Red Admiral Butterfly

The Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) is a frequent visitor to UK gardens and will be familiar with many. Starting spring, leading through to summer, this species migrate north from Africa, laying eggs. These hatch in July to produce new Butterflies to start the sequence all over again - they are a sure sign of summer.

The Butterfly above, was captured in one of my favourite forests - Lowther Park, not far from Egremont.

Camera: FujiFilm HS10

Monks Bridge

Monks Bridge (also known as Matty Benns Bridge) spans the River Calder (OS: NY064103). The bridge is the oldest packhorse bridge in Cumbria, dating from c17. The bridge is constructed with sandstone blocks, and has a slightly pointed arch. The bridge spans 18ft, and has a pathway 3ft wide.

The bridge is a Grade II listed monument.

Camera: FujiFilm HS10 

Eskdale Peat Shelter

Above Eskdale, either side of the valley, on the fellside, there are approximately 35 peat storage shelters - the shelters zig zag up the fell to peat deposits. The shelters were used to store peat during the summer months, and was collected during winter, and used as fuel. Each peat shelter belonged to a different house in the valley. Many of the shelters date pre-1800.

The watercolour painting below, by my good friend Jackie Ostle, is based upon the above photograph. Jackie is a very talented local artist - if you are interested in purchasing her painting, please get in touch, and I will pass on your enquiry.

Cold Fell Stone Circle In 3D

Learning photography means learning different techniques. I'm open to almost anything - hence this 3D Anaglyph photograph. To view the photo you will need Red/Cyan Anaglyph Glasses. If you have any laying in drawers from old magazines, etc. they will be OK to use. I purchased my glasses from eBay - if you decide to buy some, I recommend the plastic frame type - they will last much longer than cardboard framed glasses.

To shoot in 3D, a special camera is not required. Set your camera to f/22, take two shots, left and right, approximately 2 inches apart (roughly the distance between your eyes). Now you will need to merge the two photographs - I use Stereo Photo Maker (it's free).

To view: Step back from your monitor, view from approximately four feet away.

Camera: FujiFilm HS10

Ennerdale B&W

It's been a pretty overcast day today, but I took myself and Poppy for a lakeside walk at Ennerdale - I was amazed at how many people were out walking the route, considering the threatening sky. Shortly after taking this shot, mist began to tumble over the top of the mountains, making photography difficult.

Camera: Canon EOS 600D
ISO level: 100
Exposure time: 1/15 sec
F-number: f/22
Focal length: 18mm

This shot was further down the lake, and as you can see, mist is starting to roll over the top of Crag Fell. About 15 minutes later, large areas of the lake became engulfed making it difficult to see any features worth photographing.

Camera: Canon EOS 600D
ISO level: 100
Exposure time: 1/15 sec
F-number: f/22
Focal length: 18mm

Woof!

This is a test shot of bark on a tree, from my new camera - can you see the face?

I had the camera in full auto mode, and am very pleased with the result, considering how high the ISO level was. Hopefully, once I've mastered the camera settings, things will get more interesting.

Camera: Canon EOS 600D
ISO level: 1600
Exposure time: 1/1250 sec
F-number: f/5.6
Focal length: 55mm