Westonbirt Sculpture

An exhibit in a sculpture trail at organised by Westonbirt Arboretum some years ago. Unfortunately I can't credit the artist since I didn't make a note of her name.

Doin what comes naturally.

Common Darters in the act of copulation. These fantastically agile insects can be seen flying linked in tandem whilst the female deposits her eggs.

Honey Bee on plum blossom.

An appropriate photo for the spring. Bees are doing their thing so that we might eat plums or any other fruit. Without these little fellas we would we all eventually starve.

Red Admiral

It's approaching the time of year when these spectacular beasties begin to emerge.

MS Oldenburg

A picture of the MS Oldenburg at the jetty on Lundy Island. Built in Germany in 1958 as a ferry for use in the Frisian Islands she now carries passengers and supplies from Ilfracombe to Lundy 20 miles off the North Devon coast. Lundy is home to the first and only statutory Marine Nature Reserve in the UK and as such has a protected status leading to one of the most rich and diverse marine habitats in Europe.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

We'd just returned from a mini cruise to Nassau and missed a hurricane passing through. The light and cloud formations were stunning but we managed to miss the main event!

Nephila Clavipes (banana spider)

Taken in Florida USA some years ago. Seems to be locally common and harmless (at least to humans). About the size of the average hand span.

Autumn Acer

Photographed at the world famous arboretum Westonbirt UK. Probably the most photographed trees in the UK, it's difficult to get an original image. I tried!

Mid-summer 2003

It's all down to the light. Not sure about the composition of this shot and wondered about excluding the rightmost tree. The light however is perfect.

Big Island Hawaii

This young lad is standing on rocks that are probably younger than him. This shot was taken in 2002 at the sight of the lava flows on Big Island Hawaii. The flows were sliding slowly down the hillside and into the sea. The rocks were hot enough to melt the soles of your shoes.

Sand Point, Bristol Channel

Newport South Wales can seen (just) on the horizon. Viewed from the peninsular north of Sand Bay, Weston Super Mare.

Retrospective

After some time without posting I decided to do a retrospective of my photos for the next series of postings.

Here goes............

Rainbow (Hawaii 2002)

Always a great subject but by definition hard to plan for. I was lucky enough to go to Hawaii as a 50th birthday trip. This shot was taken in the early morning from our hotel balcony. The combination of low pollution, high humidity and great light made for perfect rainbow conditions.

The Needles IOW

The spectacular outcrop of chalk monoliths, known as The Needles, that protects the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the UK.

Moss on wood.

Taken on the isle of Ulva which is a short ferry ride from Mull. It illustrates how wet this part of Scotland is where the moss grows thickly on the trees nurtured by the damp, clean air.