SID 28 A Feast of Monarchs

Ten years ago today I was preparing to get ready to leave my New Zealand life for my annual 6 months in Scotland. Before that, though, I had a visit to make to Pauline in Northland. We stayed with a friend of hers near Warkworth. I had posted about Monarch Butterflies on my New Zealand blog many times but what I saw on that visit was special. In these trying times the beauty of nature looms large in my thoughts.

A Post for Adrian

Adrian likes tractors, HDR and macro photographs of insects.

I like tractors, have been converted to the artistic merits of HDR (used sparingly) and have always enjoyed photographing insects (and just about everything else for that matter).

So here's the old mill and a tractor at the end of the road over the moor from Eagleton: a view I see every time I go into Stornoway:

The tractor appears to have been abandoned but I think it's still alive.

However it probably started life when photography was largely black and white so I thought I'd do an 'artistic' B&W version in Photomatix.

As for the Red Admiral on the Dame's Violet these were taken from 4.5 metres through the kitchen window using a Canon bridge camera at 50X (about 215mm). I'll never be able to compete with Adrian for detail so I just go for opportunity.