A week ago I spent a night camping in the Lake District, just north of Keswick and with a view of the snow covered Skiddaw. It was a bit wet underfoot and with a cloudless sky the temperature plummeted once the sun went down. That being said it was a lovely peaceful night and I enjoyed sitting by the fire watching the flames.
I chose the title for today's post as it is a song by Nick Cave which I really like.
I took a number of shots of the fire and I have selected a few for today's post. I love the random shapes and patterns, I also love the way random puffs of flame rise above the fire and then just disappear.
Looking at these pictures different things stand out each time, I hope you enjoy these shots.
In the coming coming days I will share some of my other images from my trip, including some of the night sky.
So for today I have picked three more shots of the USAF F15 Eagles flying the Mach Loop.
Tomorrow I will either go back to my shots from the zoo or I will share something from my trip to the Lake District, but for today please enjoy these... at least you didn't have to stand around in the cold to wait for them.
I have been posting a few shots of butterflies in recent days but for today I wanted to share some other flying machines.
I spent a very cold five hours standing on a hillside in Snowdonia recently in an area known as the Mach Loop where military pilots hone their skills as they practice low flying through the hills and narrow valleys.
Some days there are more fly throughs than others and on this particular day there was low cloud for much of the day which is not what you want. Having travelled quite a way I didn't want to give up too soon and so hung on long after most of the other guys who had been waiting at different spots on the hillside.
My nearest neighbour was just packing away his gear and I was about to do the same when he picked up some traffic on his scanner and radar app and he shouted up that some USAF f15 Eagles were heading into Wales and had requested permission for low flying.
After such a long wait excitement levels increased and hearing that the approaching planes had dropped off the radar meant they were flying low and would soon arrive.
In all four jets came through making two passes each. In all the flying display lasted for no more than 10 minutes but even that short time was enough to make up for the waiting around. It is so impressive to see these incredible machines blast past at high speed and full respect to the skill of the pilots.
By the time they arrived however light levels had fallen and so perhaps the images I captured weren't as sharp as I had hoped but hey, I can always go back another day.
This is a male Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoloeus) it is also known as common lime butterfly, lemon butterfly, small citrus butterfly or chequered swallowtail (among other names). You can tell the difference between the male and females because the female has a flash of blue above the red spots on its wings.
Although they are predominantly black and white the name does not relate to their colouring but to the plants they feed on which are predominantly citrus plants.
According to wikipedia this species is a pest or invasive species having spread from Australia and Asia to the Caribbean and Central America.
This really beautiful flower is a Heaven Lotus (Gustavia gracillima). It is a native plant from Columbia, fortunately I didn't have to go quite that far to find this specimen.
So perhaps you were expecting something different when you read the title of the blog today but this beautiful Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is worthy of the title; there is something very regal about it with its bold colours and striking pattern. With wings outstretched it looks very much like a stained glass window, and close up it has such poise.
I think you will agree this is a real beauty.
Photography requires a great deal of patience, whatever subject you choose to focus on but with wildlife it is even more necessary and butterflies and insects in particular can be a real challenge. When you finally get the shot you want though, it is absolutely worth it.
Not everyone is a fan of monkeys but I know that some of you love them and this little spider monkey is so flipping cute I had to share...
He was sat making the most of the morning sun. He looks really thoughtful in this pose, or perhaps like he was waiting for a handout but actually he was sat on top of another monkey that he had been grooming.
I have a week off work and I am making the most of the opportunity to get out with my camera.
Yesterday I went to Chester Zoo, and today I headed off to the Mach Loop in North Wales to capture some shots of the fast jets that practice low flying through the valleys, then tomorrow and Friday I plan to go camping,(probably in the Lake District) so I should hopefully get lots more pictures to sort and share.
Yesterday at the zoo my intention was predominantly to take pictures of some of the beautiful butterflies but I also grabbed a few shots of some of the other critters.
Today's choice is of one of the Andean Spectacled Bears. I had been looking for this chap for a while and then he appeared right in front of me to take a drink from the small waterfall in the enclosure. I took this shot as he raised his head and you can see a droplet of water dripping from his lips.
I love bears and seeing this one, so close reminded me of my encounter with a wild Black Bear in Canada.
Yesterday I shared a macro shot of the stamen from a Freesia. Today I have picked another macro shot but this is of the unopened bud.
I love the rainbow of colours from the green of the stem rising up towards the yellow, orange, cerise, pink and purple. I did have to ask my helpers to describe the different colours because I don't really know what I can see, all I do know is it is really beautiful.
I didn't post anything yesterday, I wasn't really in the right frame of mind to choose a picture to share but today I wanted to share something really nice.
Perhaps my favourite flower is the Freesia, I love the different colours, I love to watch as the bunches of tiny buds open up into beautiful blooms and of course the scent is amazing.
I have some at home today and so I set up my camera on a tripod, attached my 100mm macro lens and took a few shots.
I love to get in close and see the detail, like here for example the pollen looks as if the stamen have been dipped in sugar. The colours here are also so rich and warm, there is something about this image that cheers me up. I hope it will brighten your day too.
This picture, in black and white has a mysterious quality and does little to suggest the temptation mentioned in the title of today's post.
However when restored to its proper colour you can see...
... the bold yellow, so often a warning sign is used to great effect to attract and lure insects to its rich supply of pollen.
I love the contrast between these two images and I love the vibrancy of the yellow in the second image, it is my favourite colour after all.
It is cold, wet and windy outside and even though it is officially spring there is still not much colour around so here is a nice colourful reminder that spring is really on its way.
Today's shot is of a Typhoon flying past. This was at Coningsby last February.
I am hoping that in the coming week I will get down to Wales to get some shots of fast jets doing the Mach Loop. Wish me luck.
Today I have gone back to last February when I spent a couple of hours watching and photographing the planes at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
I spent several of my teenage years in Lincolnshire, living on the flight path for a bombing range, so I got used to lots of military jets flying over at all times of day and night. I love the sound of these powerful engines and I am in awe of the technology that keeps these beautiful machines in the sky.
I have selected two shots for today of USAF F15's that made a couple of passes before heading off to wherever. Brilliant!
Ok so here is the last of my Liverpool waterfront series. I really like the way the setting sun sets off the famous Three Graces.
My third view of Liverpool at night. I love this panorama of Liverpool's illuminated waterfront. I have kept quite a lot of the river in the foreground because I like the reflected glow.
I first came to Liverpool in 1990 and in the past 27 years the city has changed so much. There has been lots of investment and growth in the city centre and gradually the development is moving outwards. The skyline has changed and the famous three graces (The Liver Building, Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building) have become surrounded by some amazing new buildings.
On one side there are hotels and offices and on the other there is the fantastic Open Eye Gallery at Mann Island and on the waterfront there is the Museum of Liverpool. I love the city and I am proud to be here. I love this view and hope you enjoy it too.
I have just been selecting and printing a couple of pictures, entries for this years Williamson Open Art Exhibition and I think I have picked a couple of good ones.
Each year the gallery selects one entry to go in the permanent collection and while I don't expect to have one of my pictures selected it is really satisfying to see my work displayed. It is difficult to know what the "judges" are looking for when they make their selection. I suspect that the pictures I have selected might be seen as too mainstream but then again who knows, they are really nice images. I would be happy to get some sales from the exhibition as I have done in my first year.
The picture I have posted today is one of the images I had considered entering on the basis that I suspect an abstract image might have gone down well but in the end I decided against it. I will never know if that was a poor choice or not.
I do like this image, it is cropped from a larger shot of the Woodside Ferry Terminal however this is exactly what I was wanting to capture. I have called it Pilot Lights because during the course of this shoot one of the Mersey Pilot vessels came in and moored at the terminal and the lights reflected in the river are from the boat and the gantry reaching out into the river.
Let me know what you think of this picture in the comments below or on my facebook page.
Yesterday I went down to the waterfront near the woodside ferry terminal with a purpose. I wanted to get some good shots of the Liverpool waterfront which is a world heritage site and a beautiful site in different light conditions.
I had a specific project in mind and set up my camera on its tripod to take a series of shots over long period of time and as the sun set and the city lights came on I was gearing up for the final elements of my project. But the Stena Line's "Stena Mersey" hove into view.
I was pretty fed up at that point as I thought my project was going to be a failure but I think with some careful cropping I should be able to salvage something. In the meantime while I work on that I have a few other shots to share and to start with I have decided to use this image of the night time sky line and incorporate the huge ferry which was the source of my distress.
I love the colours in this shot and the bright highlights from the ships lights and the glow from the buildings on the opposite bank. I used my 24 - 105 mm lens at 32mm f16 and ISO 400 and a shutter speed of 0.4sec. The slow shutter speed has given a smooth texture to the surface of the river which had been churned up by the ferry.
Today I have selected two shots of an orchid which has just started to bloom in my living room. When everything has been so dull and grey outside in recent days it was nice to have some bright colour indoors.
I love the striking colours and the fascinating detail almost like a face in the central element of the flower.
I am always amazed by these stunning creatures, such beautiful and striking colours, so tiny and delicate and yet so very deadly.
I have shared a couple of pictures of the Jaguars at Chester Zoo recently but no apologies for that, it is one of my favourite big cats and this is a great shot so take a minute or two and enjoy...
Vultures have a bit of a bad reputation as dirty scavengers but they're actually pretty impressive creatures.
Whenever I see vultures I think back to the Disney Jungle Book and the four vultures that taunt and tease young Mowgli. I don't so much remember the movie itself but the soundtrack which I used to listen to endlessly on a Decca portable record player in my bedroom.
The other memory I have from my early youth is of a advertisement for a T-shirt showing a pair of very hungry looking vultures sitting on a branch looking at a herd of animals down below. One says to the other "patience my ass, I'm going to kill something!"
Looking at this European Black Vulture there is beauty to see if you look closely. The close cropped fuzzy feathers on its head, the high collar of feathers around its neck and beautiful long eyelashes.
Well what would you call it?
While I was at the zoo observing this magnificent creature I heard one woman on my right telling her young son that this is a special black jaguar and it was lovely to hear the child's exclamation of wonder and awe.
Almost immediately a woman to my left said to her son "that woman called it a Jaguar but she's wrong, it's a Black Panther" Again the boy made appreciative noises as he admired the beauty.
As much as I was enjoying the spectacle (I had waited quite a while for the big cat to come out of its dark den) I felt a little uncomfortable with the parents either side of me trying to prove their superior knowledge to their children. The truth is the cat in the picture (Named Goshi by the keepers at the zoo) is a Jaguar, it's Binomial name is Pantera onca and they are native of Central and Southern America. They are closely related to Leopards which are native of Asia and Africa.
A Black Panther is a melanistic variety of either Leopard or Jaguar and since this was a jaguar both women were right to describe it as they did, but one was wrong to demean the other because she thought she knew better. As it is she should have known better and set a better example to her child. What is more the information was clearly available on a plaque for all to see if only people took the time to read.
There were other examples during my few hours at the zoo where parents confidently (but incorrectly) identified creatures to their children and it wound me up but I'll say no more, you don't want to have me ranting about that.
If you have made it this far in to my post today I thank you for your patience I just had to get that off my chest. Now back to the picture...
From a distance the Black Panther appears to be completely black with a smooth black coat but if you look closely you can see similar mottled markings to the "normal" golden variety. It really is beautiful.
By way of further explanation (just in case it is needed) Melanism is the development of dark pigmentation and is the opposite of albinism (albino), other examples are black squirrels which are melanistic variants of grey squirrels, and more rarely melanistic guinea pigs.
This Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis) is found in parts of South America, mainly Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
It is not classified as an endangered species but it is hunted in the wild and its skin used for leather. I don't like the idea of creatures like this being killed just to become a fashion accessory.
I know that in Colombia, and I suspect other countries in that region, children will knock iguanas from the trees and sell them to Chinese restaurants where the tails are used to make soup. The iguanas are then released allowing their tails to grow back.
Some of the most popular posts on my blog have been pictures of robins, they're such beautiful and iconic birds.
Well this is a robin but not the type we're used to seeing in our gardens. It is a Pekin Robin, also known as a red billed leiothrix or Pekin Nightingale, Japanese Nightingale or Japanese Hill Robin. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent and not in Japan so don't be fooled by the name.
It has been introduced to the Hawaiian islands where it thrives. It has been introduced to parts of France as well. There was an unsuccessful attempt to introduce it to the UK so the only place in the UK.
It is a little gem, I wonder if it will be as popular to visitors to my blog as our native robin red breast.
A couple of weeks ago I went to Mere Sands Wood and I sat for what seemed like ages to catch a glimpse of the elusive bittern which has taken up residency on the reserve. I had a really lovely time and no doubt I will go back for a similarly good time but sadly on that occasion I didn't get to see the bittern.
Last weekend when I went to Chester Zoo I was lucky enough to see and photograph this beautiful Sunbittern from South America. It was lovely to be able to get so close to see the stunning plumage. I really love the intensity of the expression as it searches the pool for a tasty treat.
