Unknown Caterpillar

Well this is the first shot with my new camera, just recently got a Canon 40D. Very impressive camera, I feel like a pro now.
Not sure what this caterpillar is, but there are lots of them eating our salad crops. It is unbeliveable how fast these little critters eat, so I expect that there will not be much left for us to eat.
If anyone know what this is, please drop me a comment.
Hope you enjoy looking.

Grey Dagger Caterpillar

The is the caterpillar of the Grey Dagger Moth. Here is some detail about it:

The caterpillars of the Grey Dagger Moth have two, tall hairy humps on their backs, and a wide, bright yellow stripe running along the top of the body.

Latin name: Acronicta psi
Size: Has a wingspan of approximately 40mms.
Distribution: Common in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Less frequently seen in Scotland.
Months seen: June to September.Habitat: Hedgerows, parks and gardens.
Food: Nectar.
Special features: The grey dagger is another of our noctuid moths. It gets its name from the black dagger-like markings on its grey wings.

Gatekeeper

This butterfly is called a Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus). Wingspan Male: 37 - 43mm Female: 42 - 48mm.

Took a while for this one to settle, but managed to fire off a couple of good shots. Was lucky enough to be able to drop the ISO down to 200, and the light was good.

Hope you like it.

Heavy Bee

This made me laugh watching this Bee trying too land and feed from this flower.  He was just too heavy and kept sitting on his backend.  You can even see his legs sticking out of the side.

Hope you like it.

Photoshop

Yes, you guess it, another shot with my Sigma 105mm EX DG macro lens. I processed this one in Photoshop CS3, but used some other filters to see what results it brought out.

Filters that I used were "Alien Skin, Exposure" and "Nik Software Sharperner Pro". The Exposure filter give you a chance to apply film filters, on this shot I used Velvia film filter, this give the shot a warmer tone and highlights the colours more. The Sharperner pro filter is pretty good, I think it's better than the "Smart Sharpen" in CS3. Anyway I hope you enjoy the shot.

Dragonfly Macro

I have been watching this Dragonfly fly around the garden for a couple of days.  Finally it needed a rest, so grabbed my camera and fired off a few shots.  I really like this one as it shows lots of details.  Incredible creatures.

Pieris rapae

The Small White (Pieris rapae) is a small to mid-sized butterfly species of the Yellows-and-Whites family Pieridae. It is also commonly known as the Small Cabbage White. The names "Cabbage Butterfly" and "Cabbage White" can also refer to the Large White.

Back to work.....

Well back to work for the week, and not much chance of getting photographs. The British summer is back with the usual rainy showers. Lets hope the weekend will favor the photographer.

I am rather enjoying my new Macro Lens and try to use it when I can.

I was thinking of doing the OU course in photography, but since talking to a few people who have been on the course, I don't think it will benefit me much. Have looked around at other course, I have seen the OCA photography courses. They seem to be more my level, but they cost around £580. So, I need to think hard, I really need to make sure that I would go the course. It last between 9 and 12 months.

I do however, have a book on photography, with about 28 projects in it. So I am tempted to work my way through those projects, and see how I get on. I think then I will know if I could do a course.

Busy Sunday.....

Well it was a busy Sunday for some......this Bumblebee seemed to be buzzing all over the garden.  Not actually much else in the garden today.  Hope you like the shot.

Saturday Morning Macro shot

This is a Speckled Bush Cricket - who I think has eaten my Basil plant.  I took a few shots, and moved him on!  Hope you like the shot.

Shot of the day/week.

This one is hot out of my camera.  This little one was eating my runner beans.  Thought I would take a few shots, before he went for a little walk somewhere else.  Hope you like it.

British Wildlife Centre

A couple of years ago, we went to the BWC with some very good friends, who are also very much into photography. The BWC is such a good place to see the wildlife that Britain has to offer. I think the only things that I didn't like, was the large birds of prey, that we kept in a smallish area. I think that birds should have LOTS of space to stretch their wings. Hope you like the shots.



This is a lovely little Polecat! Had to wait around for this little chat to appear......I think he was sleeping.












Showing my ignorance here. Not sure what kind of frog this is, but he seemed very photogenic.










Perhaps one of the stars of the BWC. He knows how to work the crowd!!