The Iris #104 Summer 2009 final - Home - RPS

THE

MAGAZINE OF THE NATURE GROUP OF THE RPS

IRISIssue No. 104Summer 2009

ISSN 1757-2991

Gold Medal Slide Dark Green Fritillary by Tony Bond FRPS

Now Available - Version 3.0 - revised and rebuilt CD ROM

‘An Interactive Guide to

Obtaining your

Nature Associateship’

Over two hundred copies of this interactive CD have been sold since its conception. Now thoroughly revised. The whole interface has been rebuilt to incorporate:

■ Covers every aspect that needs to be considered, before preparing your application!■ A new section with advice on problems seen in many digital applications, print and projected images.■ The core features of earlier versions including successful applications and interactivity.■ Information panels are now static, taking less time to load.■ The screen resolution size is increased to 1280 x 1024, with automatic monitor adjustment.■ The ‘Guide’ is best run by copying the file from the CD to your hard drive.

The CD-ROM (PC only) costs £10 incl p&p. Cheques payable to ‘RPS Nature Group’ should be sent to:Trevor Hyman LRPS, 3 Northcourt Lane, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 1QA.

Wildlife Photo-tours 2010 & 2011organised and led by Wildlife Photographer

David Osborn FRPS EFIAP

Small groups - availability limited on all tours. Bookings now being accepted for:

Birds of Florida - March 2010Yellowstone - September 2010

Fungi Workshop, Norfolk - October 2010Bosque del Apache - November 2010

Falkland Islands - January 2011

For more information or a brochure contact David at Tel: 01263 511221 Email: [email protected]

Web: www.davidosbornphotography.co.uk

www.rpsnaturegroup.com 1 The Iris - Summer 2009

Contents2 Editorial

3 From the Chair

4 Report of AGM

7 Storing Digital Images on the move by John Bulpitt FRPS

8 How to prepare an Associate panel in just 48 hoursby Bob Johnson ARPS

12 European Insectsby Ian McLean ARPS

15 The Nature Group Annual Exhibition 2009

32 Nature Group Residential Weekend 2009by Chuck Eccleston ARPS

35 Field Meetings Programme 2009

36 Bring out the oldby John Woodward LRPS

38 Let Nature Come to Youby Russell Edwards

39 Chairman’s Day

Cover Picture:

2009 Exhibtion Gold Medal Slide: Dark Green Fritillary

by Tony Bond FRPS

Publication information

‘The Iris’ is published by the Nature Group of theRPS three times a year. Copy and publicationdates are as follows:

Spring Copy deadline 20th DecemberPublished late March.

Summer Copy deadline 30th AprilPublished early July.

Winter Copy deadline 31st AugustPublished early November.

All contributions should be submitted to theEditor. Items covering any aspect of naturephotography and/or natural history arewelcomed, including reviews on equipment andrelevant books.

Copy should be sent as .txt or .doc files byemail or on CD, or printed using double linespacing on one side of the paper only.

Digitally captured photographic images arepreferred but scanned transparencies are alsoacceptable. Images should be supplied on CDas RGB Tiff files, 6” x 4” at 300 ppi (1800 x1200 pixels, file size approx 6.17MB). Originaltransparencies may be submitted, however, theEditor cannot specify how long they may beaway from the author.

No payment will be made for material used andwhilst every care will be taken, neither theEditor, the Nature Group or the Printers canaccept liability for any damage that may occurto photographic material submitted.

The views expressed within The Iris are solelythose of the contributor and do not necessarilyreflect the views of the Nature Group Committeeor the Editor.

Distribution:

‘The Iris’ is forwarded to members using addresslabels produced by the RPS Membership Dept inBath. Any member not receiving their copy shouldcontact that department so that their nameappears on a label in the future. However theSecretary will be pleased to post single copies tomembers who have failed to receive them.

Copyright:

© All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted in any form or by any meanswithout prior permission of the copyright holder.

© Photographs and articles - individualcontributors. All other material the NatureGroup of the Royal Photographic Society.

Printed by: Stanley L Hunt (Printers) Limited,Midland Road, Rushden.

Design & layout: by Dawn Osborn FRPS

Committee

Officers

Chairman: Peter Jones ARPS

Manor Barn, 3 Church View, Bilsthorpe, Notts, NG22 8TB Tel: 01623 411407 E-mail: [email protected]

Secretary: Margaret Johnson LRPS

53 Mapperley Orchard, Arnold, Nottingham, NG5 8AHTel: 01159 265893 E-mail: [email protected]

Treasurer: Margery Maskell ARPS

155 Heath Row, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts. CM23 5DW

Vice Chairman: John Bebbington FRPS

Quantock View, Newtown, Langport, Somerset, TA10 9SEEmail: [email protected]

Immediate Past Chairman: Geoff Trinder ARPS

The Croft, Carrhouse Road, Belton, Doncaster, DN9 1PGTel: 01427 872051

Committee Members

Editor of The Iris: Dawn Osborn FRPS

to be advised E-mail: check website for new email address

Exhibition Secretary: Sue McGarrigle LRPS

41 Hunts Road, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warks CV37 7JJ E-mail: [email protected]

NG Rep to Advisory Panel: John Bebbington FRPS

Quantock View, Newtown, Langport, Somerset, TA10 9SEEmail: [email protected]

Programme Co-ordinator: Colin Smith FRPS

3 St Hilda’s Close, Chorley, Lancs, PR7 3NUTel: 01257 271981 E-mail: [email protected]

John Jones ARPS

31 Bridgefields, Kegworth, Derby, DE74 2FWTel: 01509 672125

Robert Hawkesworth FRPS

5 Ravensdale Drive, Wollaton, Nottingham, NG8 2SL Tel: 01159 281050

Tony Bond FRPS

9 Beech Drive, Leigh, Lancs WN7 3LJTel: 01942 674773

Ex officio Committee members

The President of the Society; the Vice-President of the Society; the Director General of the Society; the Hon. Treasurer of the Society; the current Chairman of the Nature A & F Distinctions Panel

Nature Group Exhibitions

Copies of Nature Group Exhibitions dating back to 2000, areavailable to book for camera clubs/photographic societies. If you would like to book one of these or the current or next years’Travelling Exhibition, please contact the Exhibition Secretary, detailsabove.

The Iris - Summer 2009 2 www.rpsnaturegroup.com

Editorial

The longest day already, who would believe it! Itseems like only a couple of weeks ago I had thepleasure of meeting some of you at the AnnualSpring Meeting, Exhibition opening and AGM.Those of you who did not attend missed anopportunity to see some excellent work both on thewalls and at the projection of the slides and digitalimages in the afternoon. The day kicked off with atalk by Dickie Duckett FRPS who took us on afabulous voyage to Antarctica. The images were firstrate nature photographs and the talk was bothentertaining and informative. The AGM wasconducted in an efficient and speedy fashion -Geoff Trinder thanked the committee for theirsupport during the past two years and handed theproceedings over to our new Chairman, Peter JonesARPS. Following the AGM, the Annual Exhibitionwas opened, the awards were presented and theslides and digital images were projected. The printsof course were on the walls for members to peruseduring the day. There is no doubt that there isconsiderable talent amongst the membership ofThe Nature Group!

At the end of May I was disturbed to learn ofincidents regarding the inappropriate behaviour ofphotographers at the nesting site of a pair ofDipper nr Youlgreave. Apparently, despite requests(from a Nature Group member) to move a littlefurther away, the closeness of the photographerscaused the pair to abandon their attempts to buildtheir nest. At least some of these photographerswere members of the RPS - I sincerely hope thatnone of them were members of the Nature Group.

Finally, I am in the process of moving house. Thismeans that both my street address and emailaddresses will be changing. I cannot tell you whenbut hopefully by the time this issue drops throughyour letterbox things will be sorted. Articles arerequired for the next and future issues of The Iris,but please check the website for up to dateinformation regarding my email address, or sendyour articles and pictures to our Secretary, MargaretJohnson, who will forward them to me when I amsettled and sorted.

16th June 2009

My first chairman’s report. I feel I have had aninteresting and rewarding start to my two year term.

The NG exhibition was handled by a new team thisyear. The changeover from me to the new teamwent well, with only one or two minor hiccups. It ismy intention to try to implement someimprovements to next year’s exhibition. Taking on anew task can almost always be daunting and Iwould like to thank the new team for all their hardwork in producing such a good exhibition.

On a sadder note, I was very concerned to hear thatsome members of the RPS from the Birminghamarea (I understand not NG members) have beendistressing Dippers in Derbyshire, by moving tooclose and spending far too much time attempting totake their photographs, thus causing the birds todesert their nest. This sort of behavior is not to betolerated at any time. Full consideration shouldalways be given to the birds and never to the hopedfor award winning photograph. I’m afraid as with alltrades. there are cowboys out there who will, if notkept under control, give the Nature Group and theRPS a bad name.

I would like to remind all members that copies of‘The Nature Photographers’ Code of Practice’ areavailable from the Nature Group, the RPS and otherorganisations including the RSPB who will also letyou have a full list of which birds should not bephotographed without a licence.

On a happier note I have attended two fieldmeetings so far during my term of office. The firstmeeting was hosted by Andrew Parsons at EatonWoods in Nottinghamshire on the 2nd May. Sadlyonly five members attended but we all enjoyed anexcellent day photographing bluebells, orchids,cowslips and other wild flowers. The weather wasexceptionally kind to us. Thank you to Andrew forthe organization of such a good day.

The next meeting I was able to attend was atWicken Fen on 13th June and organized by PatriciaKreyer and Ann Miles. This meeting was alsoextremely well organized. The weather was excellent

and the meeting was very well attended - some 35 members made their way to this National Trust siteand spent a full day here photographing flowers,butterflies and dragonflies. Patricia even encouragedthree new members to join the NG. Well done Patand Ann for such a great day out.

I would like to take this opportunity to remindmembers that Wicken Fen is a National Trust reserveand any photographs taken on the reserve shouldnot be used for publication without first obtainingpermission from the National Trust - failure to abideby this rule could result in a heavy fine.

Please try your best to attend as many of the fieldmeetings as you can - they are excellent a way ofinteracting with other NG members. We can allbenefit from sharing knowledge and exchangingideas with fellow members, learning some newtechnique and improving our field knowledge andour photography from those with more experience.As for me I’m off to the Arctic again (lucky me) tohopfully photograph my favorite animal - the (sadlydeclining) Polar Bear, but I hope to meet some ofyou at the field meetings I am able to attendfollowing my return.

Peter Jones ARPS

From the chair



The 33rd Annual General Meeting of the RoyalPhotographic Society Nature Group was held at TheOld Schoolhouse, Oldbury, onSaturday 25th April2009 at 2pm. It was chaired by Geoff Trinder andPeter Jones and attended by 61 members.

ApologiesThese were received from Gill Cardy, TremaineCornish, Bert Crawshaw, Barbara Hawkesworth,Trevor Hyman and Kevin Maskell.

Minutes of the 2008 AGMThe minutes of the 2008 AGM printed in issue 101of ‘The Iris’ were accepted as a true and correctrecord of what then took place and signed by GeoffTrinder.

Matters ArisingThere were no matters arising.

Chairman’s ReportMuch of what would normally be covered in thisreport I covered in my last from The Chair in thelatest copy of The Iris, I am not going to bore youall by repeating it now as I intend to keep thisreport as short as possible so that we can all sitback and enjoy looking at the pictures that havebeen chosen for this year’s exhibition.

One of the most important things in life is toacknowledge and thank people for the efforts theymake to the successful running of any group orsociety and as a result the committee has decidedto award silver medals to two members who have,over the years, contributed to the success of thegroup. It gives me great pleasure to award medalsto Dawn Osborn FRPS for all the work she has donein producing the new Code of Conduct and thewebsite and for the continuing work she does inproducing The Iris, and to Robert HawkesworthFRPS for his time on the committee as Secretary,Chairman and committee member.

Due to Health and Safety regulations the groupnow has certain legal obligations that we have toabide by, this includes a risk assessment for anyfield trip. Forms for this are available but I have yetto see one. All accidents, however small, now needreporting and a form for this is now available and

must be sent to HQ if any accident happens. Thereare several other Regulations and Guidelines forSpecial Interest Groups that have appeared sincethe last committee meeting which the committeewill need to go through at their next meeting.

One of the best things about the Nature Groupis the opportunity it gives you to meet with likeminded individuals who are friendly and areprepared to share experiences and advice about allaspects of photography. The photography is alwaystaken seriously but this doesn’t stop the experiencebeing both enjoyable and fun.

My two years as your Chairman have flown byand all that remains for me to say in this report isthank you to all the committee and members whohave supported me and made the job both easyand enjoyable. I know you will all back Peter in thesame way in his period of office and I wish him allthe best.

Treasurer’s ReportPeriod 1st. January – 31st December 2008General Comments:- This year has not seen anymajor changes to the way our finances have to berecorded and so this report is fairly simple. It aimsto expand and explain the Balance Sheet attached.As usual, the Balance Sheet is an overall summaryof Receipts and Payments for the year. Becausesome items “straddle” year ends, it cannot be adetailed Balance Sheet for each item.

Subscriptions:- The Subscription Income shown inthe Balance Sheet is that credited monthly to ourCash Book Account during the current Financialyear - (which is, of course, the Nature GroupSubscriptions paid to the RPS atBathfor December2007 to November 2008). The Life Members’subscription. reimbursements for 2007 areincluded in the 2008 accounts, (as they were notpaid to the Nature Group until28th January 2008).

Lectures & Workshops:- The South Eastern RegionNature Group event on the 1st March, organised byKath Bull, was very successful, and raised£193.78. A joint East Anglian / Nature Groupmeeting arranged by Joy Hancock on the 4thNovember 2007 was also very successful, and wereceived £55.87 as our share of the profit.

Annual General Meeting Report

Interest:- This contributed a most welcome£510.37 to our funds and results from the goodCash Book balance. This interest is likely to bemuch lower in 2009 due to the current economicsituation.

Sundry Income:- This includes VAT refunds andincome of £725 from the sale of the ‘A’ GuidanceInteractive CDs, when 73 were sold during the year.My thanks to John Myring for his time and effort inproducing these CDs up to the end of October2008, when I took over. In addition, my thanks toTrevor Hyman for continuing to distribute them.

The Iris:- Three editions of The IRIS were publishedthis year – (#100, #101 & #102), with the 100thissue being a special edition. The cost of productionand posting has risen as predicted. In the future,we should be able to offset some of the costs bydirect sales of the magazine to people outside theNature Group.

Annual Exhibition:- The Exhibition was in profit thisyear to the tune of £521.07, due to the TravellingExhibition bringing in £560. My thanks to TremaineCornish for his time and effort in producing, andselling, the NG Exhibition CDs.

General Administration:- This includes all runningcosts of the Nature Group (general postage,telephone, stationery and travel to committeemeetings, the cost of our web-site and VATexpenditure).

Overall Financial Situation:- TheBalance Sheetshows an excess of Expenditure over Income of£66.28. The Cash Book shows a healthy creditbalance of £12,301.45 at the end of 2008, ascheques to the total of £23.44 had been written,but were not cleared by the end of 2008.(c.f.£12416.53 at the same time the previous year, ascheques to the total of £72.24 had been written in2007, but were not cleared until some time in2008).

Margery Maskell ARPS, Hon. Treasurer14th February 2009

Secretary’s ReportOur current membership according to Bath on the7th April is 641 which is 30 more than at the lastAGM. Members that do leave have issues with theRPS and not the Nature Group; the old, old story.

We now have four subscriptions to the Iris withanother in the pipeline. The lists that come throughmonthly from Bath are now more accurate andthere are not so many queries to make. What doestake time is the lapsed members as some of thesemembers pay by direct debit and they seem to failto go through with regular monotony. Many areunaware they have lapsed until I contact them. Socheck your direct debits!!!! Otherwise the year hasbeen a successful one and I look forward to thechallenges of the next.

Some of the members commented on thedifficulties they had had with the membershipdepartment at Bath. In one instance a direct debithad been taken out by the RPS and cancelled thesame day! This member has now opted to pay bycheque. Another member stated that it was Bath’sresponsibility to retrieve the money from the bank.

Election of Officers and CommitteeAll the present officers were willing to stand for re-election and were elected without opposition. Theyare:

Chairman: Peter Jones ARPSSecretary: Margaret Johnson LRPSTreasurer: Margery Maskell ARPSVice Chairman: John Bebbington FRPSImmediate Past Chairman: Geoff Trinder ARPS

The committee, apart from Tremaine Cornish, werewilling to stand for re-election and were electedwithout opposition. They are:

Editor of the Iris: Dawn Osborn FRPSExhibition Secretary: Sue McGarrigle LRPSNG Rep to Advisory Panel: John Bebbington FRPSProgramme Co-ordinator: Colin Smith FRPSJohn Jones ARPS Robert Hawkesworth FRPSTony Bond FRPS Andrew ParsonsMartin Dyer

Dickie Duckett proposed that this be accepted andit was seconded by Norman Prue.

Geoff Trinder then handed the chairmanship over toPeter Jones. Peter thanked Geoff for his service andwork for the Nature Group over the past two years.He said that he knew he had a good team to workwith him and hoped that he would have asuccessful tenure as Chairman.

continued on page 6



Any Other BusinessJohn Bebbington said that all the field meetingswere now on the main RPS website. The way theyneeded to be entered on to the site had beenchanged but it was all working now.

There are still places available for the fieldmeeting weekend at Kingcombe. The meeting fornext year, 2010, is being organised in theLakeDistrict so that it will be more easily accessible forNorthern members.

Date and Venue for the 34th AGM 2010This would be Saturday 24th April 2010 at The Old Schoolhouse, Oldbury at 2.00pm.

The meeting was declared closed at 2.20pm.

On a recent trip to Tanzania with Mark Hamblin ofWildshots, I took about 8000 images. Some mayfind this excessive, but as a photographer whosemain interest is action photography in all itsmanifestations, I tend to hit the motordrive andonly stop when the bar opens. In any event itdoes raise the question of how you back up andstore digital images on a ‘big’ trip.

Over the past five years I have tried four differentsolutions. If I knew then what I know now my kidswould (eventually) be far better off!

One could take a pocket full of CF cards. I useSandisk Extreme III ,4 GB cards and – shooting inraw on a Canon 1D mark 11 – would need about20 for the trip described above. At the time ofwriting (April 1st, appropriately) these would costabout £280 from Amazon. You could argue thatfewer are needed because of the facility to edit incamera. But I would counsel against this. Youcan’t really see what you are doing, and it cancorrupt the card. However the main drawback withtotal reliance on CF cards is that you cannot takefull advantage of the main benefit of digital: thefacility to review a day’s shoot and learn anylessons that need to be learned in preparation forthe next day. (There are cheap CF cards but Iwouldn’t go there personally. You could also buybigger capacity cards but I would be nervousabout having too many eggs in a few baskets as itwere.)

The second possibility is a photo viewer. I thinkthat today, this is the most expensive solution. TheEpson P4000 costs about £390 and holds 80GB. Other than cost I also believe that this is theworst solution of the four options outlined in thisarticle. You cannot back up and hard drives dofail. You cannot edit, other than delete. Anddownloading takes about 15 minutes for a 4GBcard. Moreover the battery has a relatively smallcapacity. It will download 2 four GB cards but notthree, which can be a problem in places with anintermittent power supply.

Then there is the laptop. This may not involveadditional expenditure because many of you mayalready own one. You can back up onto anexternal hard drive, DVD’s , or a number of 16Gbpen drives. It will also take imaging software. Butof course hard drives can fail…. The maindrawback is that it takes a big chunk from yourcarry on baggage allowance, and opportunistthieves can spot them from a thousand paces.

The final option, and the one I have now decidedon, is the netbook. Essentially this is a very smalllaptop. I have bought a Samsung NC10 ( £308from John Lewis with a 2 year warranty) . It has a160 GB hard drive and comes with a 1GB RAM,but I have upgraded to 2GB (about £20 fromAmazon). I back up onto a Seagate portableexternal hard drive (£75 from PC World a fewmonths ago) but you can buy similar productstoday at a much lower price. It all fits very easilyinto the outside pocket of my camera rucksack.

Of course the hard drive can fail …. you know thestory now! And it will not load Canon softwarebecause the screen resolution is 1024 x 600 andnot 1024 x 768. But it will take Breezebrowserpro (free 15 day trial download available). Thisenables me to review my images quickly but a fulledit would be a bit of a fiddle and cuts down ondrinking time.

If you are still with me you may have concludedthat there is no perfect solution and this is whereI have got to. But in my view the best solution atpresent is a netbook plus a lot of CF cards.

I am most grateful to RPS Nature group memberMartin Dyer for his help with my netbook purchaseand configuration. Martin co-authors what, in myview, is the best wildlife photography websitearound. If you know a better one please let meknow. www.wildlifeacrossthewater.blogspot.com

[email protected]


Storing Digital Images on the Move

by John Bulpitt FRPS

Ok, so the title is a little tongue in cheek but I didactually prepare my associateship panel fromscratch within forty eight hours.

My passion for wildlife photography developed threeyears ago when I took a newly purchased Canon350d on a family bush camping trip to Botswana.Having never used an SLR camera before I wasextremely pleased with the images that I broughtback and of course, I was hooked. Now after threefurther trips to Africa and many hours spentphotographing the wildlife in the Lee Valley CountryPark and Epping Forest I have swallowed both theline and the sinker as well.

Through my club, The Lee Valley Nature Photographers,I learned about the RPS Nature Group which I joinedin 2008. The distinction process attracted me as Iam always keen to be judged by my betters and Iam also a firm believer in having goals to aim for.Originally I had planned to enter for thelicentiateship but life, as always, had other plans.

In January this year I shared both a room and asafari truck with Mike Wilkes FRPS on one of hisexcellent trips to Tanzania. This was my secondphotographic safari with Mike but this time around Iwas with him twenty four hours per day for two greatweeks and I just learned so much. On our returnMike suggested to me that my images were goodenough to go directly for the associateship andwhen a last minute place became available on theMarch assessment I decided to apply.

Unfortunately a business trip prevented my doing anysort of preparation until the weekend before theassessment which left me with only forty eight hoursin which to eat, sleep and prepare the fifteen imagesrequired. This presented me with several problemssuch as deciding what the subject of my panel wouldbe, and as I had chosen to enter a print panelwhether I had enough mount board and paper?

I had heard that the judges tended to be quitetough on Africa panels as it is supposed to be easierto get good shots whilst on safari. Perhaps it is, but Ithink that to take a series of good and consistentlysharp shots requires a certain amount of experience,skill and technique regardless of the location or thecircumstances. My alternative to an Africa panel wasa UK panel, and so I spent the Friday night choosingand preparing the bird and mammal images for twoseparate panels, Tanzania and Epping Forest. Oncethe two hanging plans were ready I emailed themboth to Mike who suggested that I should go withthe Tanzania panel and I agreed. The originalTanzania panel had contained two Tawny Eagle shotsbut Mike advised against this as he thought it bestthat the panel featured no more than one image ofany particular species, and so I brought in theBanded Mongoose. Printing the panel was aproblem as I only had A4 paper at home and Iwould have preferred to print them on A3. However Isettled for the Canon A4 semi gloss paper andprinted them all off on my Canon 9000 before goingto bed at mid-night.

On the Saturday I spent eight hours mounting theprints using a Logan Compact mounting kitpurchased at this years ‘Focus On Imaging’ show.This was the first time that I had used the Logan inanger but I found it pretty straight forward with myone problem being that I only had enough ivoryboard to put a two inch mount around the printswhen I would have preferred three inches.

On the Sunday morning I was able to meet withMike who was very positive about the panel butsuggested that I change one image. It was a verysharp Kingfisher with an insect in its beak, but Mikethought that the background let it down, suggestingthat ‘someone had slapped it on with a two inchpaint brush’. I decided to take his advice butunfortunately I had finished all the semi gloss paperand had to dash to PC World for some more before


How to prepare an Associate panel

in just 48 hours

Bob Johnson ARPS


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Statement of intent

The subject of my panel is the bird and mammallife of Tanzania, and my aim is to depict in aclear and simple way some of the creatures thatinhabit the Ndutu Plains and the SerengetiNational Park.

Action, confrontation, aggression, flight andbeauty is all shown in my images which weretaken in a variety of light conditions, using arange of different lenses, bodies and supports.Portraits with simple backgrounds and widerangle shots showing habitat are equallyimportant to me, as is getting at eye level withmy subject, even if this means lying in the dustand facing down the odd mongoose!

heading home to prepare the Kingfisher’sreplacement and print off the final hanging plan. I then wrote my statement of intent and thespecies list just in time for dinner only forty eighthours after I had started choosing the originalimages.


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On the big day I was quite nervous but when allfive judges recommended my panel I wasabsolutely delighted. In his summing up, thechairman, Tony Wharton, made the followingcomments ‘this panel shows that it is possible togain the associateship with A4 prints’ and ‘thathaving decided on A4 prints then it would havebeen better to have had a larger mount aroundthem’. Tony was absolutely correct to make thesecomments but of course neither he nor the judgeshad the first idea what I had been doing over theweekend!

For my panel I chose images from all three of mytrips to Tanzania. I not only went for images thatwere sharp and well composed but also for imagesthat went together well as a panel. Anotherconsideration was to pick shots for which I hadused a variety of lenses and supports. I am aCanon user and my safari kit includes a 50d, 40d,400d, 500f4, 70-200 IS f4, 100-400 IS, 24-70f2.8 a 1.4 converter and a Sigma 10-20. For themajority of my panel shots I used a large bean bagin a safari truck however the Nubian Woodpeckerand Banded Mongoose were hand held and I useda tripod for the Black Kite.

I would like to thank all my friends at ‘The LeeValley Nature Photographers Club’ for their helpand encouragement over the past three years. Buta special thank you must go to Mike Wilkes FRPSwhose help and advice with my panel wasinvaluable.

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Subject list

1) European Roller - Coracias garrulous2) Secretary Bird - Sagittarius serpentarius3) Black Kite - Milvus migrans4) European Bee-eater - Morops apiaster5) Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture - Gyps rueppll6) African Elephant - Loxodonta Africana7) Impala - Aepyceros melampus8) Giraffe - Giraffa camelopardalis9) Leopard - Panthera parrdus

10) Cheetah - Acinonyx jubatus11) Nubian Woodpecker - Campethera nubica12) Isabelline Shrike - Lanius isabellinus13) Banded Mongoose - Mungos mungo14) Goliath Heron - Ardea goliath15) Tawny Eagle - Aquila rapax

Helmeted Guineafowl - Numida meleagris

I became a beekeeper more than 35 years agoand in the end my hobby became my job and Iwas Regional Bee Inspector for the North ofEngland for about 10 years before I retired. Iwanted to improve my photography of these insectsand so Joined Southport Photographic Society andthe RPS Nature Group. John Bebbington has beenmy mentor since then. I have enjoyed many happyhours marvelling at his ability to see and havebeen slowly learning.

On retirement I volunteered at my local NatureReserve and recorded the Butterfly Transect datafor several years.

I value the opportunity to quietly study the intricatedetail of insects and am fascinated by their variety,bright colours of display and their ability to‘disappear’ with camouflage or flash a warningcolour or eyespot. Some species can be reliablyfound in small colonies in the same area, year onyear. The mating Transparent Burnets were confinedto a small area of south facing cliffs on Eigg.

An unsuccessful slide submission about threeyears ago set me back, but I have always preferredprints. Colin Smith has been a great help indeveloping my eye for an image and both he andRobert Hawkesworth, seeing some of my laterprints, told me to ‘get on with it and stopdithering!’

So last Summer I set about sorting out my imagesand in the end decided on a top row of butterflies,the middle row of moths including examples ofboth camouflage and warning colouration and thelower row of a miscellany of mainly other insects.

There is no doubt that the discipline of making apanel improves ones techniques, it hones onescritical faculties. I found though that I had to walkaway for a while and come back with a fresh eye.Doubtful shades of colour or minor distractionsthen become more apparent.


European Insects

A succesful Associate Panel by lan McLean ARPS


The day came, the panel considered and then leaptto their feet for a closer look; they settled down tomake notes and I realised I needed to breathe. TheChairman asked for a comment, which wasfavourable and then an initial indication, any morecomments? A final vote and I was delighted to havehad universal acceptance.

Many people are interested in birds and animals,especially the big predators but I like to be out in thefresh air, not stuck inside a hide for hours. If theinsects are too active in the middle of the day thenthere are always flowers or a nap in a shady spot.Much successful photography is done beforebreakfast. Occasionally you will find a cooperativespecimen feeding, drying its wings or simply baskingin the sun. For example, the Emerald Damselfly washunting for anything that passed, coming back toperch on a clump of bracken - it took me 45 minutesto get the shot as it was never in the same placetwice, and the Marbled White circled the flowerfeeding for a few seconds on each floret. Asuccessful shot is very satisfying.

The Nature Group

Annual Exhibition 2009

Above: Gold Medal Digital Image White-throated Bee-eater display by Martin Withers FRPS

Below: Gold Medal Print Swallowtail flying to Thistle by Richard Revels FRPS


colour section ends

Award Winning

Prints

1: Scarce Swallowtail by Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS2: Heath Spotted Orchids and Male Yellow Dung Fly

by Mike Middleton ARPS 3: Fungi Mycena crocata by Richard Revels FRPS

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The RPS Nature Group Annual Exhibition 2009

Print Section

Gold MedalSwallowtail flying to Thistle - Richard Revels FRPS

Bronze Medals Arctic Tern offering fish - Dickie Duckett FRPSFungi Mycena crocata - Richard Revels FRPS

Selectors’ AwardsScarce Swallowtail - Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS - John Bebbington Award

Didelta species - Ann Miles FRPS - John Bebbington AwardScarlet Elf Cap in habitat - Roger Hance FRPS - John Jones Award

Saddle-Billed Stork with Crocodile - Ann Miles FRPS - John Jones AwardWaxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) - Kevin Elsby ARPS - Tony Hamblin Award

Pulsatilla Vernalis - Ann Miles FRPS - Tony Hamblin Award

Highly CommendedThin-billed Prion in flight - Dickie Duckett FRPS

Impala (Aepyceros melampus) - Michael Huggan ARPSGreat Crested Grebes - Adrian Langdon ARPS

Crabeater Seals on iceflow - Ian MacWhirter ARPSHairy Shield Bug (Dolycoris baccarum) - Ian McLean ARPS

Baeospora myosura - Mike Middleton ARPSGrey Seal in Surf - Richard Revels FRPS

Heath Spotted Orchids and Male Yellow Dung Fly - Mike Middleton ARPS

Accepted Prints

Author Title Award

Karen Berry ARPS Yellow-necked Spur FowlMichael Bews LRPS Lava Heron with Sally Lightfoot Crab

Courting Swallow-tailed GullsBoletus aereus

John Bulpitt FRPS Newly emerged Common DarterGrey-headed Flying Fox

Sandy Cleland FRPS Striped KingfisherWeaselCranefly laying eggsYellow Dungfly with preySix-spot Burnet Moths mating

Roy Dorkins LRPS WeaselRed Fox

Dickie Duckett FRPS Arctic Tern offering fish Bronze MedalKing Penguins on snowThin-billed Prion in flight HCLenticular Cloud at dawn


Martin Dyer Great Bittern (Botauris stellaris)Sanderling (Calidris alba)Armilleria ostoyaeMycena sp.

Kevin Elsby ARPS Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii)Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) Selectors’ AwardArctic Terns fighting (Sterna paradisea)

Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS Robin on Pine ConeMale Red SquirrelScarce Swallowtail Selectors’ Award

Gordon Follows ARPS Black-winged StiltRufous-naped Lark singingFemale Fiscal Shrike

Thomas Hanahoe ARPS Osprey with a TroutJuvenile Herring Gull with a musselFlock of Knot on the turnMarsh Harrier with nest material

Roger Hance FRPS Badger amongst BluebellsFieldfareCommon Spotted OrchidsScarlet Elf Cap in habitat Selectors’ Award

Michael Huggan ARPS Leopard in tree (Panthera pardus)Coypu (Myocastor coypus)Impala (Aepyceros melampus) HC

Bob Johnson ARPS White-tailed DeerNubian Woodpecker

Peter Jones ARPS Grizzly Bear with Salmon catchArctic Fox huntingMalachite KingfisherWarthog and piglets

Bryan Knox ARPS Leopardess(Panthera pardus) at sunriseLeopardess(Panthera pardus) drinkingGannet (Sula bassana) trying to land in the colonyContre jour view of Gannet colony, Bass Rock

Adrian Langdon ARPS RedshankGreat Crested Grebes HC

Ian MacWhirter ARPS Crabeater Seals on iceflow HCRhododendron Leafhopper excreting honeydew bubbleChinstrap Penguins coming ashoreSouthern Wood Ants

Jean Manson Dahlia AnemoneTiger SharkWolffish

Maggie Manson ARPS Hetarixalus madagasgariensisKevin Maskell FRPS Black-headed Gull in flightMargery Maskell ARPS Magellanic Penguins emerging from the sea

Parmelia saxatilis Lichen

Ron McCombe ARPS Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)

Sue McGarrigle LRPS Red Squirrel feedingMycena sp.

Dave McKay ARPS Oryx fightingCape Fur SealsElephants at duskBlack-backed Jackals

Ian McLean ARPS Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)Marbled White (Melanargia galathea)Hairy Shield Bug (Dolycoris baccarum) HCSouslik with cherry (Spermophilus citellus)

Mike Middleton ARPS Poison PieBaeospora myosura HCHeath Spotted Orchids and Male Yellow Dung Fly HC

Ann Miles FRPS Hazel HenGannets diving for fishSaddle-billed Stork with Crocodile Selectors’ AwardPulsatilla vernalis Selectors’ AwardDidelta species Selectors’ Award

Dawn Osborn FRPS Black-browed Albatross courtshipWhite Ibis catching crabGreat Egret carrying twigGentoo Penguin coming ashoreGentoo Penguin porpoising ashore

Norman J Prue FRPS Little Bee-eaters (pair)Chapman’s Zebra at waterholeStriated heron hunting, GalapagosAfrican Fish Eagle flight # 4African Elephants in line

Kay Reeve FRPS Raft SpiderShaggy Pholiota Group

Richard Revels FRPS White-tailed Eagle with preyGrey Seal in surf HCSwallowtail flying to Thistle Gold MedalSilver-studded Blue ButterflyFungi Mycena crocata Bronze Medal

David Robinson ARPS Red-throated Diver chick begging (Gavia stellata)Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

Steve Rogala-Kaluski ARPS Sleeping TigerBeach MasterLarge Cactus Finch feedingBlack-backed Jackal scavengingRhesus Macaque laughing

Stan Saunders ARPS Little Owl (Athene noctua)Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Ian D Silvester ARPS Leopard drinking at nightCommon Eider in flightCheetah Cubs



John Weir ARPS Snowy EgretJuvenile Cobb’s WrenLaughing Gull bathingScaly Stalked Puffball (Tulostoma melanocyclum)

Sheila Weir ARPS Willets’ threat displayRed-winged Blackbird

Digital

Gold Medal White-throated Bee Eater, display - Martin Withers FRPS

Bronze MedalsArctic Tern - Peter Basterfield

Fly Agaric in habitat - Gianpiero Ferrari

Selectors’ AwardsSulphur Polypore - John Berry ARPS - John Bebbington Award

Hummingbird Hawkmoth nectaring - Richard Revels FRPS - John Bebbington AwardTurkey Tail Fungus - Jane Rees LRPS - John Jones Award

Gentoo Penguin surfing wave - Kevin Maskell FRPS - John Jones AwardSnail Kite With Snail - Dickie Duckett FRPS - Tony Hamblin Award

Alpine Pasque Flower - Jon Allanson LRPSLRPS - Tony Hamblin Award

Highly CommendedViola cenisia - Ann Miles FRPSSpring Gentians - Jon Allanson

Two Badgers - Bob DevineRoseate Spoonbill in flight - Dawn Osborn FRPS

Nut Weevil - Richard Revels FRPSLonely Gentoo in sandstorm - Eric Saul ARPSAscocoryne sarcoides - John Scotten ARPS

Brown Bear with Salmon Ian SilvesterBirds Eye Primrose - John Weir ARPS

Rabbit - Martin Withers FRPS

Accepted Digital Images

Author Title Award

Jon Allanson LRPS White PelicansSpring GentiansAlpine Pasque Flower Selectors’ AwardAlpine Pasque FlowersWelwitschia Plant

Nigel Atkins LRPS GoshawkPeter Basterfield ARPS Arctic Tern Bronze Medal

Common Moorhen fightingWhiskered Screech Owl

Karen Berry ARPS Burchell’s Zebra challengeReticulated Giraffe

John Berry ARPS Sulphur Polypore Selectors’ Award

Andy Callow FRPS Large WhiteHoverflies

Sandy Cleland FRPS NightjarFischer’s Sparrow LarkRed-tailed Spiny-footed LizardBanded MongoosesLilac-breasted Roller

Tremaine Cornish LRPS EngrailedElizabeth Cutter ARPS Swiss Rock JasmineLiz Cutting LRPS Female Kingfisher with catchBob Devine ARPS White-eyed Buzzard

Royal Bengal TigerTwo Badgers HC

Roy Dorkins LRPS WeaselEuropean Otter

Dickie Duckett FRPS Mallard landingCoots fightingSnail Kite with Snail Selectors’ AwardPochard in flight

Martin Dyer SanderlingMale Marsh HarrierMilkcap Fungus

Kevin Elsby ARPS Great Crested GrebePheasantSouthern Hawker

Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS Goldfinch feeding in WinterWaxwing feedingGolden-mantled Ground SquirrelFly Agaric in habitat Bronze Medal

Marguerite Fewkes ARPS Rockhopper PenguinSoft CoralsSynchronized ZebrasKing Penguin & juvenile

Gordon Follows ARPS Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture sunningSnow Goose in flight

Jane Greatorex ARPS White Ibis with crabSteamer DucklingsGentoo Penguins

Thomas Hanahoe ARPS Red SquirrelCurlew with a Cockle

Roger Hance FRPS Juvenile Male Sparrowhawk bathing in pondMargaret Hocking ARPS Blue-footed Booby displaying, Galapagos

Southern Bottlenose Dolphins, New ZealandRoy Hodgkiss ARPS Oystercatcher and chickMichael Huggan ARPS Sacred Ibis

Grey HeronJohn Hunt ARPS White-tailed Eagle

Great Grey Owl swoopingJuvenile Bateleur Eagle



Bob Johnson ARPS Kestrel

Margaret Johnson LRPS Giraffes at sunrise

Peter Jones ARPS Serval with preyLangur Monkeys on lookout

Bryan Knox ARPS Starlings coming home to roost, Snapwick Somerset

Patricia Kreyer ARPS Crested TitSaltings, Northern South Harris

Adrian Langdon ARPS Whooper SwanGreylag GeeseBlack-tailed Godwit

Fiona Mackay LRPS Rhagonycha fulvaIan MacWhirter ARPS Black-browed Albatross

Four-spotted Chaser DragonflySouthern Wood Ant with prey

Maggie Manson ARPS Mossy Leaf Tail GeckoBoopins viridis

Kevin Maskell FRPS Gentoo Penguin surfing wave Selectors’ Award

Greylag Goose in flightGreenfinchGrass Wren singing on GorseFemale Shelduck in flight

Margery Maskell ARPS Cattle Egret in flightGreat Egret calling

Ron McCombe ARPS Waxwing feeding Bombycilla garrulusArctic Tern

Sue McGarrigle LRPS Red SquirrelShort-eared Owl

Ann Mead AFIAP Arion ater mating at night

Barry Mead FRPS Yellow-billed Hornbill preeningOryx fightingPied Crows interactingPale Chanting Goshawk

Ann Miles FRPS Crested TitGorgetted WoodstarGannets in stormlightViola cenisiaAmethyst Deceiver

Philip Mugridge ARPS European Bee-eaterLittle TernPolar Bears

John Nathan LRPS Walrus - SpitzbergenPolar Bear on ice floe

Dawn Osborn FRPS Great Blue Heron in flight with twigWood Stork carrying twigRoseate Spoonbill in flight HC

Snowy Egret landingGreat Egret in flight


Andrew Parsons ARPS RobinBlackbird feedingFieldfare

Ron Perkins ARPS Red KiteOsprey

Norman Prue FRPS Black-veined Whites clusteredTussock Bird grooming Elephant SealPied Kingfisher hovering

Jane Rees LRPS Iron ProminentTurkey Tail Fungus Selectors’ Award

Richard Revels FRPS Brown Hares boxing Hummingbird Hawkmoth nectaring Selectors’ Award

Nut Weevil HC

Dave Richards FRPS Leopard

Steve Rogala-Kaluski ARPS Startled Cape HareRufous-tailed Rock Thrush

Eric Saul ARPS Lonely Gentoo in sandstorm HC

King Cormorant familyCaracara dust bathing

John Scotten ARPS Clouded YellowAscocoryne sarcoides HC

Paul Sievers ARPS Japanese AcaciaCow Parsley

Ian Silvester ARPS Flying PuffinsBrown Bear with Salmon HC

Brown Bears fighting over SalmonAgami Heron

John Simpson Tiger BeetleCypripedium parviflorum

Lesley Simpson ARPS Hagenius brevistylus and preyMisumena vatia feeding on BeeFemale Red-breasted Woodpecker

Rosemary Simpson ARPS Blue-spotted Ray, close UpAnemone Carrier Hermit Crab

Colin Smale ARPS Roe Deer in wheat fieldBarn OwlBlack-tailed GodwitKestrelWhinchat

Colin Smith FRPS Short-eared OwlEmperor DragonflyPuffinMycena oortiana

Diana Tombs LRPS Grizzly Bear

Geoff Trinder FRPS Greater Roadrunner

John Weir ARPS Queen of Spain FritillaryBirds Eye Primrose HC


Sheila Weir Black-browed AlbatrossHelen Williams ARPS Redshank

Wandering AlbatrossMartin Withers FRPS Lion

Rabbit HCSpanish FestoonWhite-throated Bee-eater, display Gold MedalLittle Grebe

Slides

Gold Medal SlideDark Green Fritillary - Tony Bond FRPS

Bronze MedalNacreous Clouds & Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus - Peter Roworth ARPS

Selectors’ AwardsWarthog - Peter Jones ARPS - John Bebbington Award

Rhagionid Flies - Chrysopilus asilifomis - Andy Callow FRPS - John Jones AwardSpeckled Wood on Hawthorn - Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS - Tony Hamblin Award

Highly CommendedYellow Dung Fly Scatophaga stercoraria - Tremaine Cornish LRPS

Hanuman Langur - Bob Devine ARPSOak Beauty Moth Camouflage in Lichen - Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS

Silver Washed Fritillary - Roger Hance FRPSSea Thrift - Robert Hawkesworth FRPS

Encrusting Sponge Patterns - Rosemary Simpson ARPSPuss Moths paired - Eric Wright ARPS

Accepted Slides

Author Title Award

Tony Bond FRPS Black-browed AlbatrossHericium erinaceusBirds-eye PrimroseDark Green Fritillary Gold Medal

Andy Callow FRPS Weevils pairedRain Fly Anthomyia pluvialisRhagionid Flies Chrysopilus asiliformis Selectors’ Award

Tremaine Cornish LRPS Yellow Dung Fly Scatophaga stercoraria HC

Bob Devine ARPS African Elephant calfBrown Bear & SalmonHanuman Langur HC

Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS Puss Moth CaterpillarThe Lappet MothWild Tulips Tulipa aegeaBeautiful AgaricOak Beauty Moth camouflage in Lichen HCSpeckled Wood on Hawthorn Selectors’ Award


Roger Hance FRPS Mycena inclinataQueen of Spain FritillaryMale Adder BaskingCommon PuffballsSilver Washed Fritillary HC

Barbara Hawkesworth ARPS Rosebay WillowPeltigera lactucifoliaButterbur

Robert Hawkesworth FRPS Burnished BrassSallow KittenEye-lash Fungus Scutellina scutellataSea Thrift HC

Peter Jones ARPS Grass Snake swimmingWarthog Selectors’ Award

Mike Martin ARPS Golden PloverArctic TernPair of Green Underside BluesBlack-veined White attacked by Spider

Tony McDade FRPS Cypriot VineyardW Middleton ARPS Female Yellowhammer on Silver Birch twig

Berthelot’s Pipit foragingMark Monckton LRPS Lachnellula subtilissimaNorman Prue FRPS Leopard on lookout

Secretary Bird on nestWestern Carpet PythonKenyan Giraffe & YoungCarmine Bee-eaters at nest

Peter Roworth ARPS Heather Calluna vulgarisNacreous Clouds & Sycamore Bronze Medal

John Simpson Alderfly egg layingMantis religiosaSedum acreCalopteryx splendensSaxifraga oppositifolia in the AlpsBryum capillare

Lesley Simpson ARPS Mating Ischnura elegansOphrys aveyronensisCommon Blue Damselfly feedingMale pairing, Ischnura elegans & enallagma

Rosemary Simpson ARPS Lettuce Seaslug, BonaireCuttlefish, Red SeaHermit Crab, IndonesiaShrimp on Anenome - Periclimenes tosaensisEncrusting Sponge Patterns HC

Eric Wright ARPS Male & Female BrimstonesBlue-tailed DamselflyPuss Moths paired HC

www.rpsnaturegroup.com

Award Winning

Slides

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2

3

4

5


Opposite page1: Speckled Wood on Hawthorn

by Gianpiero Ferrari ARPS2: Sea Thrift

by Robert Hawkesworth FRPS 3: Nacreous Clouds & Sycamore

Acer pseudoplatanusby Peter Roworth ARPS

4: Silver Washed Fritillary by Roger Hance FRPS

5: Puss Moths Paired by Eric Wright ARPS

This page:1: Hanuman Langur

by Bob Devine ARPS2: Warthog

by Peter Jones ARPS3: Encrusting Sponge Patterns

by Rosemary Simpson ARPS4: Yellow Dung Fly Scatophaga stercoraria

by Tremaine Cornish LRPS5: Rhagionid Flies Chrysopilus asilifomis

by Andy Callow FRPS

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2

3

4

5


Award Winning

Flora

1

2

3

4

5

Award

Winning

Birds

6

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Award

Winning

Images

1

2

3

Images pages 28 & 291: Didelta species

by Ann Miles FRPS2: Spring Gentians

by Jon Allanson3: Alpine Pasque Flower

by Jon Allanson LRPSLRPS4: Pulsatilla Vernalis

by Ann Miles FRPS5: Birds Eye Primrose

by John Weir ARPS6: Arctic Tern

by Peter Basterfield7: Roseate Spoonbill in flight

by Dawn Osborn FRPS8: Great Crested Grebes

by Adrian Langdon ARPS

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5

6

Images pages 30 & 311 Crabeater Seals on iceflow

by Ian MacWhirter ARPS2: Grey Seal in Surf

by Richard Revels FRPS3: Gentoo Penguin Surfing Wave

by Kevin Maskell FRPS4: Rabbit

by Martin Withers FRPS5: Brown Bear with Salmon

by Ian Silvester6: Impala (Aepyceros melampus)

by Michael Huggan ARPS


Pictures

Left: Green-veined WhiteBottom left: CowslipBelow: MayflyBottom right: Red & Black Froghopper


The Kingcombe Centre is a beautiful, secludedvenue nestling in the Dorset countryside andideally suited for the Nature Group ResidentialWeekend, held from Friday the 9th May 2009.Surprisingly only six members had enrolled for theweekend led by John Bebbington FRPS, who seemsto know the name of every flower and insect inBritain. After introductions and a superb tea withhome-made cakes we set off for an initial strollaround the area close to the centre. Kingcombe issurrounded by numerous public access fieldsowned by the centre itself and the Dorset WildlifeTrust. We photographed Cuckoo Flowers Cardaminepratensis, Lousewort Pedicularis sylvatica, BugleAjuga reptans and other flowers before adjourningfor pre-dinner drinks. The food at Kingcombe isprepared by volunteers, all experienced caterers, sowe were treated to a wonderful three-course supperin the conservatory which included produce grownin the Centres own garden. Following our meal wemade our way to the adjoining barn for anillustrated talk by John, who identifed the places wewere to visit and the species we might hope toencounter during our stay.

The following morning, at about 6 am, the ‘earlybirds’ met in a meadow adjoining Beech Cottage(one of the centre’s accommodation blocks), wherewe were delighted to find large numbers of dewcovered Green-veined Whites Pieris napi roostingon Cuckoo Flowers. Numerous other insects andflowers also attracted our attention until very soggytrousers and full memory cards forced us to retireto the Centre for a full breakfast.

We made our packed lunches with the foodprovided by the Centre and set off for RywaterNursery. This privately owned reserve comprises ofapproximately 100 acres converted from an oldnursery and subsequently added to by the presentowner, Clive Farrell, over a period of thirty years,entirely for the benefit of butterflies! Our great goodfortune was that John was friendly with the ownerand was able to gain access to the whole area ofmeadows, ponds, woods and wet land areas. Themorning was spent in a grassland area trying tophotograph), Dingy Skippers Erynnis tages, Green

Hairstreaks Callophrys rubi, Red-and-blackFroghoppers Cercopis vulnerata, Small BluesCupido minimus and the many flowers growing onthe grass banks.

Following a leisurely lunch basking in the sunshine,we took a circular route around the reserve withopportunities to photograph Mayflies Ephemeradanica and a Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly TeneralIschnura pumilio. There were many sculptures inthe grounds including an adult sized gnome house,massive dragons, a three metre tall model of abutterfly egg and a huge blue glass eye visible onlyfrom a helicopter. We were not distracted by thesepieces of abstract art particularly when we came toa pond with Four-spotted Chasers Libellulaquadrimaculata climbing up reeds to dry theirwings. Despite being difficult to photograph due totheir closeness to the pond edges we managedsome successful shots. Making our way back to thevehicles by the way of some more ponds andmarshy areas gave us opportunities to photographDrinker Moth Caterpillars Philudoria potatoria,Water Crowfoot Ranunculus aquatilla and otheritems of interest. In the evening, after yet anothersuperb supper, we were treated to some excellentprints by Geoff Hughes ARPS from his ‘A’ panelfollowed by a selection of the digital images takenby group members during the day and an ‘A’ panelby Mike Middleton ARPS.

The second morning was again spent in themeadows below Beech Cottage in heavy dew mixedwith frost looking for Orange Tips Anthocariscardamines roosting on the Cuckoo Flowers, withno success. However, images were made of afemale Agalenatea redii spider guarding her eggsand a Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercorariaroosting in the dew. After breakfast we drove acrosscountry to Hardington Moor National NatureReserve to photograph Green-winged OrchidsOrchis morio. There were three meadows absolutelyoverflowing with these orchids, some 11,500,according to John, together with Cowslips Primulaveris, Early Purple Orchids Orchis mascula,Adderstongue Ophioglossum vulgatum and othermeadow flowers. We returned to the Centre for

Nature Group Residential Weekend

by Chuck Eccleston ARPS

lunch and then spent the afternoon in themeadows locally where we photographed YellowRattle Rhinanthus minor, various beetles and fastmoving Orange Tips. In the evening John gave us atalk and demonstration on the use of HeliconFocus software used to ‘stack’ macro images togive extended depth of field.

The second night of our visit was suitable for settingthe moth trap and produced Pebble Hook-tipDrepana falcataria, Alder Kitten Furcula bicuspis,Swallow Prominent Pheosia tremula, BrimstoneOpisthograptis luteolata, and a CockchaferMelolontha melolontha. These were photographed bysome of the group before we set off for PowerstockCommon, a Dorset Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve. Themain objective of the day was Birds Nest OrchidsNeottia nidus-avis, fortunately, althought these wereonly just starting to show, a couple of specimenswere located before we moved on to see what elsewas around. Although it was bright and sunny thewind had increased, making plant photography verychallenging. John found a clearing in the woods witha good display of Eyelash Fungus Scutelliniascutellata which kept us busy until lunchtime.

We adjourned to a disused railway cutting in thereserve to try and find shelter from the wind. Ourlunch spot produced a good crop of subjectsincluding Thick-legged Flower Beetles Oedemeranobilis, mating Common Blues Polyommatusicarus, Milkwort Polygala vulgaris in various shadesand the occasional chance of a Green Hairstreakwhich unfortunately would not settle in the wind.Just before returning to the vehicles we managedto find a co-operative Grizzled Skipper Pyrgusmalvae, a perfect end to an enjoyable day. A shortdrive found us back at the Centre once againwhere we said our farewells and set off home.

If you have not been on a Nature Group Residentialweek end before, I recommend you make the effortto go on the next one. Not only do you benefit fromgetting to know the diversity of flora and faunafound in an area of the country with which you maynot be familiar but you also have the opportunity tolearn from and exchange ideas with your fellowcourse members.



Date & time: Wednesday 7th October 2009Location: Sherwood PinesGrid Reference: OS Sheet 120 Car Park 611 638Meeting Place: Main Car Park accessed from

B6030, Sherwood Pines is wellsignposted.

Leader: Robert Hawkesworth FRPSContact: Tel 0115 928 1050 Please use

this number to book the meeting.Mobile 07960 177291 for use onthe day only.

Main subjects of interest: Fungi.

Additional Information: Charge for car parking, inthe region of £2. Bring stout shoes/boots, orwellingtons and usual outdoor clothing suitable forautumn. Small café on site or bring a packedlunch.

Date & time: Saturday October 17th 10.30amLocation: Dunham Massey (National Trust)Meeting Place: The membership kiosk between the

car park and the entrance to theparkland.

Grid Reference: Sheet 109: SJ 735874Directions: Follow brown signs from M56 jct 7

and A56. M6 jct 19.Leader: Tony Bond FRPSContact: Tel 01942 674773Main subjects of interest: Fungi & Fallow Deer. Ifyou wish to photograph the deer it is recommendedthat you do so before the foray.

Additional Information: The car park opens at9.00am. and costs £4.00 (N.T. members free).Bring stout shoes. Restaurant on site or bringpacked lunch.

Date & time Saturday 10th October, 10.00am Location: Ebernoe Common NNR, W Sussex.Meeting Place: Car park next to Ebernoe Church.Grid Reference: 197 SU 976 278.Leader: Adrian Davies, Contact: Tel 01372 815653 or Email

[email protected] subjects of interest: Ancient woodland withover 600 recorded species of fungi.

Additional information: Directions: From A283 (3 miles North of Petworth, 1.5 miles South ofNorthchapel) turn into Streels Lane signpostedEbernoe. After 1.5 miles turn right, just pasttelephone & post boxes into Church & Reserveaccess road, signposted Ebernoe Church/SchoolHouse. Please park considerately.

No access problems for disabled. Bring: Packedlunch & stout shoes (reserve paths could bemuddy). Cost: £2 contribution to Reserve Funds.Please phone Leader to check that meeting is on.

Date & time: Saturday 21st November, 10.00amLocation: Donna Nook, LincolnshireMeeting Place: Car ParkGrid Reference: TF 422998Leader: Colin Smale ARPSContact: Email [email protected] subjects of interest:Grey seals, pups, courting and fighting

Additional Information: Car parking free but if fullcars may be parked in a nearby field for a £1.00 feeto the farmer. Bring wellingtons, waterproofs and apacked lunch. Leader will email map and details toanyone interested. The main focus will be on theseals out in the surf and basking on the outersandbanks - you can get very close to the sealsplaying, courting, fighting in the rolling surf. Thisinvolves a 30 minute trek across wet sands and athin layer of mud, but well worth it. We will be goingout on a falling tide so there is no danger from tides.

Members with limited mobility will still be able toenjoy a good photographic day out as seals at the topof the beach may be photographed at close quartersand only two minutes walk from the car park.

Nature Group Field Meetings 2009


Bring out the old

by John Woodward LRPS

I came upon a vintage Optomax 500mm mirrorlens while clearing out a cupboard the other day. Iremember using it with a succession of filmcameras – Praktica LTL, Pentax ME and Nikon F3.It produced some useful images back in the 70sand 80s, long before the microchip revolutionchanged our lives for ever. How would it performwith my Canon digital SLRs I wondered.

The equipment I use for bird photography is aCanon 30D with a Canon 100 – 400mm image-stabilised zoom lens. Could the old Optomaxcompete? Well, it wouldn’t fit the D30 for a start.The pentaprism housing got in the way of the tripodbracket and I couldn’t undo the screws on theattachment. But it did click into a mothballed old10D. The mirror lens has a fixed aperture at f8 andmanual focus with a very narrow depth of field. Iset the camera to aperture priority and the ISO to400. In bright sunlight it showed a shutter speed of1/350 to 1/750 and tended to overexpose, so Ireduced the setting by one stop and that seemedto be just about right.

I do not usually use a tripod for bird photography.I find it too restrictive and clumsy especially whenfollowing the movements of small birds. There isusually something to lean against. With the times1.6 sensor factor however, I was effectivelyshooting hand-held with 800mm and no imagestabilisation, so blurred images were likely to be aproblem.

So how did things turn out? I took picturesthrough the kitchen window of birds and a greysquirrel coming to the feeding station. I know‘real’ nature photographers don’t like images thatinclude man-made seed holders and bird tables,so forgive me that they feature in the illustrationsof my experiment, but aesthetic considerationswere not my main concern. The creatures that Iphotographed in my garden were all wild, so inthe true sense this was nature photography evenif somewhat domesticated and not very pretty.

The results were mainly as predicted and themajority of images were not sharp enough, probably

because of camera shake. Attempts to increase theshutter speed by putting up the ISO setting to 800led to a lot of ‘noise’. The mirror lens producessofter images than the Canon zoom and it also hasan unfortunate tendency to render out of focus partsof the picture as a series of ugly ‘doughnuts’ andthis showed up mostly on lawn shots. The distortionoften greatly affected the quality of the outcome. A plain uncluttered background was always best.Small birds are constantly on the move and theyusually eluded the narrow depth of field of themirror lens. Also they needed to be more greatlyenlarged to provide a reasonable result.Nevertheless, a few shots were just aboutacceptable – not for club competitions, but perhapsas illustrations for a powerpoint lecture.

Did the mirror lens have any advantages whencompared with the zoom? It was certainly lighterand shorter. One did not have to worry about theaperture – a simple setting on aperture priority wasall that was needed. It had a 25% longer focallength.

Will I use it regularly in the future? Probably notvery often, but it might help now and then in verygood light conditions as a back-up to my usualequipment. The zoom gives better results despite itsweight and size and auto-focus and imagestabilisation are blessings. I might invest in aconverter for it in the future to step it up to nearly900mm with the conversion factor.

The experiment with the mirror lens was fun, sodon’t be too eager to discard your antiqueequipment for a new all singing and dancing outfitwithout first trying out the old. You could saveyourself a lot of money!


Be very still and nature will come to you. Anymovement will reveal the position of the animal orthe photographer. Deer and hares are very warycreatures but by keeping very still I have had both,at different times, come up to within touchingdistance of me.

My method of photographing these animals is toset up my equipment just inside a woodoverlooking an arable field which is regularly visitedby a variety of birds and animals but especiallyfallow and muntjac deer, hares, rabbits, foxes, the occasional badger and stoat.

My equipment consists of a D70 Nikon camerawith a Sigma 500mm f4.5 lens mounted onto atripod fitted with a Manfrotto Long Lens Support.This remarkable tripod head allows a long lens toremain in any position that it is placed rather likethe gimbal heads, which give perfect balance to thecamera and lens but less expensive.

Transferring from film to digital, which I did lastyear, has been truly amazing. Film quality hadbecome so good that I regularly used Fuji 800 IS0up-rated to 1600. Now the D70 can be set to thesame high ISO and gives almost immediate resultswith as good if not better quality.

I was at first concerned about digital print size as itis recommended to print pictures at a resolution of300 pixels per inch. With the D70 having an imagewidth of 3000 pixels, the maximum print widthwould only be 10 inches. Having seen a ‘Wild LifePhotographer of the Year’ exhibition with a print of aJay 24 inches wide (125 pixels per inch) madefrom a D70 I was re-assured and had one of myown hare pictures printed to the same size. Theresult was excellent.

To take my animal pictures I set the D70 to 1600ISO (unless it is very bright) and adjust the WhiteBalance according to the weather – Cloudy or


Let Nature Come To You by Russell Edwards

Continued on page 40


CHAIRMAN’S DAYA full day of Nature Photography hosted by Peter Jones ARPS

Sunday 8th November 2009, 10 a.m.

Smethwick Photographic Society,

The Old Schoolhouse, Oldbury, West Midlands

PROGRAMME

10.00 am Arrival - Coffee/Tea

10.30 am Introduction from theChairman, Peter Jones ARPS

11.15 am ‘Wildlife of Kew Gardens’ and‘Wildlife in China’ by Heather Angel Hon. FRPS

12.45 pm Lunch

2.00 pm ‘A Year of Wildlife’ byGianpiero Ferrari ARPS

3.00 pm ‘Wildlife from the Highlands andIslands’ by Martin Dyer

4.00 pm Coffee/Tea and finish time

Tickets are available now, priced at £15 each incl Lunch, Teas and Coffees.

Ensure your place - Book now!

Complete the reply slip below and send with your cheque to arrive not later than 30th September 2009.

Please send to: Peter Jones ARPS, Manor Barn, 3 Church View, Bilsthorpe, Notts, NG22 8TB

Please make cheques payable to: The RPS Nature Group

Please send me _________ tickets for Chairman’s Day I enclose my cheque for £ ___________________

Name

Address

Postcode Telephone

Email

Shade if it is overcast or photographing in a wood.Aperture priority is used with the Long Lenses set atmaximum aperture, although as the hares cameunusually close a smaller aperture giving greaterdepth of field covering the hare’s face may havebeen better.

I place a camping chair in front of a tree and mycamera and tripod in front of it before wrappinggreen camouflage material (obtained from a gardencentre) round the tripod. The camera lens pointsaway from the likely direction that an animal willappear as its large front piece of glass acts as areflector. The lens has to be moved into positionwhen the subject is not looking at the camera. Allanimals when they first come into the field are verycautious and have a good look round beforebeginning to graze. The deer, especially, send onemember ahead of the others to check for potentialdanger. A reflecting lens or any movement at thisstage would spell disaster.

I had been sitting in my secluded position for aboutan hour counting pigeons to pass the time waitingfor something to happen when out of the corner ofmy eye I noticed a hare sitting in front of me about3 metres away and to my right sat its offspring – aleveret -almost within touching distance.

Eventually, after we had admired each other, aslight movement of my foot, as I attempted tophotograph them sent them scurrying. Althoughtimid, the animals are also curious and at timestheir curiosity overrules their judgement. I was to beeven luckier that evening.

The corn had just been cut and from the distance apair of hares came gambolling towards me over,under and through the scattered straw. They werequite oblivious of me and I was able to follow theirprogress towards me through the camera lens. Thepair ended up less than 5 metres from my camerajust within the minimum focusing distance of thelens and proceeded to have their supper right infront of me. The menu of dry stubble and scatteredweeds looked pretty unappetising but they fed whileI photographed for about twenty minutes before theywent on their way totally unaware of my presence –or were they? Occasionally a hare would disappearfrom view behind a pile of straw but a slightsqueaking noise from my chair had them peeringover the top to see what was going on beforecontinuing their meal. Next day I took a disc intotown to have an A3 print made (my printer onlydoes up to A4). On handing over my print the shopassistant having complimented me on my workasked if the rabbit was a family pet!


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Award Winning

Birds

1: Saddle-billed Stork with Crocodile by Ann Miles FRPS

2: Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) by Kevin Elsby ARPS

3: Arctic Tern offering fish by Dickie Duckett FRPS

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Award Winning

Fungus

1: Sulphur Polypore by John Berry ARPS2 Turkey Tail Fungus by Jane Rees LRPS3: Ascocoryne sarcoides by John Scotten ARPS4: Fly Agaric in habitat by Gianpiero Ferrari

The Iris #104 Summer 2009 final - Home - RPS

Documents

Transcript of The Iris #104 Summer 2009 final - Home - RPS