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What with one thing and another it's been a quiet June for photography, but here's a few highlights: European jay (Garrulus glandarius). This is a real surprise - of all the corvids, jays are the most secretive. I rarely see them, and usually for all of a second or two as they fly between...

Animals today - without quite the diversity of last year's gotta catch 'em all attitude, but dare I say, perhaps better photographed: A peacock butterfly (Aglais io) - for some reason these appear to be the commonest species this year, or at least the most obvious. Last year I saw them fairly...

It's a surprise that it's really been about a year since I posted anything here. Rather than try to catch up entirely, here's a theme post - the flowers of Spring (And early Summer) A daffodil from late March. I recall I spent a couple of days trying to get the light I wanted, with the sun...

It seems the Odonata have finally started to metamorphose. I don't know whether it's simply early in the year, but the usual damselflies (Coenagrion species) aren't flying at the end of the extension canal. I hope this is the reason - thanks to the damn lockdown the canal is lousy with...

Two slightly better photos of a grey wagtail, M. cinerea, (Possibly even the same one) here. I've discovered the long grass on the towpath keeps stealing the focus. I think choosing a smaller aperture might help, since the auto mode seems to want to settle on f/4 for this type of shot. All the...

More ad hoc photography today. I didn't really intend to photograph anything - being unusually chilly and blustery, the plan was just to find an assortment of weeds for the tortoise and call it a day. But nature has a way of surprising you when you don't plan to do anything. I've seen grey...

Back to the nature photography again, and while I've taken a fair few photos since the Summer began, they've been ad hoc and somewhat directionless. But the year waits for no man, so the theme of this post is impossibly cute juvenile birds. Canada geese (Branta canadensis) always do well, too...

A few of the lesser Astartes from my painted collection today - some which I'm either not especially proud of or haven't photographed particularly well. I don't know how I feel about Knight-Serjeant Zeriah. Technically he's not quite finished, being in need of blazoning with his banner. On the...

Something a bit different today - while rounding up stuff to sell in a fit of spring cleaning, I unearthed my old, painted models. And having seen them again, I now can't bear to sell them. It also occurred to me that I've never had a camera good enough to make photographing them worthwhile. And...

I don't know if I prefer plant photography, but it does allow for more experimentation in the moment. I do like the super close-ups, especially of otherwise easily missed flowers, like these wood forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica): I wonder if these have escaped from a garden, possessing...

April's proving difficult for nature photography - not for lack of subjects, but because of all the people I constantly have to dodge. Cutting that short (Here's not the place to complain about that aggravation). More butterflies are flying now, or at least are more visible due to the especially...

Strange - they weren't for me either, till I signed into imgur. Looks like they're behaving now in any case. Thanks for the heads-up

The experimentation continues - this time with trying out techniques for super close-up detail. I could have turned my attention to lesser celandine (Ficaria verna). or wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa), but truth be told, I'm a little tired of them, though I'm sure I'll feel otherwise once their...

Some more Spring photos from the reserve - rather hindered today by everybody and their dog out walking on even the obscure paths. Working around the sun proved irritating, given that it's been shining from a completely clear sky these past two days. I took a variety of photos, but for this post...

A couple of days of walking in what I like to think of as the dingle - though whether that valley is at all related to the Dingle in place names, I don't know. Partly I was getting reacquainted with the reserve, partly I was seeking out the new Spring growth. And so to that end, some daffodils...

Trying to burn off some restless energy with an impromptu walk. Nothing spectacular about this one - the great tit (Parus major) continues to elude me. The blackbirds were a little less twitchy today, so I managed to get a shot of both a male and female: A damp day seems to have encouraged...

Some years Spring just appears in the space of a day or two. This year, having a camera on hand gives more of an incentive to seize the moment, carpe the diem, as it happens. My plan, such as it was, was to patrol the usual paths looking for the new growth, but afterwards I decided to head down...

Another impromptu walk today. I had the intention of capturing a great tit (Parus major). and patience and a good ear I did manage to spot one. The little bastards love to find the highest perch they can and sing so loudly it's hard to see where they're singing from. I couldn't seem to get the...

Headed out with the intention of going somewhere new along the extension canal. The afternoon started dull grey, and the canal doesn't offer much. I think the factories and assorted industry next to it doesn't encourage the wildlife. It's a bit open compared to the Southern arm, with fewer...

Storm Dennis is passing over, leaving high winds behind, but a largely clear day, so I went out with the camera again. The sun's still quite low in the East at this time of year, so some shots were difficult to get. The plan was to photograph the emerging hawthorn blossom (Crataegus monogyna)...