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More than two weeks ago I returned from a short family holiday to the Dordogne/France. It was nine years ago that I visited the Dordogne for the last time and I have to admit that I forgot how attractive this region is. On the way we visited a well-hidden 'old friend' in the forest....after twelve years I was happy that he was still there and that nothing has changed!  My old friend Simca Aronde....somewhere in France For one week we rented a house with a terrain of 1,5 hectare, enough to search and find nice butterfly species; the two most common species were the Pale Clouded Yellow and Marsh Fritillary.
Due to a cold spring the number of butterflies was low but fortunately the weather was good and day by day the number was increasing. A very nice surprise was the presence of the Provencal short-tailed Blue (Cupido alcetas).
It won't be long before I will return to the Dordogne again!
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Unfortunately I had to leave the Dordogne and one week of jogtrot of life passed by already. Two weeks of holiday were too short to photograph all the things I liked to and to clear up my mind and find some rest. Every morning when I was out early and photographed resting butterflies, I was accompanied by the beautiful sound of the Golden Oriole. Every evening at least four Tawny Owls were calling and, sitting under the roof with a glass of wine, I also enjoyed the little night creatures like a lot of moths, spiders, field crickets and cockchafers which were attracted by the light. The male cockchafers were flying uncontrolled and with a lot of power against the two lights, lying helpless upside down on the ground and after minutes climbing up again and repeating their kamikaze flight to the lights.......I think that some of them were suffering from concussion.  Canon 7D; tripod, remote release, torch light, 180 mm, 0,8sec, at F9 and ISO400 The next weeks/month I need to study a lot for my two examinations at the end of June so I will not photograph much until the summer holiday. Due to my study activities I will take a little break which means that I do not exactly know when I will have time to write for this blog.
Tomorrow it will be my last day in paradise.....I’m a bit sad that I have to leave this beautiful place as every day, I met or found something special to photograph. Yesterday, I was very excited when I saw a Blue butterfly which looked a little bit different, it was resting Green-Underside Blue (link/new page will be added soon); unfortunately he disappeared when the sun came out for a few minutes. The last time I saw this beautiful butterfly species was in 1994 in the Black Forest/Germany. Fortunately, today when I returned to the meadow, I found him again and he was very cooperative and I could photograph him decently. 
Next week my website will be updated and I will add a lot of photos. To give you an impression of my trip, I already added the gallery Dordogne.
ici est magnifique! The first week rushed past with a lot of special en memorable butterfly encounters. Next to butterflies I met a lot of other little creatures like a Fire Salamander and a lot of jumping spiders who are 'looking around' on places which are not suitable for tripods unfortunately. Till now I met 23 butterfly species around the accomodation and I haven't met some common one's!  Small Blue - Canon 7D; tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 1/60s, at F6.3 and ISO100 The butterflies which I found were 'fresh' butterflies like this Small Blue (Cupido minimus) and till now the weather circumstances are perfect as the most popular butterfly meadow is down-hill with less wind. I was very delighted meeting the Duke of Burgundy (link/new page will be added soon) as the last time I photographed this butterfly decently, I was using slides.....and like a real Duke he was very cooperative!  Duke of Burgundy - Canon 7D; tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 1/125s, at F8 and ISO100 The second and last week has started and as the temperatures will rising each day, I'm very curious if I will find new and/or other species!
As I wrote in my former blog, it’s like paradise here.....the combination ‘laissez faire’ nature, the architectural style of houses in small villages, the good wine and cheese makes that it feels like home when I’m walking around.....the only exception is the French language. Yesterday I discovered I field full of Green-veined orchids (Anacamptis morio) and in-between a few of the little and rare Early Spider Orchid (Ophrys Sphegodes) were growing. Near the field full of orchids, in the woods I discovered something else.....something ‘urban’ from long time ago that needed to be explored...... As you can see, it’s a car but can you solve the puzzle and let me know which car brand it is? I give you a lead, it’s a French brand!  For more 'urban' photography, please visit my chapter Rust In Peace.
Yesterday, I arrived in my ‘beloved’ France and I was (and still am) overwhelmed by the accommodation (it’s on a hill with a spectacular view) and the beautiful nature around the accommodation......at least 100 orchids are flowering (3 or 4 species), Tassel Hyacinths are growing everywhere and while I found the first butterflies two male deer’s were ‘barking’ within 50 metres...... After a cold night with freezing temperatures and a clear sky, I walked into fairytale land this morning. On the other hill Belves is situated but due to the fog only a part of the church was visible and it seemed like it was floating.  Belves - Canon 7D; tripod, remote release, 350 mm, ND Grad Filter, 1/100s, at F9 and ISO100  Canon 7D; tripod, remote release, 180 mm, 1/6s, at F11 and ISO100 Yesterday evening I found two resting butterflies, a Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) and a Weaver’s Fritillary (Boloria dia), both very common butterflies but I was happy with them.
After I photographed the Weaver’s Fritillary this morning I suddenly noticed a white spot in the distance near the shrubs……a Wood White (Leptidea sinapis) on one of the many orchids. Unfortunately the orchid was growing too close to the shrubs and as I wanted to make a photo with backlight I‘m full of scratches now and my rain jacket is no longer waterproof......it's the first time that I'm not happy with my 180 mm lens. It feels like I have arrived in paradise....so I'm looking forward what the next two weeks will bring! |
Jibt dir dit Leben mal een Buff, denn weene keene Träne. Lach Dir'n Ast und setz Dir druff und baumle mit de Beene.
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