Herb Robert - Geranium robertianum

The Herb Robert is a type of Crane's Bill which can be found in a variety of habitats, including woodlands, hedgerows as well as coastal areas. It is a small, rather delicate plant with pink petals, flowering between May and September.

Herb Robert - Geranium robertianum. 

   

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens. Tripod and cable release.

Bee Orchid - Ophrys apifera

One of our most beautiful flowers, the Bee orchid can be found along dry, chalk and limestone grasslands from June to July. It is found throughout the U.K. but is rather scarce in the North of the Country. 

Bee Orchid - Ophrys apifera

Photographed with a Nikon D4, Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens, tripod and cable release.   

Pyramidal Orchid - Anacamptis pyramidalis

A beautiful little orchid that flowers throughout June and July. It grows in chalk grassland as well as scrub, road verges and coastal regions.

Pyramidal Orchid - Anacamptis pyramidalis

This particular orchid was found amongst a field of Birds-foot-trefoil and grasses, the yellows, greens and purples really seem to compliment each other.

Shot with a Nikon D4, Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens, tripod and cable release.

Lady's Smock - Cardamine pratensis

Lady's Smock or Cuckoo flower is a lovely little plant frequenting damp grassland, ditches and roadside verges. The lilac or white flowers are 1 to 2 cm across with four petals. It has a blue-green upright stem with very narrow leaves in a rosette at its base.

Lady's Smock - Cardamine pratensis  

Quite a delicate little flower, which makes photographing it quite tricky. A still day is ideal as the slightest breath of wind will get the plant swaying. A tripod, cable release and selecting mirror lock up will yield the best results and ensure a pin sharp image.

Up close, you can see just how beautiful the flower is.

Lady's Smock - Cardamine pratensis 

Common Lizard

I've always wanted to capture a decent shot of a Common Lizard but they're very wary and super fast, the closest I normally get is the rustle of grass and the briefest of glimpses as a tail disappears in to the undergrowth, camera still by my side. All that changed a couple of days ago, whilst out photographing orchids. A beautiful and quite large female was basking away on top of a blanket of reeds, body spread out, maximum exposure to the sun. It was such a good position that I think she wasn't going to move for anybody and I was able to get quite close. No time for a tripod setup as this would've likely spooked her, so a technique whereby you shoot on continuous high was adopted, allowing me to rattle off a number of shots in quick succession. Shooting like this gives me a much greater chance of capturing at least one sharp shot and I would highly recommend it to anyone if a tripod is impractical. The Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro comes with vibration reduction, and this was invaluable in this instance.  

Common or Viviparous Lizard

I had recently read a guide book where the lizard was described as having skin that resembled many tiny beads and I think you can clearly see this on the image above, they really are fascinating

 After I had taken a few shots and was satisfied with the results, I left her in piece and carried on with some orchid photography. Walking back along the path an hour or so later, there she was, in exactly the same position, having not moved an inch. What an absolutely beautiful animal. 

Lily of the Valley

Lily of the Valley

The beautiful Lily of the Valley is a fantastic little plant that carpets shaded woodland floors throughout many parts of the U.K, it's delicate little white flowers, dancing with the slightest breeze. The beautiful, fragrant scent this plant produces is truly wonderful, and it's a joy to see every Spring.

Not really the easiest of flowers to photograph as the mass of broad green leaves covering the floor can make it difficult to select a suitable subject. Delicate stems of tiny white bell like flowers poke through this sea of green, so for me, isolating one specimen seemed to work best, the surrounding leaves acting as a great background. It's a very short plant, no more than 15-20 cm, so I adopted a very low camera position to try and capture the delicate beauty of the flowers, as well as the shape of the stem. Using a tripod and getting in close allowed me to achieve this. Patience really is the key with close up photography as the slightest movement of the subject can ruin the image. Days with little or no wind will likely provide the best results and shooting with a cable release will also help avoid any camera shake.

A beautiful little plant and well worth searching for during May and June across dry woodlands and hedgerows on chalky soils.   

Beautiful butterflies

With the weather warming up and the days getting longer, now is a great time to take a stroll down to your local woods to try and capture images of the many butterflies that are on the wing. There are many different species, all flying at different times of the year, so a little guide book will help you with their identification and the best places to look for them. Best times to photograph are first thing in the morning or later on in the evening when it's a bit cooler and the butterflies are less active and likely to be resting. Try and get in close and use a tripod if you can, this will help in capturing sharp images and the subject will fill a large part of the frame. Wider shots, taking in the immediate surroundings of the subject can also work really well, and shooting towards the sun can give glorious results, as the light provides a halo effect around the insects wings.     

Common Blue

A glorious male Common Blue butterfly at rest. Getting in close and using a macro lens and tripod helped me isolate the subject from the cluttered background. It was vital that the butterfly was parallel to the camera's sensor to ensure a pin sharp image. The slightest breeze would have ruined the shot so patience is key. I find that a cable release is also an essential piece of kit.

Marsh Fritillary

This beautiful Marsh Fritillary was at rest on a long piece of grass. It's quite difficult to believe that the subject was surrounded by a great deal of clutter, bits of grass sticking up everywhere. A macro lens can help isolate a subject and allow you to capture a really striking image. It just needs a bit of patience and lightness of movement getting yourself and your gear in to position, otherwise you risk scaring the subject. Shots like the two above are great images to have in your portfolio as identification guides and magazines are always on the lookout for pictures like these. 

Meadow brown

This shot of a Meadow Brown beautifully backlit by the sun was taken hand held. As I was a bit further away from the subject, capturing a pin sharp image was much easier, depth of field being less of a problem. Unlike the other two photographs, the grasses in this image help enhance the subject, showing the butterfly off in it's natural environment. It has been used in magazines across double page spreads and has been a good seller for me.    

All images Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens.   

Study of Bluebells

One of my photography passions is close up and macro. I spent a number of years trying to perfect this particular genre, but lost my way a little as wedding assignments took over and became all consuming, not allowing much time for nature shoots. Since opening my gallery in Wells-next-the-Sea on the North Norfolk coast and focusing on landscapes, I have managed to find more and more time to address this and indulge in nature photography once again, particularly flower portraits. I'm not trying to look at subjects with my business head on necessarily, but if I were to capture an image that has sales potential, all the better. Flower photography has always been popular and I tend to look at two different shooting styles when I'm out which may appeal to different markets. Standard portraits with good light, perfect focus, possibly showing habitat, may be a requirement for book publishers or a nature magazine editor. They may be looking for stock images illustrating how a particular plant looks, possibly for identification purposes or maybe to accompany a magazine article. More arty, soft focus, hazy images may appeal more to people who want to buy a piece of art and hang it on their walls. This second category offers photographers huge artistic licence, and for me, when shooting flower portraits in this way, I strive to capture the essence of the plant as well as its beauty.       

Bluebells are probably one of the most photographed wild flowers in the U.K. and whenever I have the chance, I will always try to visit nearby woodland, simply to take in their beauty. This year I visited the beautiful Tattershall Carrs wood in Lincolnshire, and was met by the most breathtaking of scenes. The Bluebells stretched as far as the eye could see, turning the woodland floor into a carpet of electric blue. Bees buzzed lazily between the flowers and the sound of Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming away echoed throughout the woodland.

Tattershall Carrs

The lovely carpet of bluebells at Tattershall Carrs make for a great photographic subject. I visited the wood on numerous occasions but unfortunately the light was fairly flat each time I was there. It was still worth visiting however, as the more familiar I became with the wood, the more I understood what composition might work and where best to set up the camera for future visits. The composition for the image above seemed to work quite well, the trees framing the top half of the image, holding the bluebells in. The only thing missing for me was a lack of strong directional light. That would have given the image more depth, the raking shadows adding some much needed visual interest. 

Study of bluebells

But artistic shots are different. You can fashion your own light, add your own colour, add a texture. Pretty much anything you want. Have a bit of fun with it and go with what feels right for you. The more time you spend photographing certain subjects and certain locations, the more you will understand what works and what doesn't. Remember there are certain rules within photography, but remember also, these rules can be broken.

So next time you're out in the woods with a camera, look a the many different ways you can photograph a scene. Go wide, get in tight, go high or get down low. You'll be amazed at how many ways you can capture the one place, and how much fun you will have doing so.  

Photogenic Ladybird

Ladybirds always make such good photographic subjects, and this little chap in the image below was no exception. I spotted him/her while walking along the beach road at Wells-Next-The-Sea, admiring the beautiful Viper's Bugloss which is in full flower at this time of the year, lining great stretches of the mile long seaside path. It's one of my favourite wild flowers, the purple-blue petals glowing like little neon signs against the stark, bleached sandy soil of the coastal landscape.

Hand holding my Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens coupled with a Nikon D90, vibration reduction (V.R.) on, I was able to select a wide enough aperture to throw any distracting background foliage into a dreamy blur while holding the subject in sharp focus. The red of the Ladybird contrasts nicely against the blue of the flower, something I really love. I wasn't expecting to get a shot like this on the day, but it just goes to show, you should always keep a camera by your side, you never know what you might stumble across.

Ladybird on Viper's Bugloss

Bluebells

Spring is such a beautiful time of year, everything is bursting into life. Birds building their nests, blossom on the trees, and Spring flowers emerging from the ground. Probably the most iconic of our Spring flowers has to be the beautiful  and fragile Bluebell. Who can resist a walk along a winding path through a deciduous woodland on a warm Spring day, the leaves and branches scattering light across the floor, a shock of blue as far as the eye can see. It's a truly spectacular sight, and one that you never tire of. There are many images of such magnificent scenes but this year I thought I would try something a little different. I wanted to isolate an individual flower or two but still portray them as they are to be found, amongst the grass jostling for position along with the tens of thousands of others.

I shot using a Nikon D4, Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens, tripod and cable release. I tried to isolate individual plants, which was quite tricky as they grow so close to each other, and I also wanted to show them as part of a much larger group whilst maintaining the focal point of an individual plant. The deep green of the grass worked well with the blue of the flower and it was interesting to see the way the light affected the blue, turning it a light purple colour at times whenever the sun caught it. It was also amazing to see just how many insects use the plants as their home. Many tiny spiders could be seen, their intricate webs sparkling in the low sun. There was a slight breeze and because I was shooting so close to the subject, an aperture of F11 or greater was needed to give me any kind of depth of field, resulting in a slow shutter speed at base ISO. The only answer was to boost the ISO to 800. No problem for the D4, images are clean at this sensitivity and it gave me peace of mind knowing that I would freeze any movement in the subject should it arise. 

Bluebells in the sun

The sun shines down on this one plant, the deep blue of the flower becoming a paler sky blue as it becomes almost transluscent. 

Bluebells and Cobwebs

The Bluebells in the background are lit up by the low setting sun, clearly showing the way the light affects the colour of the flowers. Threads of a spider's web glint in the low light of the main subject.

       

Delicate Bluebells

My favourite image from the set, taken a couple of days before the others, under a leaden sky. I love the slightly sombre feeling to the image, the deep bluey purple of the flowers contrasting nicely against the grass in which the plant grows.

'Love-In-A-Mist'

The beautiful Nigella flower is often called 'Love-In-A-Mist' because of its tangle of ferny, fennel- like foliage that seems to form a mist around the flowers. It's a very fragile little plant which sways in the merest of breezes, the flower head itself probably no more than the size of a 20p piece, and it is both delicate and very intricate.

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8. ISO 200, F11 @ 1/20 sec - Tripod and cable release 

Shutting up for the night

It's lovely to see poppies pretty much growing anywhere during the summer months. They don't mind a poor quality sandy soil and are just as at home on run down building sites as they are at a fields edge, where they certainly add a splash of colour. They can be tricky to photograph if you're outside and not shooting in a studio. They are so delicate that the merest hint of wind tends to rustle their petals and the deep red of the flower can be difficult to expose for, especially in bright conditions.

This particular poppy had been enjoying the sun all day long and was just starting to close up for the night, so the only option I really had was to shoot from above looking down into the flower head, careful to avoid any clutter on the ground.

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8. ISO 800, F7.1 @ 1/160 sec, Tripod and cable release

Even though the camera was tripod mounted, a faster shutter speed was employed simply to avoid any blur caused by the breeze. I was waiting patiently for 30 minutes before I was happy that the wind had died down sufficiently to take the photograph. Depth Of Field is minimal when shooting from just a few inches, even with an aperture of F7.1 so focus becomes critical. I just love the way that the spiny stem blurs into the background the further away from the flower head it travels.

'Barrel Roll'

The sixth and final image capturing insect and flower interaction. A Green Bottle Fly feeds on the flower of the herb Mint. It's only when you really get up close and personal to these energetic little insects that you appreciate just how beautiful they are, the iridescent green of the fly's thorax and abdomen glistening in the low evening sun as it busily goes about its business.

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8, Handheld. ISO 800, F5 @ 1/200 sec, E.V. + 0.3

  The image is printed on 275gsm photographic paper with a print size of 16 x 12 inches. It comes double mounted in a rustic glass fronted 20 x 16 inch frame and is strictly limited to 100 pieces. The price is £100

Wide Open and Greeting the Sun

A beautiful wild Cornflower soaks up the rays as the sun beats down on a hot August afternoon.

I try to take my close up and macro shots outdoors whenever I can, using only natural light and possibly a reflector. Patience and a tripod are often needed in these situations and it's also a good idea to use a trigger release to avoid unnecessary camera shake. I isolated this particular flower from the others by moving in close and using a Nikkor 105mm macro lens. This allowed me to fill the frame with the subject and leave a bit of empty space to the side without encroaching on anything else which may have been distracting in the final image. I find that by placing the subject off centre the composition is more pleasing and the viewer's eye can wander around the image more easily.  

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 Macro lens. ISO 800, F8@ 1/20sec

On Clouds of Wild Marjoram

The fourth in a series of six fine art images depicting insect and flower interaction. A Buff-Tailed Bumblebee feeds amongst a large cluster of Wild Marjoram flowers during a warm early August morning.

The image is printed on 275gsm photographic paper and the paper print size is 16 x 12 inches. It comes mounted in a rustic glass fronted 20 x 16 inch frame and is strictly limited to 100 pieces. The price is £90

Refuelling

The second in a series of six fine art images depicting insect and flower interaction. A Hover fly feeds on a delicate and beautiful Cornflower during the height of summer.

The image is printed on 275gsm photographic paper and the paper print size is 16 x 12 inches. It comes mounted in a rustic glass fronted 20 x 16 inch frame and is strictly limited to 100 pieces. The price is £90

On Final Approach

I love the fact that as we go about our busy lives, so do the millions of insects and butterflies, industriously flitting from flower to flower looking for their next nectar hit. Most gardens hold dozens of insect hot spots, each one a miniature airport, the airspace full of buzzing creatures flying to and fro. Just knowing that this is happening all around us each day during the summer months fills me with joy. I hope by showing these flowers in a different light that it may help persuade people to protect our wild spaces and encourage them to look at wild flowers positively, and not just as intrusive weeds as they are so often seen.

'On Final Approach'

Starting off with what will be a portfolio of six images of wildflower, habitat and insect interaction, 'On Final Approach' a Honey Bee lines up to land on a Rosebay Willowherb flower. The image is printed on 275gsm photographic paper and the print size is 16 x 12 inches. It comes double mounted in a rustic glass fronted 20 x 16 inch frame and is strictly limited to 100 pieces. The price is £100

Beautiful in Blue

A few months ago I was given a packet of Cornflower seeds by my girlfriend and they were sown in my parents' garden next to a bed of Petunia flowers. The seeds grew quickly and in the last week or so have started to bloom. They really are beautiful, the head of the flower about the size of a 10 pence piece and a lovely deep blue colour, fading slightly as the petals are bleached by the sun. What has been especially interesting to observe is how the hover flies have totally ignored the Petunias and made a beeline straight for the diminutive and somewhat straggly Cornflowers. Proof indeed that we should all spend a little more time and thought when selecting plants and flowers for the garden.

Nearly ready to greet the World 

Beautiful in Blue

Both images were taken with a Nikon D4 and Nikkor 105mm F2.8 lens. A tripod and cable release were used in both cases.

The top image 'Nearly ready to greet the World' was taken outside and at quite close range, probably no more than 8 cm, so any breeze causing the flower head to move was quite evident through the viewfinder. Patience was the key here.

The image 'Beautiful in Blue' was taken inside after a heavy hale storm had broken the stem of the flower. A small glass container was used to prop the flower up and helped to add a bit more depth and interest to the image. Thankfully, wind was not an issue with this shot.

A truly beautiful little flower.

Perfect Rose

Nikon D4 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8

ISO 100, 1/40sec @ F6.3

Tripod, cable release and step ladders!

The reference guides by British Wildlife Publishing

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
Common Darter - Sympetrum striolatum

I wrote a post last month on one of my favourite areas of photography, close up and macro. I discussed the tips and techniques that I had developed over the years and how I compared my work to that of master macro photographer, Robert Thompson. ( www.robertthompsonphotography.com )

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
 Blue Tailed Damselfly - Ischnura elegans

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
Common Blue Butterfly - Polyommatus icarus

I want to expand on that previous post a little by writing about the field guides that I always carry in my bag when photographing insects, primarily butterflies, moths and dragonflies. Such guides are vital if the intention of the photographer is to submit images to stock sites or magazines for the purpose of marketing or publication, as they will normally require both the English and Latin names of the subject captured. Fairly straightforward with the more common species, but decidedly more tricky with the less common and rarer types. The books by British Wildlife Publishing ( BWP) are fantastic, covering all resident species of insect, moth and butterfly in Great Britain and Europe, as well as migrants.

The British Wildlife Publishing Titles

They can be a real lifesaver when you aren't quite sure of the exact species you are photographing and need a little help. The reason why I'm particularly fond of the BWP reference books is because not only do they make identification of the subject pretty straightforward, but also the artwork within each title by Richard Lewington is simply exquisite.

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
Common Darter - Sympetrum striolatum

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
Common Blue Damselfly - Enallagma cyathigerum

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
Marbled White Butterfly - Melanargia galathea

Even when not traipsing around the edges of a busy lake or river being eaten alive by the thousands of ferocious horse fly that have targeted me for dinner, I like nothing better than pulling one of these titles from the bookshelf and perusing the pages with my feet up and a nice cup of tea, planning my next faraway photographic adventure or failing that the nearest local pond.        

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
 Blue Tailed Damselfly - Ischnura elegans

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
Broad Bodied Chaser Dragonfly - Libellula depressa

   

Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro
Migrant Hawker Dragonfly - Aeshna mixta

You can find a link to the BWP website here,

http://www.britishwildlife.com

The ISBN numbers for the books above are as follows;

Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland

Written and illustrated by Richard Lewington

ISBN: 978 0 9531399 1 0

Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Britain and Europe - Paperback

Klaas-Douwe B Dijkstra, illustrated by Richard Lewington

ISBN: 978 0 9531399 4 1

Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland - Paperback (2nd edition)

Paul Waring & Martin Townsend, illustrated by Richard Lewington

ISBN: 978 0 9531399 8 9 (paperback)