Gamlingay Woods

More butterflies, shot with the new toy.  This time from Gamlingay Wood.  I visited on rather a dull morning in search of Silver Washed Fritillaries.  I didn't find any.  I did find Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood and Ringlet butterflies (thanks Google) and some other things.

 

Hunting Butterflies With A New Toy

The CCC Digital Techniques group can be an expensive one to attend.  It's not the meetings themselves, it's the stuff  you see and then want to buy.   Usually just a great piece of software, but occasionally something more substantial.  June's meeting covered mirrorless cameras, with demo kit provided courtesy of Campkins.  There was lots of hands on.  Lots of talk about the benefits of mirrorless.  And, well, there you go. 

In truth, I have been thinking of getting a mirrorless camera for quite some time.  It was just a case of which one.  Lots of articles read and options considered.  In the end, like 60% of the club who have made the switch, I have opted for an Olympus.  An OMD E-M1 Mark II, with 12-40mm and 40-150mm lenses, to be precise.  I was very tempted by the new Canon full frame ventures.  And Fuji has it's evangelicals.  But, in the end, I think Olympus best matches what I do and what I want to do.

The first outing of the new camera was to Sharpenhoe Clappers in search of butterflies.  I was using the 40-150mm lens.  I found a few different species, including some newly emerged Chalkhill Blues.  Compared with the weight of a 100-400mm lens on a Canon 7D Mark II, the weight of the new system was a joy.  I was also impressed by the sharpness (helped by all the image stabilisation).  I just need to work out the minimal focus distance.

 

 

 

Sunrise at Cromer

After finishing at Hunstanton, I thought that I might as well make a night of it.  So I drove to Cromer, had three uncomfortable hours of non-sleep in the back of my car, and was ready with my camera an hour before sunrise.  It was high tide.  I started off by taking advantage of the low light for some minimalist long exposure shots.  As the sun started to rise, I used what little beach was accessible to take slow shutter shots of the waves.  Sadly - and despite the overnight wind that had helped keep me awake - the low cloud had persisted, so the sunrise was not exactly spectacular.  By 5.30 the sun was too high and harsh to make interesting shots, so it was time for home and breakfast.

 

Sunset at Hunstanton

With the prospect of clear skies and a lowering tide around sunset; on Saturday, I headed to Hunstanton for a little evening landscape photography.  The plan was to wait until the low sun bathed the cliffs in warm light and use the beach rocks, or whatever, as foreground.  'Whatever' turned out to be the remains of a wrecked boat.  So, I had the scene.  What I lacked in the end was the light.  As often happens at the coast, a low band of cloud sat on the horizon, covering the sun before it gave the best light.  Oh well, if it was easy, everyone would do it.