Stuffed Toys

I received an unusual photo commission from a friend – he wanted to give his girlfriend a framed photo of some stuffed toys that mean something to each of them.

Scuba Diving in Bodrum, Turkey

The tourist resort of Bodrum, in Turkey, has many great dive sites and crystal clear waters.

Golden Grouper
Dolphins swimming along with a boat
Bearded Fireworm
Bearded Fireworm
Octopus underwater, hiding in rocks


Saddled Seabream


Cuttlefish, exhibiting bioluminescence

White-spotted Octopus

Cat on My Balcony

I was playing piano yesterday afternoon, in front of my balcony window, and spotted an unexpected listener on the balcony. I’ve occasionally seen cats wandering across the (1st floor) balcony, but not taking a nap there…

Cat sleeping on balcony

Cat on Balcony

Grantchester Meadows at Dawn

For the third time in one week, I found myself heading to the meadows at sunrise to get some photos. This dawn was much damper than the previous week’s, so the damselflies weren’t quite as forthcoming, but I did find one particularly friendly model who posed very patiently for lots of photos and macro video.

Mist rising at dawn in the meadows
Dew rising from the meadows at dawn

Swan and ripples
I love the striking patterns of the ripples

Swan reflection

Dew rising from the meadows at sunrise
Dew rising from the meadows at sunrise

Snail at sunrise

Spirder's Web at sunrise
Spider’s web at sunrise

Inquisitive cow

These last three photos were taken with my Sanyo Xacti CG65 compact video recorder, which allows macro photography (and video) as close as 1cm.

Macro close up of damselfly

Macro ultra-close-up of damselfly eye
The damselfly’s eye is about 2-3mm wide.

Macro close-up of damselfly's head

Damselflies at Dawn (II)

Maybe it was getting up at 4:30am two days ago to take photos of damselflies in Grantchester Meadows, but my body clock’s a bit messed up.

Went to bed at 2, still awake at 3, playing piano didn’t help, so at 4 I cycled to Fen Ditton meadows in search of more damselflies to photograph. I didn’t find as many this time, but got some artier photos of the beautiful bugs I did find :)

I must be crazy…

Damselfly
It was still dark enough to require flash, which really shows off the iridescent colours

Sunrise over the River Cam

Damselfly
This crafty critter was surprisingly awake – he’d always move so he was on the far side of the plant stem from me. You can run, but you can’t hide…

Damselfly

Sunrise over the River Cam
Sunrise over the River Cam

Weevil
Weevil on a nettle leaf

Damselfly

Damselfly

Damselfly

Damselflies at Dawn

4:30am, stirring after 2hrs sleep. Greg calls – “Want to come photograph damselflies?” Sure. Cycling to Grantchester meadows 5 mins later at sunrise. Wading through the nettles on the riverbank, start spotting lots of black wing-tips. Snap snap snap. As it warms up 3 hours later, dozens of damselflies fly around you as you stir the nettles.

Sunrise over the River Cam in Grantchester
Sunrise over the River Cam, Grantchester

Small Snail

Mayfly
Mayfly at sunrise

Male damselfly
Close-up of male demoiselle damselfly

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Damselfly covered in dew drops
Male demoiselle damselfly, covered in dew drops

Damselfly eating
Female demoiselle damselfly feeding