Prees Heath

PepperArt

Wow! What a lovely little area to visit!

This place had loads of beauty to offer my 'black box'. I arrived at about 6.45pm last night. The temperature was cooling as the sun was slowly dropping out of the sky and the Silver Studded Blue butterflies were just roosting atop the Bell Heather.

As the angle of the sunlight was getting lower and lower, I had to position my body accordingly, and ended up lying down on the ground with my ear in the heather and my legs sprawled across the rabbit holes (something you need to look out for at this spot if you don't want to break your ankles). This position was surprisingly comfortable actually!

There were quite a few different species on the site; Ringlets, Small Heaths, Meadow Browns (where aren't these guys!), Common Blues, and 5 Spot Burnet Moths. The different wild flowers made the place look especially beautiful. I think I will return here again soon.

Wild Sex

PepperArt

It seems there is nothing to do for insects in the wild except mate! Ive been shooting butterflies/moths and things this season for a good few weeks now and all they ever want to do is mate, mate, mate, lay eggs and mate some more!

There is an advantage to this for the photographer though...they stay still a bit longer!

Fresh New Look Website

Hey all,

The main website now has a bright, exciting, fresh, new summer look!

I think it has a more modern and appealing feel to it. Let me know what you think..

PepperArt

Butterfly Mania

PepperArt

This is my favourite type of butterfly (Common Blue) that i've seen to date. They are so small and really fast. They seem to hover over the smaller flowers closer to the ground. They kinda sprint up and down the meadow until they are knackered then finally perch themselves upon a flower such as the buttercup above. The suckle on the pollen for a second or three then bugger off again!

I had to act really quick whilst trying to remain stealth-like in order to capture this shot. Shooting butterflies is a lot of fun.

Loving the macro

Another trip to meadows and fields chasing after butterflies and damselflies was how I passed one of the bank holiday weekend mornings. I think I am a bit too early to see and real action at the moment and things will heat up in a few weeks when average temperatures are warmer. I haven't yet seen a dragonfly and most if the butterflies have been white. I have seen a couple of Peacock butterflies but not managed to capture any yet. Snails seemed to be about in abundance though, and a LOT of mating going on with other insects!

The macro lens is permanently on the camera at the moment and trying to capture the little critters has been kinda fun. I never thought I'd be that interested in insects and the like but it's actually a skill to get all the subject sharp at such close range so there is an element of competitiveness with my own abilities as well as learning new techniques.

I'm sure I'll also get the wide angle lens back on the camera soon to create some landscapes. But for now... Bring on the dragonflies! :-)