Slop Bog

Was going to go to Alners Gorse to check out what butterflies were about on Saturday.  However this trip was aborted due to a traffic jam and the weather becoming more overcast, as the threatened showers moved in.  So I diverted off the queuing A31 to Slop Bog nature reserve at Ferndown instead.

The previous weeks bright and hot weather had taken a turn for the worse, and with the showers approaching it was hard to find many insects about, and when I did the reducing light, called for a higher than normal ISO on occasions for me or a slow shutter speed.  The bee shots below being the higher than normal (ISO 800).  However I am quite impressed with the noise performance of my relatively new Canon 650D at this ISO.

Onto the photos – the first ones are of a bumblebee I found resting on some heather.  These are ISO 800 shots and have much less noise than I saw at this ISO with the 50D – I felt 400 was the most that one could be shot at in practice for an acceptable image – the 650 looks like 800 may be usable in circumstances that need the shutter speed increasing.

Bumble Bee on Heather.  Takeon on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm USM Macro Lens.  ISO 800 1/125 F7.1.  Natural Light.

Bumble Bee on Heather(2).  Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm USM Macro Lens.  ISO 800 1/125 F7.1.  Natural Light.

I found this interesting seed pair in some rough ground.  These taken at 400 ISO and the noise is slightly better.

Seeds. Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 1/100 F4.  Natural Light.

And finally in the rain as I headed back to the car – this Large Skipper, which I suprised myself by shooting it reasonably sharp at 1/50 second handheld.

Large Skipper. Taken on Canon 650D with Canon 100mm USM Macro Lens.  ISO 400 1/50 F5.6.  Natural Light.

Map of Location