Living Photography

I t was an extremely early start to catch the 6.30 flight to Alicanti but both Diane and I were keen to grab our cameras and venture into the cool sunshine that Guardamar provided. We wandered down to the beach through a pine grove searching for flowers and anything we considered to be interesting. Not everything we encountered was safe. There, hanging from several pine trees, were the infamous processionary caterpillar nests.  The   pine processionary moth   flies around May to July and only lives for about one day during which time it must mate and lay its eggs in the foliage of a pine tree.  A single female can lay up to 300 tiny eggs and it takes around a month for them to hatch.  Once they have hatched, the minute caterpillars have five growth stages called ‘instars’.  During their third moult or   instar   they build the white cotton-wool like nest and continue to feed on the pine leaves until the fifth instar. This usually happe...

Last year Jane and I bid at an auction of favours, the proceeds of which went to cancer research. We won some time photographing the foals at a well known Newmarket Stud. Thanks to Geoff Evans for escorting us around and allowing us to get close to the littluns. Some were shy, others played at being the alpha male despite their tender ages. We were nibbled and on occasions felt a little threatened as the odd foal ran at us rather than away from us. However they behave, they are just the cutist animals and being close to them once again, brought back many happy memories for me. You just can't beat the smell of fresh straw and the stable yard or the feel of soft muzzles and warm fur. They seemed to enjoy us watching them. Taken with a combination of the Canon 5Diii with the 24-105 L series lens and the Olympus OMD EM1 and the 40-150 M Zuiko Pro Lens. The light was not brilliant first thing but it brightened during the morning which helped us quite a bit. Young Friends The K...

Sylvie and I spent last Wednesday enjoying the spring sunshine and playing with our Olympus lenses. I began with the 40-150 and then changed over to the 60 macro. What a great lens it is too. I haven't edited any of these other than basic processing and some and substantial crops.    

We have kept meaning to visit Lewes each time I visit my eldest daughter in Eastbourne. This time we actually got there. I was struck by how familiar it seemed, some parts reminded me of Saffron Walden, another area looked like the main street in Bury St Edmunds and as we approached a bridge, I thought I was back in Chelmsford. I had little time to take photographs on this visit as we were both too busy catching up. We didn't get to spend any money in the antique shop as Hannah, as usual, attracted a four legged friend The dog belonged to the owner and had been rescued from Portugal. I loved the old book shop but for me the most interesting displays in the windows were a beautifully illustrated set of books by Benjamin Disraeli and a nostlagic display of teenage literature. Singing for Charity St Michael. Fibreglass statue of the archangel by Harry Phillips, 1976, on the 12th-century round tower of St Michael’s Church. Reminiscent of the statue by Jacob Epstein on C...

Another interesting day at Shortgrove with members of Cambridge Camera Club. I spent time practising with my new macro lens and my Olympus OMD EM 1. Pansy The Remains of a Spider's Lunch Trunk Face Face in the Bark Spikes Lichen Planet on a Stick

So how do photographers amuse themselves when the weather is awful? These pictures were taken indoors with an Olympus OMD EM 1 camera with the help an off camera Nissin flash. Helleboros and freesia flowers helped along with some glycerine and some post processing to achieve an arty effect.