ALLOTMENT MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY.

Wednesday so an improvement in the weather and a visit to the allotment was overdue.Common bluetail damselflies had been seen around the allotment and I was hoping to photograph the female ovipositing in the wildlife pond,no such luck today but I did manage to photograph one resting on the water vegetation [these damselflies are very small at aprox 1in long]. The full list of my efforts taken with a 100mm macro lens hand held,Honey Bee on thistle,Common Soldier Beetle,Green Bottle and Unknown.The Damselflie was taken with a 70-200 mm lens on beanbag.

GARDEN FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY.

I`ve been practicing a bit of flash in the garden while the weather has been so bad,the summer has been none existent in this part of the country with heavy rain strong winds and low temperatures.I`ve hardly seen a butterfly,hoverfly or wasp while only a handful of bumble bees and honey bees have visited the many flowers in the garden.While more work and lots more practice needs to be done on my flash photography I`ve posted a few of my efforts below for you to judge.

ALLOTMENT UPDATE.

The allotment is slowly taking shape after a lot of hard work and sweat,the small wildflower meadow shows promise and the pond is starting to mature with plants flowering and wildlife slowly appearing.A couple of weeks ago I was amazed to see a male  broad bodied chaser flying around the allotment and pond,I put a small post in the ground at the edge of the pond and bingo he landed on it straight away I managed a few images but the next day he was gone. A bit of excitement on a neigbouring allotment was a swarm of honey bees [only the second one I have seen in my lifetime] I rushed home for the camera and managed a couple of images.I`ve posted images below to show how the allotment is maturing,the broad bodied chaser and the honey bee swarm.

                                                                                                        

YOUNG KESTRELS FEEDING TIME.

I recently found a Kestrels nest in almost a natural hole in a large tree.It was  a rush to capture images of the young birds before they left the nest.The nest was almost 20ft high and I needed advice from an expert wildlife photographer how best to exploit the situation.The advice I received worked a treat and in a long 6hr session I managed to capture images of the young birds being fed.I`ve posted my better efforts below,and only wish that the nest had been found a few days earlier.

BEE ORCHID IMAGES.

Last year Bee Orchids had a very good year and were seen in large numbers,this year they seem to be a bit scarcer and on my travels I`ve only found nine spikes.I`ve posted a few images below of the Bee Orchid taken with different lenses and different composition to show the true beauty of this Orchid.

HARRISEND STONECHATS.

I`ve been watching a pair of Stonechats on Harrisend from nest building to egg laying to feeding their young from the end of April to the end of May.Eventually an opportunity arose,a small hide was introduced and I spent around 3 hrs watching and photographing the adult birds returning with food for their young,a few days later and 5 young chicks successfully fledged the nest.