The New Naturalist

Algae-covered groynes on a Normandy beach

admin — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:00:04 +0000

Algae covered timber groynes on Gold Beach, Normandy.

This shot was taken in mid-afternoon. There was a light cloud cover, the ambient light was bright and evenly-spread. The result is a feeling of the “tropics”.

Mont Saint-Michel

admin — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:00:08 +0000

It is said that William the Conqueror and Harold Godwinson crossed the bay from this point.

This shot was taken in late afternoon – there was a light to medium cloud cover above and behind me. The Mont Saint-Michel was covered in denser clouds. The result is this “moonscape”.

Arenicola casts on Normandy beach

admin — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:00:06 +0000

Casts of the lug-worm (Arenicola marina) on Gold beach

Whelk egg cases

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:57:38 +0000

Egg cases of the common whelk (Buccinum undatum)

Mermaid’s purse

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:44:24 +0000

An Egg case (Chondrichthyes) or egg capsule, colloquially known as a mermaid’s purse or devil’s purse, is a casing that surrounds the fertilized eggs of some sharks, skates, and chimaeras.

Colza field

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:43:15 +0000

Colza oil is a nondrying oil obtained from the seeds of Brassica rapa, var. oleifera, a variety of the plant that produces turnips. In France, especially, the extraction of the oil is an important industry. See the consequences of monoculture.

Spring colours

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:35:18 +0000

Reflections

admin — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:56:19 +0000

A pair of coots (Fulica atra) crossing a pond with the reflections of weeping willows, silver birch and reed beds.

Add interest by combining shots

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:31:53 +0000

Combining 2 or more photographs in one image can add interest to otherwise plain shots. Here 2 photographs of the same bird, taken at an interval of 1/6 sec, were combined using Photoshop. Combining 3 images would be even better.

Great Tit – taken at 1/1000 sec. with a 60 mm lens.

Blue Tit – taken at 1/320 sec. with a 105 mm lens.

Motion blur

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:56:40 +0000

Freezing motion when photographing small birds can be difficult. In order to get a decent shot of a small bird you need to get really close-up and when you are really close even slightest turn of the head will cause a blur. So, if you want to freeze motion you need a fast shutter speed. The picture below was taken at 1/320 sec. (this is just about enough to freeze motion in such a situation).

Motion blur can add interest to a photo by making it more dynamic. However, in the photo below there is probably too much motion blur – the bird ‘s head could have been in sharper focus. This shot was taken at 1/320 sec. This is much too slow to freeze motion. A shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. or faster would have reduced blur.

The photographs were taken at 1/6 second interval and at :

Shutter speed: 1/320 sec.
Aperture: f6.3
ISO: 800
Lens : 105 mm
Support: tripod
Weather: overcast

Find out more about Blue tit on wikipedia.

Here is another example of motion blur. A cascade taken handheld at 1/10 sec. using a Canon G9.