This handsome chap was sat in the shade, watching everything that was going on around him and I wondered what thoughts would be going through his head. I think his features are so expressive.
The Latin name for the hoverfly in the first three images is Helophilus pendulus which means "dangling marsh lover". It is the most common species of hoverfly and has quite striking markings with bold colours.
The eagle eyed visitor to this page will have noticed that the fourth image is of a different variety of hover fly (I cannot specify which) which is busy sucking up nectar from the tiny flowers.
Normally when we see a fly we swat it away as they are a buzzing nuisance and they have the most disgusting habits, but they do play an important role as pollinators and in helping get rid of decaying stuff so while I would much rather look at damsel flies and hover flies and bees every now and then it seems fair to share an image or two of the humble and iridescent bluebottle.
I went to Brockholes in Lancashire last week for a spot of wildlife photography as that is something I have not done much of lately. Unfortunately the weather conditions were shocking to begin with but as I had to pay for parking I wasn't going to leave without something. So between downpours I had a lovely time walking around the reserve and while there was not a lot of birdlife to photograph I decided to concentrate on bugs and managed to get a few decent images so all in all I had a productive day.
I have lots more images to go through but today I have also been out taking photos at the Hoylake Sand Yacht Regatta and i need to edit a few pics for the Sand yacht club page so I will put the bugs on hold for a little while.
Last weekend there was a Sand Yacht Regatta at St Annes on the Fylde coast and so I pooped along briefly to take a look. I only managed to watch one complete race and part of a second but even so I managed to get some really great shots. Freezing the action in a photograph does not always give a true indication of just how fast these chaps are going however when they go through water and create a big splash you can get more of an idea of how quick they are moving and perhaps how hard they work to stay on course.
As you can see from these images the castle is a magnificent structure in a beautiful setting.
The low crenelated outer wall would originally been significantly higher as it formed the main outer defence along with the moat. However it has been largely removed along this elevation as the defensive structure is no longer needed and it provides an effective boundary to the main castle. By removing the wall it has allowed the inhabitants of the castle to gain exceptional views across the parkland and allows visitors to the grounds an opportunity to enjoy the fine medieval architecture.
The castle was originally built by the Neville family however in 1569 it was forfeited to the Crown following the failure of the Rising in the North and since 1569 the castle has been owned by the Vane family the current owner being the 12th Lord Barnard.
While I am not great fan of the aristocracy it is nice to see such historic building preserved as they provide a fascinating insight to the past.
I have included a few shots from the interior of the castle.
I saw the dead branch and, to me, it resembled a dragon's head which I thought was pretty cool (either that or a freaky deer's skull, which given I was in a deer park would be appropriate).
I took the original colour images, converted them to black and white and cropped them and messed around with curves. As I say I don't know what you will see, I like the way they look but have no idea what colour tones are there or if they work for someone with normal colour vision. I would be interested to know what you think.
Initially I had really liked the final image, then I thought I liked the second of the three variations however on reflection I think I much prefer the first of the three images with the whole flower in shot as it has better balance and I love the colours.
I think the monochrome image is really effective but for a subject like this I think colour definitely wins out.
I am not sure why it has the name Ice Plant given that it blooms in the summer and loves full sun but I guess the name is not really important.
This little fellow had, I think, been feeding on bugs and spiders because as you can see it has some spiders web stuck to its beak.
You can get a sense of scale when you look at what it is perched on... its feet are tightly holding onto an LED light from a string of garden lights. The light fitting itself is about half the size of a typical matchstick, so not only can you see how small the bird is but also you can gauge how light it is given that it did not move the light or the cable at all.
As an adult this bird will have a striking red breast and a beautiful song that will captivate anyone who sees and hears it. But, as a fledgling it would be easy to miss or overlook. I wonder if like the ugly duckling in the famous fairytale and song this little bird does not see its potential.
When I visited Ness Gardens recently I had hoped for lots of bright and beautiful flowers, but I was a little disappointed as there were fewer flowers on display that I had expected. So, as well as photographing the blooms that were there I took advantage of the good light and shot some bugs.
That being said I didn't always have quite the right camera settings and as these creatures are never in one place for long I was a bit worried that many of the images would be unusable. That would have been the case if I had not shot in RAW, but because I did I was able then to take advantage of the excellent Adobe denoise function to enhance the final image.
So love them or hate them these bugs are shown off to their best advantage.
The face of the bee in the first shot is obscured by its wings but I love the pose as its feet are outstretched as it comes in to land on the blue flower.
The ladybird was hunting for aphids on the leaves of an apple tree, you might need to zoom in on its face to see the detail.
Perhaps the hardest critter to photograph on the day was the water boatman, poised as I was over the edge of the pond desperately hoping I didn't fall in. Just as I thought I had the focus right the little bug would dive below the surface and I would have to start again. I know that in this shot the face is a little out of focus but the main body looks sharp and how surprised are you at the gorgeous colours that are revealed in this shot? Normally when you see these things scooting around on the surface of a pond they look so dull, well look again, they're brilliant.
I can't recall what the aphids were feeding on, possibly an embryonic apple, there were so many of them. These are probably my least favourite of all the bugs in this selection.
Which might come as a surprise when you look at the next image of a fly, especially as I suffered some very nasty bites from a horse fly that day. However I am really pleased with this shot and this one is definitely a result of some editing in Lightroom to improve the exposure and reduce the noise. I had the initial settings all wrong so all I got on the camera's LCD screen was a dark frame but with a little work I have revealed all the detail that was there.
The final shot of a damsel fly was a bit of luck too as they were so busy flying around it seemed most unlikely that I would see one at rest. Also if you look really closely a little way below its leg on the inside edge of the leaf there is a tiny (and I mean really tiny) little mite which would not have been visible to the naked eye.
Anyway, if you have read this far thank you for taking the time to not only look at the pics but also read a little about them. Why not leave a comment, perhaps say whether you have a favourite image from today's selection and what you like about it...
