Wildlife Photos in the Garden
04 Oct 2011 10 Comments
in conservation, imagery, nature, photo, photography, travel Tags: image, nature, photo, photograph, photography, photos, picture, random, thoughts, wildlife
It’s been a while since I posted, and for several good reasons. One, my parents needed help and live 120 miles away, so travel was necessary, taking me away from the computer and time to write. Two, my son had a birthday for which I did a party involving people travelling and staying with us and three, we’ve found a house we love and are frantically promoting the sale of our current residence so we can move. The new house is a bay fronted semi, backing onto fields. It has 120ft long garden where I can grow food and flowers, encourage wildlife and have some peace and quiet, something in short supply in my current home. I can’t wait.
Gardening organically has already had its rewards for me. I’ve had plenty of birds visiting for years, but I’m delighted to introduce you to Jimmy, my resident hedgehog. He/she (they’re not easy to sex) first appeared at my feet when I sat out in the garden at midnight one July night after returning from a trip. I thought I was very lucky to see one close up for the first time in my longish life. What I didn’t expect was to find he’d moved into the garden and taken up residence in a garden sack of clematis prunings I’d put aside for the next fire. He’s made a cosy nest in there and now comes to my back door every night for his supper before going off foraging. Of course, I had to get some photos of him and here he is.
Jimmy the Hedgehog
Jimmy the Hedgehog
He didn’t mind at all that I was laid on the ground right in front of him and using flash. He just carried on munching his supper. When we move, I’m taking him with me. The estate we’re on now is surrounded by busy roads and lots of big dogs. Where we are going he’ll have the run of my garden and all the surrounding gardens and fields, never needing to go near a road. As hedgehogs are now endangered I hope this will help just a tiny little bit.
We’ve had other wildlife in the garden, too. I try to photograph it whenever I can. It’s great to see diversity coming back to what was once a patch of scrubby couch grass and not much else. Earlier this year I had a plague of blackfly. It didn’t take long, though for the ladybird brigade to turn up and help me out with them. I’ve never seen so many ladybirds before on one plant. These two obligingly posed for me on a nice, still day.
Ladybird Friends
Mother and son?
It’s great to see so many friends in the garden. Hedgehog eats the slugs and snails, ladybirds eat the blackfly and hoverflies of course do a similar job.
Hoverfly
Then there are the ambitious spiders. They seem to want to catch a human. Each morning we have a new web across the back door. It’s a good job I quite like them or I’d never get outside! They of course do their part in keeping pest numbers down, are beautifully marked and quite fascinating to watch. No wonder King Arthur burnt the cakes! This one made a web on the washing line and I couldn’t resist trying for some shots, despite the breeze, which made the whole thing quite frustrating, but worth it, I think.
Spider
So I don’t have to go far to find friends, photographic subjects and bags of interest to keep me going as long as I keep on gardening. So many advantages from one hobby. Organic food, money-saving, photographic subjects, the satisfaction of doing my little bit for conservation and my own enjoyment – all from one plot. what more could a woman ask?
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Abstract perspectives in photography
06 Sep 2011 3 Comments
in photo, photography, photography technique, travel Tags: camera, imagery, inspiration, musings, photo, photograph, photography, photography equipment, photography technique, picture, random, travel
It’s difficult to choose a subject with over 1,000 to process currently, so I’ll concentrate on one tiny aspect of what I’ve been up to. As I’ve been running around on my travels I’ve been inspired to do some abstract photographs. There are always lots, of course, but some things just strike you as worthwhile the time and effort to shoot. When looking at objects, move around them, or of they’re small, move them around. Look at them from different angles. try to obscure or leave out any distracting elements. Play with that camera! Play with colour and light. Experiment. It costs nothing to press delete of you don’t like the results, and you might get something special.
abstract spades
abstract fishing
fishnet abstract
old rope
Look for a good composition, balance, colour and interest. The technique you use should be creativity. Forget which lens, which filter or which camera even. Just LOOK until you find that composition. Then you can play with equipment. Try different shots from different perspectives of your abstract until you find something you’re happy with. Think outside the box! Above all, have fun with that camera and find your own image of the world.
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Photos of a Drowned Forest and more….
31 Aug 2011 6 Comments
in photography, photography technique, thoughts, Uncategorized Tags: camera, global warming, Nikon D90, passions, photo, photography, Photoshop, picture, random, travel, trees
Porlock Bay in Somerset was a new experience for me. I’d travelled to Porlock to meet friends on a campsite there in my trusty camper. I couldn’t help myself, especially when we saw the delights the area has to offer. Out came my trusty Nikon D90! I have a passion for the coast as I was born by the sea. St Annes in Lancashire doesn’t look anything like this, though! Out in the bay is a sunken forest that dates back to the last ice age. I’ve found results in google that purport it and others like it to be proof of global warming, but unless we were pumping out greenhouse gases eight thousand years ago, I don’t believe we were responsible!
Drowned Forest
It was fascinating to see these trees, and very difficult to photograph in any detail, as my tripod shook in the wind that day. The usual technique of a nice steady tripod was used, but I also needed my partner to act as a windbreak, and even that only helped a little. Balancing the tripod on stoney ground wasn’t easy, either. I tried to get close-ups of the lichens growing on some of the bark, but macro and windy conditions don’t go together. Here’s my best attempt.
lichen
The beach at Porlock is very stony and very photogenic.There are more shots on my website
Porlock bay
Porlock weir, a little further along the coast threw up a whole load of photographic opportunities. I really enjoyed myself clicking away. Not very shot works out of course, and here’s an example of one I’m not too happy with. It’s not well composed, but gives a flavour of the spot.
Porlock Boats
Sometimes, enthusiasm carries me away a little. The difficulty was keeping people out of this shot, which I recomposed and tried several times. I have one I feel might be worth putting on my website.
I also took several images of this abandoned old boat. One of these has inspired me to Photoshop it into a picture you might want on your wall. again, you can find that on my website. There are far too many to place on here!
abandoned old boat
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Rare chance to Photograph Baby Birds
29 Aug 2011 6 Comments
in nature, photo, photography, travel, Uncategorized, wildlife Tags: camera, image, images, nature, photo, photograph, photography, photography technique, picture, travel
While on our travels this summer, we visited Porlock in Somerset. It’s a lovely little place with friendly people, a picturesque village and a visitor centre. Imagine my surprise when I saw a swallow flitting in and out of the porch there, looked up and spied these swallows.
swallows
At least that’s what I think they are. Of course, if you know different…let me know, please! Here’s a close-up picture of the babies. All I could do, technique-wise, was steady the camera, point in the right direction, get someone to tell me when mum (or dad) was coming in and shoot with fingers crossed.
Baby Swallows?
Next Blog…Drowned forest at Porlock bay.
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Photos Make Memories
26 Aug 2011 4 Comments
in photography, travel Tags: camping, image, imagery, images, inspiration, light, outdoors, passions, photo, photography, picture, random, random thoughts, roundhouse, stone circle, travel
Roundhouse
I’ve been away for a while, photographing everything I could on my travels. Photos make memories! Now it’s time to share some of them with you. This is the best use of anyones photos! Memories to shore you up through the less enjoyable times are worth their weight in gold. In July I attended a pagan camp that only happens once a year. It’s the only chance I get to catch up with old friends who, ten years ago were like me involved in building a modern-day stone circle. The owner of the land I also now consider an old friend. He turned his farm over to conservation and has done a wonderful job of making wildlife welcome.
He also makes people welcome. Since the stone circle was built, volunteers have also built a roundhouse on site. It’s a wonderful space, perfect for gathering together on a wet day or cold night. In the photo above, you can see the weather was awful and the fire lit! Laughter and music was in abundance, though, so our gathering didn’t let rain and cold in July spoil our re-union.
The roof structure is a work of art in itself. I couldn’t help myself. The camera came out even when we were sitting listening to music. I looked up and realised these were views I wouldn’t see again for another year…unless… I shot away.
Roundhouse Roof
Inside, we were all cosy. This picture is dark, but I respect people’s privacy, so the photo I’ve used gives you the flavour of the space without compromising that privacy as the people in it aren’t recognisable. Isn’t it cosy, though? Certainly much better than sitting in a wet tent! The site is a farm, not a camp site, so there are composting toilets and fresh water. Other than that, the roundhouse is the best shelter from the elements.
Roundhouse Interior
Outside, the carvings make wonderful shapes in the dusky light, as I noticed when I emerged, camera in hand, just as the light was fading, here’s what I saw.
Roundhouse Gateway
The weather was of course a key feature, as it always is when you’re living outdoors, even for a few days. Storms make for stunning skies, and I had to capture them.
Stormy Sky
We also had gorgeous sunsets. How many times do we have a wonderful sunset and it’s missed because we’re indoors? When you’re living outside, the wonders of our natural world are much more obvious and more easily appreciated. My memories of these fabulous days are now captured forever! These shots may not be the best technical examples of award-winning shots, but they’ll preserve Summer camp 2011 for me and I can revisit whenever I want. Make the most of your camera and preserve your travels, events and good times to see you through the darker days we all have.
Sunset on Camp 2011
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Wild Flower Poster Hits the Press
04 May 2011 6 Comments
in conservation, image, imagery, nature, photo, photography, thoughts, Uncategorized, wildlife Tags: conservation, floral, flowers, nature, photo, photography, picture
I’ve been very busy with wild flowers lately. I’ve always been a conservationist, and now have the skills and marketplace to spread the word. So I spent several hours putting together a wild flower poster for Zazzle that I think everyone will love. It would work in the classroom as a teaching aid or as a pretty poster at home. It would even look good on the office wall and maybe encourage others to grow wild flowers in their gardens, thus helping our native wildlife and conserving our plants for the future. I know I havent been blogging as much lately, but without pictures there are no blogs, and without pictures there isn’t even money for internet access, so I’m afraid I’ve had to spend time elsewhere. But my friends on here have not been forgotten. I will try to catch up with you all soon. Here’s the poster.
Happy gardening!
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Have You Had Your Daily Dose Of Beauty?
28 Apr 2011 9 Comments
in conservation, image, imagery, musings, nature, photo, photography, thoughts, Uncategorized Tags: beauty, floral, flowers, imagery, images, inspiration, nature, passions, people, photograph, photography, picture, pictures, random, reflections
beauty abounds
It’s about time. There is so much horrible stuff going on in the world I thought a timely reminder that there is free beauty out there we can all share just might be welcome. It’s easy to get caught up in all the war and nastiness, the economic doom and gloom and walk around with clouds around our heads. But if we blow the cobwebs away, perhaps with a short walk or drive into the countryside, perhaps just a stroll round the garden and open our eyes, beauty is all around us. My garden has been adopted by a baby blackbird who obviously left the nest a few days early. He sits listening to me when I go out to throw him some mealworms and apple to feed him up, then dives straight onto the food. He is gorgeous! I can’t show you, because the danger of me taking the camera out there is that he’ll panic and end up food for a local cat.
Calendula beauty. Pure sunshine in a flower
But flowers don’t get frightened! So today’s pictures are here as testimonial to the wonderful world we live in, even if us humans do make a mess of it, the beauty still abounds, and we should hang onto it with all our might. Some of these shots were taken before I bought my trusty Nikon, but nonetheless remind me of lovely times of gorgeousness that helped me switch my brain into a more positive mode. I hope they do the same for you.
Mint. Beautiful flavour, beautiful flowers
Spring has brought me inspiration. I’ve been taking photos, seeing friends (it was a long, lonely winter) and working on new projects. I discovered a couple of weeks ago a site called Squidoo. What fun! And it’s somewhere I can showcase my work with photography and with Zazzle. Having started with WordPress last year as a reluctant technophobe, I appear to be well and truly hooked on computer wizardry. I’ve been so wrapped up in all of this I hadn’t realised I’d been neglecting my blog. oops! Finding the time to do everything is getting more difficult, but I can’t complain. At least all of this keeps me busy and making lots of new cyberfriends. In case you’re interested, Squidoo is a great site for doing very tightly focussed ‘lenses’ that deal with one subject and really go into detail about it, usually with accompanying links to relevant sites and helpful hints and tips, plus where to buy relevant stuff. It’s quite easy to get lost in it for hours – much like on WordPress. I’ve so far made eight of these lenses, some of which are photography and flower ones. It gives me the opportunity to write about subjects that wouldn’t really fit under a general photography blog like this one, so I feel the two compliment each other. You might want to take a peek at my Grow Hellebores in Your Garden lens or Spirals or even wild flower garden one.
Happy Spring!
Photographer Spreading the Word. Work is For Sale
16 Apr 2011 1 Comment
in agencies, art, business, image, imagery, musings, photo, photography Tags: flowers, hellebores, images, photo, photographs for sale, photography, photography business, photos, pictures, random, work
It’s been a busy old week. Having spent three glorious sunny days last weekend catching up with the gardening, when the weather turned cool I came indoors and began working on actually being found on the wonderful web. As we no longer have effective agencies to sell our work, us creatives have had to find creative solutions to the question ‘how do I get seen?’ Of course a WordPress blog and a website is a start, but experience has shown me it’s not enough to get you off the ‘starving artist’ income I’d like to avoid.
So I investigated Squidoo. The first day was a nightmare. This none techy person was alsmot driven to the point of baldness and rescued by advice from Zazzle people and my partner. The second day I mastered some of the technique need to build a Squidoo lens. Now I’ve got something to tell you about! I’ve made three lenses so far. (go on, cheer!).
Lenses are very specific. Apparently, the more focussed they are, the more successful they are. So I have one on Digital flower art, one on Photographic Flower Art and one all about hellebores, which I featured in a recent WordPress post. They are quite good fun to do, once you learn the system.
I’ve not stopped taking photos, needless to say! So todays offering is an arum lily. My partner brought them for me (yes, he’s a sweetie, though that might ruin his street cred). It’s not an easy flower to photograph, I’ve found. But I’m fairly satisfied with the result. What do you think?
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Spring’s Spectacular Displays
05 Apr 2011 10 Comments
in conservation, image, imagery, musings, nature, photo, photography, photography technique, thoughts, Uncategorized, wildlife Tags: camera, floral, flowers, image, nature, Nikon D90, passions, photo, photography, photography equipment, pics, picture, random
Tulip Tarda Macro
Hyacinth Macro
Primula Denticulata close-up
Fritillaria Milleagris
Bee Fly
Spring Finally arrived, bringing colour and life into my garden. Hooray! It’s hard NOT to be dazzled by the sheer exuberance of spring flowers. They shine out even on the gloomiest of days, announcing their wares to the insect world. While taking my photos of these glorious blooms something caught my eye. I thought at first it was a busy bee. I tried to capture its image on a hyacinth, but it didn’t stay put long enough and I chased it around the flowers until it landed where I feed the birds. Here it sat, grooming itself as I watched it through my Zoom macro lens. I found out later it’s a bee fly. They sip nectar as adults, but lay their eggs in solitary bees nests, where the grubs hatch out and feed on the bee grubs. Gruesome yet fascinating. Everything seems to have parasites, once you look closely enough.
Anyway, it hasn’t deterred my enthusiasm for spring. I wish I had the energy to jump up and down about it. Writing and taking photos and smiling like a Cheshire cat will have to do. Happy spring, folks everywhere. What’s blooming in your garden?
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My Photos on Products
03 Apr 2011 2 Comments
in business, image, imagery, photo, photography Tags: business, camera, imagery, images, photo, photographs, photography equipment, photos, picture, pictures, prints, random, zazzle
Just a quick post today to show off the products from Zazzle we ordered as gifts. I’m really pleased with them and can now vouch for the quality Zazzle produce. The mousemat is thick durable, and comfortable under the wrist. The mugs are great! I’m glad I decided to use some of my photos this way, as well as offering others as prints on my freshly updated website.
Here are photos of them, modelled by my partner Jon.
Shell Mug
Houseleek mugs
Pride Mousemat
