This morning Landgoed de Utrecht was the meeting point for the members of the 'Palinka' club to photograph wood anemones and to enjoy the first sunlight. It was the first time since my backache five weeks ago that I tried the favorite low macro position again. Later, while enjoying a cappuccino with a piece apple pie, we discussed the finishing touch of our trip to France in June. After some members have left, we returned to the wood anemones and we were just in time to 'catch' a female Brimstone. It's my first butterfly picture of 2016! Probably the next picture will follow soon as in the afternoon I noticed the first Holly Blue and I received the message from a friend that some Orangetips has been seen today.
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Yesterday it was Peacock time, today flower time! For the first time this year I set my alarm clock early to meet some other nature photographers at Landgoed de Utrecht, who I will meet again during the ‘butterfly week’ in Hungary. It’s always nice to meet people with the same passion! It was exactly two years ago that I visited that part of Landgoed de Utrecht and unfortunately nobody removed the Japanese Knotweed in the meantime. As I have photographed Wood Anemones more often, my today’s mission was to catch the light. After the light became too hard we enjoyed the nice spring weather with a cup of 'kappoesjieno' in the sun. Later on my way home I passed a lot of butterflies that I decided to check an other cuckoo-flower field. Not one single flowering cuckoo-flower but a lot of flying Orange-tips yet!
Each year after the summer holiday I have the intention to visit some heather area’s and each year my plans fade away. Again this year.....I wanted to photograph the Small Copper on flowering heather but again I was too late. I did not find one single Small Copper or any other butterfly, instead I found two resting Bumble-bees on the remaining pink flowers and a few hundred spiders. The Bumble-bees were resting on and between the upper flowers and the wind rocked them around. Photographing these hairy creatures was more a gymnastic exercise for me as I needed three arms: one to hold the reflector as wind protection, one to focus my lens and one to operate the shutter release. I love it to be out alone but an assistant on demand wouldn’t be bad sometimes!
What a beautiful spring weather the past two weeks! As I like sunshine and higher temperatures I will not complain, but outside everything is growing and transforming very quickly, sometimes too quick....the first Orange-tips and Green Hairstreaks have been seen and photographed yet! Last week I felt recovered enough to go out with a small photo backpack and I decided to visit Landgoed de Utrecht to search for Wood Anemones. The last time I photographed them there was in 2005 and in the meantime a few things had changed (roads which are no longer accessible, a new golf course). After a short delay of taking a wrong path and photographing the Peacock butterfly (see my previous blog), I found near the creek a lot of Wood Anemones. As it was a complete wilderness, caused by Japanese Knotweed which has large dry brown stalks and obviously growing there by hundreds, my new wide angle lens was useless. So I had to concentrate on individual flowers and although hundreds of Woods Anemones were flowering, it was hard to find photogenic flowers with some flowers in front of it. The best Wood Anemones were growing next to the main foot path so I had a lot of pleasant conversations as Landgoed de Utrecht is very very crowded! But, I made a virtue of necessity and asked some of the walkers to create some shadow....they were really cooperative! Beneath you will find three (3) photo’s as I visited Landgoed de Utrecht three times this week; if you like to see more photo’s please look on my new gallery Spring Flowers (Portfolio -> Spring Flowers). Canon 7D; beanbag; remote release; 180 mm, 1/400s at F3.5 and ISO100 Canon 7D; beanbag; remote release; 180 mm, 1/320s at F3.5 and ISO100 Canon 7D; beanbag; remote release; 180 mm, 1/320s at F3.5 and ISO100
Actually I was on my way to the Wood Anemones when I saw a Peacock which was flying around slowly at a pile of branches. I was not really interested in this Peacock as I have tried to photograph some butterflies earlier this week without any success. So I was just looking at this Peacock....but this ‘bastard’ stayed on one of the branches for a long time so I could not resist and started opening my photo backpack. Approaching the Peacock between the congestion of branches with the tripod was a patiently operation and of course he flew away by the time I wanted to make the first photo (that’s my fate as butterfly photographer). My second attempt was successful. Not a dream photo but I’m glad that I photographed my first butterfly of 2012. After I had taken some photo’s I wanted an other composition but the Peacock did not.....he flew into the pile of branches, hiding from me. I took a few photo’s of him between the branches and packed my stuff. By the time I was ready to leave I saw the Peacock again on a branch with open wings.....'bastard', I continued my way to the Wood Anemones! Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 180 mm, 1/60s at F8.0 and ISO100 Canon 7D; tripod; remote release; 180 mm, 1/25s at F9.0 and ISO100
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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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