologies for being a bit quiet over the last month or so not sure where the time has gone, November already! Things have been busy though with a couple of photo shoots and a whole lot of computer work in preparation for a webinar that I am giving for the Manfrotto School of Xcellence called "From Spiders to Sifakas: How to Capture Unique Wildlife Images". It has been quite challenging picking different images that show different techniques and the use of both colour and black and white, but I'm there and just finishing off the text to go with it which includes some tips and tricks to help capture different images and over coming practical obstacles of working in the field. If you want to register for the webinar that is on Thursday 15th November at 4pm UK time, here is the link:

Victoria Hillman presents From Spiders to Sifakas: How to Capture Unique Wildlife Images

The webinar and wedding planning have taken up a lot of my time, but have managed a couple of trips out in between the rain and have started work on Project X, trying out different techniques and settings, the main bulk of this project will actually take place next year after winter but here is a small taster of what I have been working on.

I have been lucky enough to be asked to take some photos for Secret World Wildlife Rescue of foxes, hedgehogs and dormice and had a very enjoyable day and even had a little help from the foxes! Some of these photos are now available to purchase through my website in the Majestic Mammals with 10% of sales being donated to Secret World to help feed and care for all the animals at the centre. Below is my favourite foxy moment from the day taken from very low down to get at the same eye level. 

So, onto the dormice. Earlier in the year some baby dormice were taken to the centre after being found, three of them survived thanks to the wonderful love and care they have been shown are doing well but will stay at Secret World until after Christmas, so we did a Christmas themed shoot using decorations and a teapot, I've now uploaded these to my website. If you are looking for unique and cute Christmas cards to send whilst helping to care for rescued wildlife you can purchase the following images as Christmas cards in packs of six or just as single cards, I have left them blank inside so you can add your own special message Just follow the link below the image for more details. 

Dormice At Christmas

I have also been working very hard with my mum to create lots of wonderful very unique handmade gift ideas for Christmas which will be available from all the following craft markets where we will have our Christmas and animal themed stand. 

Christmas Craft Markets

Saturday 17th November 

Craft Market at St. Aldhelm’s Church, Doulting 10am - 4pm 

Saturday 24th November 

Crafts at the Cheese & Grain, Frome, Somerset 10am - 3pm

Sunday 25th November

Warminster Christmas Market, Civic Centre, Warminster 10am - 4pm

Friday 7th December

Nunney Christmas Market, Village Hall, Nunney, 5pm - 10pm

Saturday 8th December

Christmas Bath Craft and Gift Fair, Guildhall, Bath 10am - 4pm

Saturday 22nd December

Crafts at the Cheese & Grain, Frome, Somerset 10am - 3pm

Competition Success

Hello, 

It seems that Autumn is well on it's way now here in the UK and rumour has it the autumn colours are going to be spectacular this year due to the weather we've been having, that is if the leaves aren't blown from the trees before they start turning! Things have been hectic the last month or so, but I'm slowly catching up. I have some fantastic news however with regards a competition I entered earlier in the year run by The Zoological Society of London. Firstly here is a little more about the competition: 

The ZSL Animal Photography Prize aimed for more than just pretty pictures, they were looking for images that would form part of the exhibition and ongoing collection of work which would challenge the viewers' perception of and relationship with the natural world and its inhabitants. 

The competition attracted entrants from around the world and the calibre of the work entered has been truly remarkable. The winning and highly commended images in each category of the junior and adult divisions will now form the basis of an outdoor exhibition to be displayed in the heart of ZSL London Zoo.

Now for the news:

I entered several images and two of them were short-listed, a few weeks later I received news that one of the images (The Weevil and the Fern) won its category and the second image (Mating Bubbles) had been highly commended and that both of these would now be part of the exhibition in the grounds of London Zoo until the end of the year. Both images are of insects and both taken in Somerset, they are available as prints via my website or as keyrings and magnets from craft markets (details later in this post). So here they are, the images and photos of me standing next to the images at London Zoo. 

The Weevil and the Fern - Winner in Size Matters category  Green nettle weevil taken at Westhay Moor Nature reserve on the Somerset Levels. 

Mating Bubbles - Highly Commended in Birds and the Bees category. Mating yellow dung files silhouetted against the sky in Shepton Mallet

In other news, I am now very much gearing up for Christmas and starting to prepare winter and Christmas themed products to sell at the craft markets, new dates and venues are been added all the time so keep checking the list on my website and why not pop along and pick up some wonderfully unique presents, cards or stocking fillers! 

Craft Markets

Right back to work on some very exciting projects which I will bring you more news about in the coming months but just to wet your appetite one involves tigers and India and the other insects!

Take care and keep safe

Mini Projects

Hello, just a quick update on what has been happening. 


Excitingly I was asked by Somerset Wildlife trust if I would write an article about my endeavours to photograph the dippers I have been following for several months now, of course I said yes and put together a lovely little piece complete with images and a short video, if you would like to read the article you can find it here:


Dippers on the River Axe


I have finally be able to get out and about in search for my beloved insects and have a fair bit of luck, I am still going through the photos but I decided that a little mini project would be in order, so I decided to try to photograph the complete emergence sequence of the Southern Hawker dragonfly. It has taken me a couple of weeks to collect all the images I needed and managed to get the last few just the other day of the dragonfly splitting the casing and first starting to emerge (this was actually the first time I had ever seen this stage!)


I have compiled an image and a short video of the images set to a piece of music of this wonderful event so here they are:

I hope you enjoy them, I am off for a friends wedding this weekend and back to a full week of work next week. But if you are looking for something to do the weekend of 11th & 12th August why not pop along to Upton Country Park (Upton House, Upton Country Park, Poole, Dorset, BH17 7BJ) where I will have a stand at the August Craft Fair. 

That's it for now, must go pack, so until the next update........

Well, it’s been a while since my last post and I can honestly say I have no idea where the time has gone but it sure has been hectic. The exhibition was a great success and a huge thank you to all that made it, it was great to meet and talk to so many people and as promised here are just a handful of comments that were left in my book:

“Thank you for sharing your excellent pictures – they are so inspirational – awesome.”

“A truly inspiring exhibition. Your photos are absolutely stunning and magical.”

“Stunning images! Creativity with great technical ability”

“A truly wonderful exhibition, Victoria has a very special gift! The talk was fascinating and most entertaining, packed with delightful stories that support the pictures – inspiring.”

“Have never seen wildlife photographed so spectacularly.”

And one of my favourites by a young boy “EPIC”

I am humbled by so many wonderful comments that really help spur me on and drive me towards the next exhibition, still looking for a venue so if you know of anywhere please get in touch! Although the exhibition has now been taken down, all the magnets, keyrings, calendars, cards and framed images have now joined my stock for the craft fairs, details of which can be found hereby clicking on this link Craft Fairs 2012 so if you’re in the area why not pop in and say hello, I’d love to see you.

So, onto other matters. I finally finished the video of mine and Chris’s trip to Madagascar which can be watched by clicking on this link: Madagascar Video and despite the horrendous weather we have been experiencing, I have continued to follow the dipper family on the River Axe. There is some bad news though, dippers nest early in the year and with all the rain we had there was a flood on the river and the dippers lost their first nest, but this didn’t deter them and I observed them collecting more nesting material once the river level receded. For weeks I have only been seeing one parent except on one occasion when the second adult came out form under the bridge to have a quick feed and disappeared back under the bridge again. Spending so much time with these little birds has enabled me to capture some different and unique images of their daily life.

First up is a peaceful image of the dipper having a clean on a rock as the river flows by.

A rare shot of the dipper in the waterfall looking for insect larva.

And one of the dipper sitting still long enough for me to capture it with its reflection!

I have also been able to capture some video footage of one of the adults going about its daily life of foraging and preening, just click on this link Dipper video footage. I will be continuing to follow these birds throughout the summer, capturing more images and footage and will update with further news in a few weeks, but if you can't wait that long then you can keep up to date via the flickr album Dippers on the River Axe.

Away from work, wedding plans have been going well and the dress has been started and with the wedding less than 10 months away excitment is definately growing along with the work load! Time to get back to article writing for now, details to be annouced in a few weeks. Keep safe and dry if you can and thank you for reading.

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.