Firsts of 2012

Took a visit at the weekend to Garston Wood.  I had a new flash homemade diffuser setup on my MPE-65mm to play with – more of that in a later post.  The visit saw a couple of firsts in the photography year of 2012 for me, as spring starts to bring out the flowers and first insects.
I was fairly surprised to see some individual bluebells already flowering, although this may be the norm, I normally only notice them when they really start to show mid-April here.

Here’s a shot of one of the first bluebells I saw this year.

Canon EOS 50D (100mm, f/5, 1/125 sec, ISO100)

First Bluebell of 2012.  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 100 F5 1/125.  Tripod Natural Light.

Another first was my first butterfly shot of the year – of a nice Comma that must of been overwintering here.

Canon EOS 50D (100mm, f/4.5, 1/1600 sec, ISO400)

First Butterfly of 2012 – Comma.  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F4.5 1/1600.  Natural Light.

I did not find many co-operative insects with my MPE-65 diffuser, but this dung fly was the first to pose, followed by this odd looking beetle.

Canon EOS 50D (65mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO400)

Yellow Coloured Dung Fly with Prey.  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon MTE-65mm 1/250 ISO 400.  Flash from Canon MT-24ex Twin Macro Flash.

Canon EOS 50D (65mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO200)

Cramp-ball Fungus Weevil (Platyrhinus resinosus) – on log (lifesize).  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon MTE-65mm 1/250 ISO 200.  Flash from Canon MT-24ex Twin Macro Flash.

Canon EOS 50D (65mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO200)

Cramp-ball Fungus Weevil (Platyrhinus resinosus) on log (about 3x lifesize).  Taken on Canon 50D with Canon MTE-65mm 1/250 ISO 400.  Flash from Canon MT-24ex Twin Macro Flash.

Map of Location

RSPB Nature Reserve.