2021 Project 52 by Geoff F

Thanks for the comments.

Nearby there are still a few larger Victorian/Edwardian houses with substantial gardens including well established trees including Scots Pine and large shrubs. The Nuthatch and a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers fly from that area so I assume they will be nesting there.

Unfortunately, most of our older houses, which look like houses, have been demolished and replaced by square blocks of concrete and glass. Most of the established interesting gardens have been ripped apart to squeeze in larger buildings.

Week 10 - From the Cliff Path. A windy day but there was a bit of a brighter gap between the showers so I went for a quick walk along the cliff path.

Bolt Head. Not an ideal light angle and I was chiefly shooting for the sky.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...9/original.jpg

7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. Merge of two bracketed exposures 1/1000 F11 Iso 320

My shooting position was at the top of these steps. It was a pleasant day here but around the corner at the top of those steps the wind was so strong I was struggling to breathe. Turned around and went back instead.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...0/original.jpg

1/100 F9 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures. Hopeless light angle but I had a go anyway.

And heading back towards home there was this scene, looking towards the harbour.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...1/original.jpg

1/800 F11 Iso 320 Merge of two bracketed exposures.

Week 11 - Definitely looking like Spring in my garden now. I have sent my 7D Mk II away for a sensor clean and check/recalibration prior to the new season starting in earnest, so these are all with the old Mk I camera.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...7/original.jpg

7D with Tamron 24-70 lens. 1/200 F8 Iso 400

And I have started using my moth trap again. This is a Common Quaker

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...9/original.jpg

Sigma 180 macro lens 1/40 F11 Iso 400. Merge of three focus points

Double-striped Pug (a rather small moth)

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...0/original.jpg

1/50 F11 Iso 250

Early Thorn

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...1/original.jpg

1/50 F11 Iso 400

Oak Beauty

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...2/original.jpg

Nice collection; are they all live?

Yes all photographed alive and they flew off afterwards.

The bigger moths were chilled overnight inside collection tubes placed in my refrigerator at the coldest setting and the little Double-striped Pug was given a dose of carbon dioxide. That calms them down for a couple of minutes after which they quickly recover; so you have to move fast when photographing them.

Won't chilling overnight kill them?

No problem in the refrigerator - not the freezer.

It just chills them to somewhere around 3 or 4 degrees C which is the same as a chilly spring night here. Ideally, it requires temperatures of 8 degrees or more for moths to become active and to fly around.

Geoff, thank you for the information :)

Week 12 - Finally a calm sunny afternoon arrived so I nipped down to a nearby cove.

Blackstone Rock

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...4/original.jpg

Canon 7D with Tamron 24-70 lens 1/1000 F11 Iso 400 Merge of three bracketed exposures

Looking seawards

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...5/original.jpg

Merge of three shots

Mayhem SE 33 entering the harbour. I managed to retain focus on the boat as it passed behind some rocks but (trying to be too clever again) that meant the foreground rocks weren't totally sharply focused.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...6/original.jpg

Canon 70-200 lens 1/1250 F11 Iso 400. Merge of two conversions from a single Raw file.

I like the third one for it has much life in it

Thanks Nandakumar. I also shot some images of the boat passing between rocks but I couldn't get a sharp focus on both the foreground rocks and the boat so I deleted them.

Week 13 - A grey day around the harbour. A rather chilly wind but a spell of morning sunshine tempted me outside. Then dark clouds appeared in a grey sky creating a very dull light; however I continued with my walk around part of the harbour which was mostly sheltered from that fresh wind.

A Grey Morning.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...4/original.jpg

7D Mk I (while my Mk II is away for a refurbishment). Canon 24-105 lens 1/200 F11 Iso 400 merge of two bracketed exposures

An approaching shower of hail.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...5/original.jpg

1/500 F8 Iso 400 Merge of two bracketed exposures. I thought one of those old tree stumps looked like a strange monster emerging from the shoreline mud (or do I need psychiatric help) :rolleyes:

If you want to know the way - just ask us!

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...6/original.jpg

1/80 F8 Iso 400. Merge of two bracketed exposures (while leaning over a gate and twisting myself sideways)

there is something very much special about the composition of the middle image; i really liked that
and that third image; it is full of innocence and i love that!!!

Thanks Nandakumar.

Week 14 - Gammon Head. Where I was recording wildlife yesterday.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...5/original.jpg

7D with Canon 24-105 lens. 1/400 F11 Iso 400

And this valley is just a little way along the coast

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...6/original.jpg

1/250 F14 Iso 400

I walked up that slope rather slowly and taking several rest periods. This is looking further up the valley.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...7/original.jpg

1/320 F11 Iso 400

Very interesting set; the boat, the tree and the cow gives an idea of the distance at which one sees them in these three images
PS: you may please also include some close ups to add a different taste along with your beautiful scenery images.

Here are some close up shots from two days ago, Nandakumar. :)

Dotted Bee Fly in flight with its wings beating so fast they have become invisible. I really wanted it to land and pose with the wings outstretched so I could prove it was that uncommon species. But recently the few which I have found kept their wings beating even after landing on a flower.

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...5/original.jpg

And a Painted Nomad Bee

https://pbase.com/crustacean/image/1...6/original.jpg

Geoff, I enjoyed your capture of the prehistoric monster 👹 rising up from the ground! Dangerous work!

Yes, a tasty variation:D

Thanks for the comments.

Time to start another Project 52 thread with this link

Project 52 Challenge by Geoff F - Second Quarter