Island in the Sun

Apart from the blue male Moor Frogs (see the previous blog entry), I also spent some time photographing the frog spawn. The spawn was much less wary of my presence than its creators, and therefore easier to approach...

As the spawn of Moor Frogs needs air to survive, part of it will always break the surface. The warm light of the low setting sun in combination with the reflection of grasses made the reflections turn gold.
To me, the photo looks like a helicopter view of a small archipelago of islands in warm sunbeams. Might be a nice place to spend the summer holiday.

Lately, I've found myself getting more and more into macro photography. I like to search for patterns in the small world of macro that resemble things that really exist in the 'real' world, the world that we can see with our own bare eyes.

By the way, Island in the Sun is also the title of a very nice song by Weezer, that you might know as the theme song for the tv-show 'Camping Life'. To be honest, I hate the show, but the song is nice. You might want to check out more of Weezers music, as it nicely fits the feeling of spring. You'll thank me later.

Moor Frog Spawn; Canon 1D Mark III w. Tamron 90/2,8; 1/160s at F4 and ISO 400; Handheld

Feeling blue

We all get to endure these days on which nothing seems to work, everything goes wrong and you just feel blue. Worst about it is you never know when such a day will present itself, it can happen anytime.

Male Moor Frogs have an easier life in that respect: the one thing they can be certain of is that they will feel (and look) blue for just a few consecutive days during the mating season. They turn blue, sing the blues, hopefully attract a female, produce their spawn in a mutual effort and then loose the blue color again. If they do not die in their viagra-blue state of happiness, that is.

As the colorful action only lasts for a few days, the timing being dependant on the weather, it is a game of chance (and endurance) to be on the right spot at the right time to witness the spectacle. I was fortunate to be invited by fellow VNFE photographer Wouter van den Hoogen to join him. He had done all the hard preparation work and took me to the right spot when the action peaked. I am glad I accepted the invitation, thanks Wouter.

Male Moor Frog; Canon 1D Mark III w. Tamron 90/2,8; 1/100s at F4 and ISO 400; Handheld

Black Hawk Down

I am fortunate to have a friend who has turned his 20 acre farmland at the edge of the forest into a private nature reserve. It features a bat cellar, small grainfields (not harvested), wildflowers, howthorns, stone walls, old trees and more. All in all it really is a bird paradise, where many species feel at home and breed, including several species that are on the red list.

Best thing is I am free to put up hides and put out bait to capture all the feathered friends on camera. The landowner helps out by making sure there's always food at the photographic arena.

Our latest project was to lure the resident Common Buzzard onto a mouldered fallen tree. For about a week, we provided fresh bait and given the amount of feathers around the spot, things looked good. However, there also was very strong foxsmell, so we were not sure what had eaten the bait. On Friday, I decided to give it a try and went into the hide before sunrise. After about an hour, the buzzard silently arrived and only left after having finished a complete pigeon in exactly 43 minutes.

Common Buzzard on Wood Pigeon; Canon 1D Mark III w. 500/4 IS; 1/100s at F5 and ISO 800; Gitzo tripod from hide

Fresh Snow Drops

Last weekend, I found a part of our small garden covered with fresh snow drops. Not your typical crystal-shaped packages of frozen water that fall from the cloudy winter sky, but beautiful white flowers from a bulbous plant. And that means spring is here!

The first signs of spring have been visible and audible for a few days now. Lapwings perform their noisy acrobatics in the sky, dunnocks sing their hearts out to claim their 2009 territories, common toads start their pilgrimage to the spawning waters and daylight stretches beyond work hours.

These little things can really cheer me up and I really look forward to the coming months. The difficult part about the arrival of spring is the abundance of photographic subjects. It is hard to choose between them, but without some planning, you can get lost in trying and doing many things at the same (limited) time. The result? Lots of photographs that are just not it. I have learnt the hard way. So like last year, I will set my goals and will try my best to stick to the plan. Only when a very unique opportunity arises may I deviate from the masterplan and go for it.

No matter what your photographic masterplan for spring is going to be, be sure to enjoy yourself!

Snow Drop; Canon 1D Mark III w. 90/2,8; 1/100s at F4 and ISO 200; Beanbag