Osprey

 Believe it or not, I have been quite restrained when selecting pictures for this post. I have more images of this beautiful Osprey but have held back a few. Enjoy the pictures and then see the story below...

I had gone to Utah Lake State Park to visit a farmers market, with no expectation that I would see anything remarkable given the noise from the PA system and the large number of people that were around. The market itself was a disappointment and had I not been waiting for other family members to arrive I would most likely have left pretty quickly without even venturing to the waterfront. However, I did have to wait and I was so glad because I was treated to a wonderful display as this majestic Osprey was flying over the marina and even fishing alongside pleasure boats allowing me the opportunity to get a few decent shots. 

I have only seen an Osprey once before in the UK and even then it was at a distance due to restrictions around the nest site (and although last year one did land on the beach close to where I live, I only heard about that after it had moved on). So, I was very excited to see this one up close and seemingly unperturbed by the large gathering of people. It made a few passes before flying off to find another fishing spot and perhaps to get away from the pesky Kingbird that was harassing it. 

These images were shot on my Canon 5D mk4 with Canon 100-400mm F4.5 - 5.6L IS ii USM plus 1.4x iii converter. The shutter speed was 1250/s and I think I should have used a faster speed for crisper images. I'll know for next time...

Beautiful Bluebells

 I have been so very busy at work in recent weeks and I have had barely a moment to relax, as different emergency situations developed I was getting more and more behind with things I need to do. On Friday afternoon as I closed down my laptop I decided I needed to get out for a while to end the working week on a high.

The sun was shining and so I put the top down on my car and drove down to Burton Mere Wetlands. I didn't actually make it to the reserve itself because I first went for a walk through the woodland to look at the bluebells and spent quite some time taking the stunning display, the scent was wonderful too although a couple of people complained they couldn't smell them which in these times of Covid 19 made me wonder if they should get tested...

Seeing these bluebells brought back many happy memories, among them memories from my youth in Kent walking with my family in Bluebell Wood, and more recent times of Boilton Wood in Lancashire.

I love to see the wonderful carpet of blue but I also like to look closer and see the detail of each delicate flower and you can see that as they open out they really are little bells. These are the native English Bluebells and they are a protected species. As such I was unable to wander freely in the woods and had to stick to the marked footpath, I was able to spot a couple of trails through the bluebells which marked the route of badgers that live in the woods.

I was so glad I took a little time to myself to end the week on a high note.

Montana

So after a week without posting anything I decided to get creative again and I spent a little time over the Easter weekend. First of all I went into the garden and took some macro shots of the early spring blooms before heading indoors to take some unusual shots of household items which I will get to later in the week.

For today here are some fairly standard shots of the stunning Clematis Montana var wilsonii that forms a colourful and fragrant border to the garden. It is amazing how quickly the mass of buds has exploded into a mass of delicate pink flowers with the chartreuse and white stamen rather like tiny boiled sweets at their hearts. It is beautifully fragrant and later in the year it will be replaced by the delicate colours and scent of honeysuckle.

Glorious Gloriette

In the magnificent gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna stands the Gloriette which is effectively a party palace but also a vantage point to look back over the gardens and the palace itself.

It really is a spectacular place. Here with this beautiful sky I think it looks glorious.

Frozen Dew Drops

As I was preparing to take the shot that I shared yesterday I spotted this leaf on the ground with frozen dew drops clinging tightly to its' surface.

I took a moment to swap from my wide angle lens to my 100mm macro lens and I got down on my knees onto the frozen path to get as close as possible. For the first two images I used the natural light but for the third shot I added a little extra light with the help of my head torch.

I love being able to get a closer look at the little things, macro photography reveals so much detail hat otherwise we would never see and would probably never even imagine to be there. Here you can see little balls of ice are anything but smooth. 

Kniphofia

It is really no wonder that plants are not generally referred to by their scientific names. Take todays flower for example, Kniphofia is quite a mouthful, and if you try the family name; Asphodelaceae it all makes sense to give it an easier name, Red Hot Poker seems like quite a good name for it.

This was a nice specimen with fleshy looking flowers that open out to beautiful red bells. Quite stunning.

The first shot reminds me of a giant glass sculpture I photographed earlier this year on the Venetian island of Murano, see my post A Lotta Bottle from 10th March

You've gotta let me fly!

This is perhaps one of the most easily recognisable butterflies with its distinctive pattern of spots that resemble closely the pattern of a Peacocks' feathered tail. The pattern has the effect of startling and confusing predators as well as being stunningly beautiful.

I was able to capture this shot as the butterfly paused very briefly on a dried stem and opened its wings to absorb some afternoon sun.

Across The Lagoon

A couple of similar views across the Lagoon in Venice. There are plenty of churches and religious monuments in Venice, I recently shared a picture of a little chapel hidden away in a side street that is a thoroughfare and today I have this interesting post with it's beautiful stained glass which is there to bless the Gondoliers.

I have chosen two views one in colour to show off the soft evening glow and the glass illuminated by the setting sun, the second in black and white and in portrait mode which I think works really well with the combination of verticals that draw the eye in.

On The Rocks

Here are a few more shots from my morning in Snowdonia. I would normally post landscape images in colour and certainly there is a good case for the second shot to be in colour but the other two I think work well in black and white and so I decided to stick with B&W for all three. I have some lovely colour shots which I will share in a day or two.

Black Eyed Susan

Today has been a little grey and wet so for everyone huddled indoors or sheltering from the rain wherever that may be I decided to share a little ray of floral sunshine in the form of these shots of Rudbekia or Black Eyed Susan as these glorious yellow flowers are known.

They are really wonderful flowers that create a glorious display that lifts any flower bed. These were spotted in the Schlossberg in Graz and I think these are great shots which show the flowers off at their best

Birds Of A Feather...

Flock together...

These Goldfinches are so beautiful. They tend to congregate in small flocks as they forage for food so when the first one arrived at the bird feeder I knew it wouldn't be too long before more arrived and I wasn't wrong.

What surprised me a little was the fact that they were drawn to the sunflower hearts. I have tried to attract Goldfinches to my garden using Niger seeds but without any success. Now I know what to use and hopefully it wont be too long before I get some of these beauties visiting my garden.

In the meantime we can all enjoy these pictures. You just have to love these stunning colours and the way these little birds carry it off so well.

Look Into My Eyes...

I love this shot.

I was lucky enough to spot a pair of dragonflies that were mating and I watched as they came to rest on the hedgerow giving me an opportunity to get few shots. I quickly switched to my 100mm macro lens and got as close as possible. This was taken hand held and using natural light so I was glad that it was a sunny day making it possible to get a sharp image. 

If you enlarge the image you can see the detail of the beautiful compound eyes. I think it is stunning.