Beaulieu Heath

Beaulieu Heath in the New Forest is a good location for dragonflies and heathland wildlife in the summer.  I took a visit there last Sunday and walked from there towards Crockford Stream – though never got as far as the stream on this visit.  Between the two is a pond near a risen mound that is good for observing and if lucky photographing dragonflies.  This was my second visit to this place of the year – last visits shots included some flying Emperors.  This time there were some Emperors still flying about. This time I was fortunate to find a female Keeled Skimmer resting and willing to pose for some macro photographs, including a 3 shot stack.

These are my favourite images of the Skimmer.

This first one is cropped to a more panoramic format.

Keeled Skimmer Panorama Format
Keeled Skimmer Panorama Format

Keeled Skimmer Panorama Format. Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens. ISO 400 F7.1 1/500 in Natural Light.

Keeled Skimmer Side On
Keeled Skimmer Side On

Keeled Skimmer Side On.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F5 1/1250 in Natural Light.

These next two images are both up close to it’s head.  The first is a single shot at F8, the latter a 3 shot stack at a wider aperture of F6.3.  I think both work well, and can’t personally choose between them.

Keeled Skimmer Face On
Keeled Skimmer Face On

Keeled Skimmer Face On.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F8 1/120 in Natural Light.

3 Shot Stack of Keeled Skimmer
3 Shot Stack of Keeled Skimmer

3 Shot Stack of Keeled Skimmer.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  3 Shots at ISO 400 F6.3 1/320 in Natural Light.]

Moving on down the path, I saw my first Grayling Butterflies (Hipparchia semele) of 2014.  After several attempts at photographing them, I managed to get one at rest long enough for a 5 shot stack.   The only shame was it kept it’s top wing in – when popped up they produce a nice bit of orange colour.

5 Shot Stack of a Grayling
5 Shot Stack of a Grayling

5 Shot Stack of a Grayling.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  5 Shots at ISO 400 F5.6 1/320 in Natural Light.

I also saw lots of Silver-studded blue butterflies and when photographing the top butterfly in this shot, it was briefly joined by another.

Silver-studded Blues on Heather
Silver-studded Blues on Heather

Silver-studded Blues on Heather.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F5.6 1/400 in Natural Light.

And finally this I saw this grasshopper in the heather.

Grasshopper in the Heather
Grasshopper in the Heather

Grasshopper in the Heather.  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm F2.8 USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 F7.1 1/250 in Natural Light.

Map of Location

Beaulieu Heath Car Park

[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin="B0089V4CJC,B0000C4GAN"]

 

Chris

I've been taking macro photography from 2004. I use both Canon film and digital cameras.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *