Dark Green (I assume) Fritillary taken at Arnside Knott


150mm, 1/250 @ f/8.0 with flash on tripod

padfield wrote:doesn't look quite club-shaped enough to me for aenea. My vote is for metallica

Ignore him , if it's not a male aenea, I'll eat my hat... any sharper photos?

I'd say Downy Emerald... the Brilliant Emerald usually displays less bronze on the tale and more yellow towards the thorax.

Cheers, Chris

Mark... it might be that your new lens just isn't as sharp as your others! Though, I doubt it as this is Sigma's latest flagship zoom and one of the first lenses they're shipping with Image Stabilization, so they'll be banking on plaudits re sharpness. I'd try a series of little tests; mount the len...

I have the both the Sigma 70mm and Sigma 150mm. The image quality of the 70mm is better than the 150mm, but the lens suffers from not having internal focusing and it doesn't feel quite as solid. Also, as Chris highlights, it isn't always hugely practical for butterflies and odonata. I bought it beca...

I went to Fenn & Whixall mosses in Shropshire this morning and though I saw a couple, couldn't get a photo...

Nice pic Paul.

Great photos Dean... rather than setting up lots of individual posts, why not send the pics to Pete who'll set up a gallery for you.

Cheers, Chris

I met Roger last week.. he really is THAT pink!

Hello... theres not much chance of you bumping into me here in the wilds of North Yorkshire but I attach a picture nevertheless... I've entitled it "North Yorkshire in July"! Actually, it took me ages to select a suitable picture, I hadn't realised until I rooted through a load of holiday ...

Haha! I wonder what made you ask this question, Jack!

Yep. Good to meet everybody! Shame about the lack of butterflies... if I'd known it was going to be like that I would have taken more than three pics! This is the best of the bunch.



Cheers, Chris

Paul Kipling wrote:Will bring mug

I hope by that, you don't mean me, Paul??

You're very brave FlybyWire, I'll give you that... but I think you're quite wrong. I too could be bitter as I too have felt on occasion that some of my better photos have been "overlooked", but on reflection my personal attachment to them and how they were created has probably warped my pe...

HA! I was merely sorting out some photos of old and I'd filed this as large skipper... it didn't look right so I thought I'd ask you chaps... little did I know the chaos this would have caused! Thanks guys... especially as I can now create an "Essex Skipper" folder!!

Blimey... quite the response! Does this additional image help? and would it help to know it was taken 3rd July 2005 at Otmoor!!! http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x298/xopher78/IDLargeSkipper2.jpg Large Skipper? http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x298/xopher78/IDLargeSkipper.jpg Kind Regards, Chris

[quote="Pete Eeles]My understanding is that they're concerned that flash does disturb the critters - including mating pairs, hence the restriction.[/quote] Fair enough... perhaps they should also ban ants, spiders, small birds and other male butterflies as these too can disturb breeding pairs! :P

It seems an odd restriction... Quite often flash photography is banned (along with tripods) purely to prevent people from taking professional quality photographs and capitalising. I was out photographing Wall this evening and they did respond to the flash (they flew off!) but I can't imagine it did ...

Speckled wood changed for this Common Blue


150mm, 1/160 @ f/8 on tripod

Paul... black hairstreak would be a lifer for me, so if you want to halve petrol costs and driver fatigue! I should be free both the weekends of the 14th and 28th June.

Cheers, Chris

Visited Ardley Quarry today on my way back from a stag do. It was pretty grey, but managed to find a number of roosting common blue. A brief spell of sunshine allowed this male to open it's wings. http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x298/xopher78/CommonBlue-imago-ArdleyQuarry-1stJu.jpg I then went on...