Back home to Worcestershire

Im now have a two weeks off for my inter-semester break and I intend to do nothing but photography. The last few mouths have been kept busy with new projects being set on my MA. They are to the be the final projects that I will do. So i will have to do some filming during this break to keep on the ball. Starting tomorrow I will be filming at the World BMX Championships in Birmingham. My production crew have been given access to film there, and we have access all area press passes which will be perfect for the footage we need.

Anyway back to photography! Here are some images of things that i have found since yesterday. The hot weather has made photographing these creature a real challenge as they just don’t stop moving. I really want to make a species rich list of my garden, but just as I get into it, I have to go back to Cornwall. I have been doing similar things there too to keep photography going. But theres nothing like you own garden

I have many more images waiting to be edited. So will update this post soon!

Cockchafer

Jumping spider

Wolf Spider with prey (another spider)

Toad 

Walking toad

Ruby-tailed wasp 

New setup!

Today I decided to improve on my white background setup as I felt a lot of the pervious images were not as good as they could be. Here is one of the first images. More info later! 

Dysdera erythrina (Female)

A spider which hunts mainly at night. They have six eyes that are arranged to form a circle. I found this one under an old plank in a green house. It’s the first one of the species i’ve seen. 

Success with the FEP!

I was informed today that I had been awarded the IPC European Photo Student award/scholarship by the Federation of European Photographers. The prize is a paid trip to Photokina in Cologne, along with a nicely sized cash prize. Im told that I will have to collect my award on stage at Photokina and that my images will be on show as well. It’s quite a lot to take in at the moment, as the title is as much as a reward as the actual prize. There will be more info when I know more. 

Daddy Long-legs Spider

The daddy long-legs spider is a species that I don’t get in my local area (Worcestershire). But down in cornwall they seem to thrive in domestic areas.
I’ve never seen this species (Pholcus phalangioides) in the same house as the classic house spider (Tegenaria duellica). Hopeful one day I can the reason why. 

Another one for the collection

It’s amazing what you can find by accident. This Zebra spider was roaming the table just to the side of my camera setup. I was photographing a spider at the time, but managed to capture this one fairly quickly before it disappeared. It was so small, about the size of a pencil lead. It would have been easy to take your eye off it and not be able to find it again. 

Im slowly trying to start to identify each one. But it’s extremely challenging. Even with a field guide and internet sources to aid identification. Im hoping that i’ve correctly identified this as a Europhrys erratica. Please feel free to correct me if i’m wrong.

Toad in the hole

This toad was a full time resident in this sandbag. The sandbag had been there for several years and had proved to be a great home for a variety of different toads, frogs and newts. I could always rely on finding something in the bag, but the last few times i’ve looked, the the toad had been replaced by a large slug.

Some recent images from a shoot. More info later.

New Project

As soon as I was back from Scotland, I started on a new project. I intend to document the diversity of insect life in my garden back home in Worcestershire. It always amazes me the amount of life that can be found in one particular area.
Spiders particularly interest me as there are so many varieties. Im currently playing with ideas of how to present them at the moment, as some appear large when in fact they are tiny such as the zebra spider, this one species was the size of a pencil led.
I felt the need to photography some at eye level, as the the features vary so much throughout the different species is would be a shame to not appreciate them.

Ladybird - Found on nettles

 

Xysticus cristatus (crab spider) - Found on nettles

Amaurobius similis - Found in crack on brick wall

Europhrys erratica - Found on wooden table

Centipede - Found under a plant pot

 Woodlouse - Found under a plant pot

Unidentified - Found on nettles

Nursery web spider - Found on nettles

It's been a while

It been a long time since my last proper post. But in the meantime I have been busy with film projects for my MA, and any free time is always spent photographing. The only annoying thing is having to commit a day or several in my case, to editing all the hundreds of images that build up. 
Pretty much after leaving for the easter break, I left on a trip to the Cairngorms in Scotland with fellow photographers from Falmouth University for a much needed photography session. It was the first time I had ever been to Scotland so was quite excited. The weather was fantastic for the four days and then we had a nice covering of snow. Everybody achieved some amazing images so it was perfect all round trip. Here some of my best. Enjoy!


Ruined building

Packhorse bridge


Black grouse


Black grouse 


Female red grouse in the snow 

Mountain hare

Mountain hare

    Female ptarmigan 


Male red grouse


Male red grouse


Gorse in the snow