I’m a bit concerned about the absence of butterflies in the nature areas which I visit regularly, no Common Blues, no Small Coppers, no Map Butterflies, no whites....no resting butterflies at all....it’s really disappointing and my desire for my trip to France is growing day by day!
Fortunately a lot of Beetles are walking around at the moment....Cockchafers, Garden Chafers, Longhorns and a lot of Soldier Beetles. Normally Soldier Beetles are very active and they disappear immediately by the time a part of my tripod is visible.
This morning I had some luck and I found a resting and very cooperative Soldier. First I photographed the beetle with my ‘normal’ 180 mm macro lense and although there was some wind I mounted my special macro lense, the MP-E 65 mm. The first picture is taken with 180 mm, 0,5s at F10 and the second picture is taken with 65 mm, 1,3s at F13 (zooming factor around 2 ½).
As you probably know, I grew up in Berlin. At the age of six I went to school and in my time it was out of the question getting to school by car. Every day, if it was raining or not, I went to school by walking and I remember, although I was living in a big city, the fascinating living creatures which I found in the hatches on my way. Every springtime I collected Ladybugs and Cockchafers and allowed them a march on my hands and arms....Cockchafers were very easy to find as they were sitting or lying slow on the ground.
On warm evenings in May they are flying against windows and street lightning’s.....BANG.....scrambling and flying again.....BANG.....scrambling and flying up again.....BANG.....my pets love them when they are lying helpless upside down on the ground for a while.
A few days ago I found a resting (or dizzy) Cockchafer. By the time I was ready to take the first photo the little guy (yes, it’s a HE) became active and started climbing up. I was too late resetting my camera into the right aperture......with a loud buzz noise the Cockchafer left the flower.
Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 180mm, 1/125s at F5.6 and ISO160
Although only his eyes are sharp I post this image in my blog as tomorrow I will drive to my beloved city of birth. I will walk on the streets where I walked as a little girl and enjoy the warm memories which I cherish.....and I’m sure that I will find some Cockchafers!
Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 35-350mm, 1/30s at F8 and ISO100
I am very glad that I found this treasure! I like the weathered blue of the car in combination with the fresh green of the bush which is growing next and through the car. The car (actually a small truck) is a Hanomag AL 28 from the early sixties.
Of course this beauty will be added in my gallery ‘
Rust in Peace’ (Portfolio -> Rust in Peace) although I’m not sure that this car will rust in peace; one day he will be back on the road I think.....Route 66 would be nice!
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet thousands of bees in their housings; of course I took my camera with me as it was a long time ago that I looked into a beehive. The bees were very peaceful and busy with their job (collecting nectar and nursing the brood).
But it seemed that the bee housings had more inhabitants. Some spiders are living under the edge of the bee housings and this beauty was disturbed by showing the bees. The spider ran away but stopped on the part which was painted; due to the reflection of the sun the background coloured red.
Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 180mm, 1/8s at F9 and ISO100
For the bee photos, please visit the new chapter about the
Teutoburger Wald (Portfolio -> Teutoburger Wald) and scroll to the second gallery.
At the moment I’m in a forest region in Germany, called Teutoburger Wald, and I’m enjoying the wildlife, the awakening and colouring of the beeches, the friendly people and the good food here. Far away from the land of the living I’m surrounded by nature. The first evening I met a mouse hunting fox and seeing him jumping around for while gave me a happy feeling.
Until now I have not seen much butterflies (springtime just started here) but fortunately a lot of beautiful flowers, like liverwort, violets, wood sorrel, oxlip and other species are growing here. I also made an appointment with myself to focus more on trees and their ‘wise’ expression and on forest moods and details related to human influence. During a walk I found this stone with the inscription BP.
Rest In Peace Deutsche Bundespost
Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 180mm, 1/2s at F9 and ISO100
Two days ago I saw a tiny little snail on a green leaf but when I returned with my camera a few seconds later the snail was gone.....their sloth is just a diversionary tactic! But, yesterday morning I found an other snail which was nibbling on a yellow flower. I made some photos with the snail on the flower but suddenly, due to its bodyweight, he (or she) was hanging upside down for a few seconds.....it was just like the snail was saying ‘hu hu.....ich bin hier’ (it’s a German snail).
Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 180mm, 1/250s at F3.5 and ISO320
Yesterday evening I visited an other Cuckoo Flower area and found a lot of resting Orange-tips. As it was too windy I decided to return this morning to photograph them, hopefully with a beautiful sunrise. Nearby home I found an other Orange-tip (male) resting on Forget-me-not flowers.
When I woke up this morning I decided to stay around and photograph the Orange-tip on the blue flower. When I was busy I noticed that a second Orange-tip, a female, was also sleeping between the Forget-me-not flowers. A male and a female butterfly......maybe I have some luck and they will ‘like’ each other. But as it was cold and windy and both butterflies were still resting, I decided to come back later again. In the meantime I was satisfied with my photo of one resting Orange-tip on Forget-me-not.
Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 180mm, 1/160s at F3.5 and ISO200
Two hours later I returned to the place but couldn’t find any Orange-tip. I looked around and on some other blue flowers I noticed two butterflies.....yes, they had found each other!!!! After I had taken the first photo’s I noticed that they were not mating and that she was very active. He, the true Orange-tip, was sitting, sitting or resting on that flower.
I observed them for a while and it was obvious that she wanted more.....she climbed around a few times, touched him with her tongue but nothing happened. She was very patience with him and I could take enough photos. Finally she gave up and flew away.....I looked at her in her flight and thought “we will never know what men really want”.
After months of writing emails, last weekend it was a pleasure meeting that person in real life....I had a kind of blind date. Together we travelled to the well-known Hallerbos near Brussels. Between Antwerp and Brussels fog came up and with some delay, caused by traffic jam, we arrived at a foggy Hallerbos.
Every year the circumstances at Hallerbos are different; in comparison with former visits this year the beeches had no fresh green leaves. I decided to concentrate on details and macro as I photographed enough tree-trunks with violet bluebells. Two hours after arrival the fog came down and I couldn’t resist photographing the following tree-trunks:
Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 35-350mm at 110mm, 1/80s at F7.1 and ISO100
Around noon the sun came out and my desire for a nice cup of cappuccino became stronger. We decided to drive to the nice Belgian speaking bistro at the end of the road which I visited in 2011. Unfortunately the nice Belgian speaking bistro was changed into a chilly French speaking pizza restaurant. After only one cup of coffee we returned for our afternoon tour to the Hallerbos. This time I only took my camera with macro lens, beanbag and angle finder and started searching for photogenic flowers like this pink Wood Anemone.
Canon 7D; beanbag; angle finder; remote release; 180mm, 1/200s at F3.5 and ISO100
By the time some rain came down and a tired feeling came up we drove back to the Netherlands. After a tasteful dinner I showed my new friend the field with Cuckoo Flowers and immediately we found some resting Orange-tips. The red sunset was the perfect ending of a tremendous day!
This morning I was up early and before sunrise I was driving in the fog to the Cuckoo Flower area again. Of course I did not take again the forest path but drove straight to the field and when I wanted to park my car next to the road it happened.....I lost control about my steering wheel and the complete car was sliding down to the ditch.
Just in time the car stopped and when I get out I landed in thick mud. I looked at my car, the wheels and the ditch and started wondering if I will ever getting out without help. But as nature was awakening and the fog gave a mysterious atmosphere, I started searching for sleeping Orange-tips first....you never know what will happening next!
Canon 7D; beanbag; angle finder; remote release; 180 mm, 1/50s and 1/85s at F3.5 and ISO100
I found some resting Orange-tips and after I was ready photographing them I walked back to my car and studied each wheel. As I have front-wheel drive I checked the mud under and in front of the wheels and decided to give it a try. With a bit acceleration I tried to reach a faster part and a few seconds later I was back on the road and very proud that I had fixed it!
Back at home I laid some carton in my car as I like to visit the Orange-tips these days again!
Yesterday I saw the first emerged butterflies. Although the temperature was not that high, a
Small White (Pieris rapae) and
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) were slowly enjoying the sun and the nectar of the Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria).
In the evening I decided to drive to an area where a lot of Cuckoo Flowers are growing to see if I can find some Orange-tips or Whites resting on these flowers. I took a small sandy path through the forest as once (six or seven years ago) I had driven there together with a friend. While I was driving on this path I was wondering where all the hills came from.....I was slowly driving up and down, up and down and after a few minutes I started wondering if this was a smart idea as I heard some noises under my car. The path was too sandy and the hills were too steep so I gave myself immediately the answer but the point was that I was out there alone so I had no choice. After a while the path became very narrow and I had to choose a direction; I couldn’t remember being there ever before. Fortunately I choose the right direction as after a few hundreds meter I could see in the distance the main road. I learned another lesson yesterday: saving money for a 4 wheel drive!
Finally I reached the wet meadows and the first Cuckoo Flowers were flowering. The sun was hiding behind the clouds and it was cold and windy. I was walking and searching for a long time but I did not find one single resting butterfly. The Cuckoo Flowers were lovely and I found a ditch full of Iris so I will return soon....very soon to search for Orange-tips!
Canon 7D; beanbag; angle finder; remote release; 180 mm, 1/85s at F3.5 and ISO125
Canon 7D; beanbag; remote release; 180 mm, 1/30s at F7.1 and ISO100
A flower with warm colours like his eyes
and a gentle and beautiful heart
A flower with soft leaves like her skin
and a warm and tender heart
Forget me not
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