little things in life

A fellow blogger and friend has been posting some images of spring in Australia including close-ups of moss starting to sprout. It prompted me to take my new macro lens down to the river where I knew moss grows abound and where I had seen some tiny fungi growing just the other day. Unfortunately it was quite dark by the river (it is flanked by a high cliff and trees on the one side) and moss isn’t as attractive in its latter stages, but I did find the fungi and a few interesting little things to photo. They are not the sharpest of images, but as I have mentioned over on the flower blog where you will find more macro images, I am happy to record my journey with the new camera with the hope that as time goes on I will improve!

We will start with this quite small leaf covered with tiny hairs on which there were beads of moisture – from the early morning fog I imagine.

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Next a look at some fungi – note that the puff ball ones are actually very, very small, probably the size of the nail on my little finger.

Then some moss – again with the droplets – ferns and a couple of flowers. I had not realised until now how much the spores on a fern look like tiny eggs.

Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes)
Herb Robert
Spores on harts tongue / Asplenium scolopendrium
Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens)
Moss with droplets
Spores
Moss

And finally one insect (there was a spider too but the quality of that shot is far too embarrassing to post here) a bright red-brown fly. If you click on him to enlarge the image you will see the hairs on his back.

P9282211

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Heyjude

I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.

43 thoughts on “little things in life”

    1. The angles were more or less dictated by the positioning of these things! And the nearness of nettles 😉

  2. Wow! Amazing images, Jude. The Green Alkanet is so very pretty, and the fly in full technicolour, actually looks quite attractive. 😉 So fascinating to see all of these close up. You’ve really been having fun with your macro lens.

    1. I am having such fun Sylvia. I’m sure people passing me were wondering what on earth I was doing with a camera stuck in a bunch of ‘weeds’.

  3. I think you are doing just fine with your new macro lens! The first photo with the tiny water droplets on the leaf is simply amazing.

    1. You are being very kind Jo. I must admit that I am enjoying seeing the miniature world close up, even if it is still a little blurry 🙂

  5. It looks as if the macro lens is going to prove to be a great investment, Jude. Really good shots, and wonderful colour rendition too.
    Regards as always, Pete. x

    1. I am enjoying it immensely Pete. I will use it with a tripod at some point which should help with the focus, though the camera has very good stabilisation.

      1. I used to have one of these (though it was silver) and found it very useful.
        http://www.sliktripod.co.uk/pages/able300dx.html
        I gave it to my stepson for video work recently, and he thinks it is fine. They cost about ÂŁ70 complete with head and quick-release plate. Not too heavy, either. The centre column reverses, for close to the ground macro work.

        1. We have no less than 3 tripods – well one is a gorillapod which is useful for attaching to railings or tree branches! I have not used the others much except for night shooting. I guess it is just less convenient, but I will experiment – eventually! I’ll check that one out though in case it is better than what we have.

        3. I have heard that a monopod is useful – less hassle than a tripod but helps to keep the camera still.

  7. It’s fascinating looking into these little other worlds that most carrying on beyond our notice. There are wonderful shots, Jude.

    1. Too true. I can see why people get quite obsessed with macro photography and buy extension tubes etc. I don’t think I’ll get that carried away, but it is a lot of fun seeing what comes out in an image once I have it on the big screen.

  8. Thanks for being inspired by my blurry moss-forest. This post is very pleasant payoff. I especially love the first leaf and the last fly.

    1. I shall try to do better with the moss. I did get some in the frost a few years ago which looked good, that might be worth trying to capture with this lens.

  9. The puff balls are that tiny? Wow they are remarkable, I can blow them up to the size of cupcakes on my tanl5snd they still look good. Great pics with your excellent lens Jude ☺

    1. This is the reason I wanted a macro lens so that I can blow things up without losing definition. Glad you think they are a success 🙂

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