orange – Stephen's Wildlife

Comma butterfly

Late last summer my neighbour painted his shed. Now with the onset of spring I can really appreciate his work. The bokeh effect in this photograph of a newly emerged comma butterfly takes full advantage of the green background. It sets off the orange of the butterfly’s wings beautifully.

The butterfly flitted around the garden on a sunny spring afternoon and eventually landed on the cherry tree, itself just beginning to bud. The hottest March day in the UK since 1968 according to the BBC weatherman.

For those interested in the technicalities the camera I used was a Nikon D5200 with a crop sensor and the lens was a Tamron 100-400mm. The settings were ISO 200, f/8, 1/320 sec.

A gaggle of greylag geese

A gaggle of greylag geese gathered on the surface of the lake,
The honking, calling and squawking increased in intensity,
A crescendo of sound filled the air.
First one, then three, then seven and thirty birds took flight,
The air now filled with feathers, as well as sound.
They flew low over the water, getting louder and larger, straight toward me,
“Duck!” I thought.
“Don’t be silly!” I chided, as I enjoyed the intensity of sight and sound.
They flew so close, I could almost reach out and touch them.