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Hi! Neil sounds like your daughter has the right Idea No snow yet but lots of rain roll on Spring

Hi! Wurzel, the only thing I'll be catching up on in Kent is Hot Chocolate when shopping with my family preferably filled on top with Cream followed at night with Mince pies and a glass or two of wine Roll On Goldie

HI Goldie,

You said ' roll on spring ' , maybe it's here. These Primroses are out in my garden
this afternoon !.

Trevor.

Enjoy the hot chocolate, make sure that you make it a luxury one!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

What a breathe of Spring that photo is Trevor, it's cheered me up no end

Wurzel I'm even going to have marshmallows in that Hot Chocolate Goldie

Hi! everybody, I've not posted much lately simply because the weather here has been too bad to go any where, we've not had any floods locally but have been advised not to travel too much because towns near us have been hit badly so when we got a glimpse of the Sun the other day when we were doing a bit of cleaning up in the Garden (dead leaves and branches etc) I just had to post my Rainbow It would have been a better shot if I'd considered the Cherry Tree in the way, then I thought perhaps it shows the winter time to more of a degree (tree without leaves) Goldie

I've cut the size of the Photo down because of the web site trouble , hope this is small enough Pete Goldie

I only wish the Swansea area could see sufficient sunshine to generate a rainbow!

Hi! David sounds like your having your share of the rain down there It's suppose to be fine here today, I'll believe it when I see it Goldie

Just arrived in Kent for Christmas and I'd like to wish every one on UKB's a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year. Goldie

All the best, Goldie. Hope the weather's a bit kinder to you in 2016 than it was this year!

Thanks David, I think the weather followed us down It was bit wild today, still managed my Hot Chocolate with cream and Marsh Mellows though, all the best to you has well for the New Year Goldie

We'd a great Christmas in Kent and although the weather was a bit rough at times we still managed to get out and I got a few shots, it was great to see a lovely Sunset for once

It took us seven and a half hours to get home though, traffic was awful, it was nothing compared to the floods all a round us when we reached Lancashire, lucky for us we don't live near any River's , so apart from a pretty wet Garden we were lucky. Could I just wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope the weathers not been too disrupting for our Butterflies Goldie

This morning about 9-20am I was looking outside and thinking , great the Sun is out and drying things up nicely when I noticed the Moon was still visible , with nothing else to photograph over the last few days and with it being the end of the old year, I thought why not get a shot of it for the album

Funny thing is when I looked at the photos on computer, there seems to be another shadow of some think round like a planet Top left of the Moon, what ever it was it was moving with each shot I took . I don't know anything about these things so I'm wondering if it's the Moon's shadow reflecting back. If anyone has any idea's I'd like to know please

My photos are the best by the way I could get with the lens I've got Goldie

Loving your sunset shots Goldie Happy New Year!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel, Happy New Year to you too, Goldie

Good to see you having a go at the moon, Goldie. Half moon is a good time to take photos, because the sun is shining across the surface at an angle, which brings out a lot more shadow detail than when it is lit 'flat on' at full moon. I think a 300mm lens is good for moon photos but you need to take more care over making sure that the focus is exactly right.

I suspect that the circular black mark is due to a speck of dust on the front or back surface of you lens. Try setting a small aperture (large number - e.g. f/22) and taking a photo of a plain sky. This should make any dust spots show up clearly and then you can use a blower-brush to get rid of them.

If it happens with different lenses on the camera, then it can be dust on the sensor. The camera's self-cleaning mechanism should deal with it but, otherwise, a blower-brush directed into the front of the camera but not touching the sensor is the safest way to deal with the problem. You need to find how to raise the camera mirror to do this - look in the instruction book. Hopefully, though, the dirt is on the lens, which is easier to deal with.

Happy New Year!

Mike

Hi! Mike and a Happy New Year, I was hoping you'd pick up on my Moon shots I'll try what you suggest with f/22 it's going to have to be much better weather though before I try again It's poured down all day today and it looks set in for the week again with further flood warnings.

I found how to clean the sensor but I've no brush so I'll have to sort that out, it looks like it will have to be done manual according to the Menu. I couldn't understand why the shadow behind the Moon shots moved with each shot I took , never gave a speck of dust a thought You live and learn How often do you have to clean the sensor Mike I cleaned the lens a lot but mostly in Summer, with the weather we've had, it's not been good enough to take photos outside at all, ( until I saw the clear sky's that morning) Any way keep the advice coming, I believe I've learn't a lot in the last few years about photography and I've still a lot to learn all the beat for the New Year Goldie

Hi Goldie. From the look of the dust spot (very blurred) I'd check the lens first and make sure that bot the front and back are clean. If it's dust on the sensor the mark will appear with all your lenses.

My current cameras have built-in ultrasonic cleaners for the sensor and I have never had to clean one manually. My older Nikon D70 did need to be cleaned manually and tended to need it about once a year. If you are in the habit of changing lenses on a sandy beach with the wind blowing (Southport?) then you are more likely to have the problem.

I wrote an article about how I cleaned my D70 on my website at http://home.btconnect.com/mike.flemming/sensor.htm several years ago. Your Canon and other modern cameras usually have a fluoride coating on the sensor, which should not need more than a blower to remove dust.

Lets hope that the rain stops sometime before the end of 2016

Mike

I've just read your article Mike and I've tried it , so hope fully it will be okay, from now on I'll keep the camera out of sight whilst in the Sand Dunes until I'm ready for a shot Hope fully when the sky is clear, it's rainy again this afternoon, Thanks again Goldie

I've just been going through my photos of Small Heath photos I took on the 23rd May in Southport Dunes and I noticed in this one photo the Butterfly has two spots in the Black spot on the wing in fact it looks like it's got two Black spots is this Butterfly an ab I've checked the species section and I'm not sure , I took photos of two different Butterflies on the same day and they are very different. Goldie

It's definitely not 'normal', Goldie. I certainly haven't seen one like that before.