www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

That looks like the same Grizzled Skipper I found a few days ago, you had much better weather than I did though. Those Pearls are putting on a very good show this year aren't they

I have just found time to write a post for my diary and process my photos, so I will start with last weekend.

On my way up to do my transect on sunday the 22nd I saw my first Small Blue of the Season. It was just out of the car park on the chalk path up the hill to Friston where I have never seen one before.
The next friday I had got to the start of the transect when I saw my first Common Blue of the season.
On my way Back I saw a Red Admiral laying eggs but the light wasn't good enough at that point to take a photo of the egg. So I marked the nettle with a Butter cup so I could find it again.

i started my way up to find the egg the next day on the Gallops when I saw my first Large Skipper of the season. Sitting on a nice Bamble leaf.
When I finally found the nettle with the Butter Cup tied too it. I found that the egg had gone. So I started to head back to the Gallops and I saw a Speckled Wood. I have failed to get a single shot all year of one, so I made it my mission to get a shot.
I had just left the Speckled Wood when I saw another Red Admiral Laying eggs (It could of been the same one). So I got my shot in the end.
On sunday morning as the Gallops and Friston Forest had been so good to me the past few days I paid another visit.
Finally, when I got home I had found a Large White had layed eggs on my Brassica.

Great report. The stacked egg photo is beautiful!

There seems to be a lot more Large Whites this year Gary, love the egg shot Goldie

I have to make a correction. The large white egg is actually a small White Eggs.

Thankyou for your kind comment Katrina and Goldie.

My morning started with my first Painted Lady of the year in the garden just after I had locked the door to go to Rowland's Wood.
Roland's Wood was not a good call today. I was hoping for some Large skippers, but I got a nice shot of a Small Heath.
I went home abit disappointed, so I saw that there were still eggs on my Brassica. So I setup up the camera for some close up shots.
While taking the shots I noticed something move within the egg. So I put the camera on to movie settings and recorded this video with manual focus and zero depth of field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CvSWMnILLs[/video]

Brilliant video - really interesting!

An absolutely magnificent sequence there Gary
Very well done.

Vince

Incredible video Gary. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to view it as it has to be one of the most interesting things I've ever seen on this site!

Hi Gary,

Great "Macro Video". May I know the type of lens used?

rgds,
Sonam

Thankyou for asking Sonam,

The len I uses is canon MP-E 65mm with a canon Extender EF 2x iii. This gives me 10x zoom. But the len is a fixed focus len, so I use a Noveflex Castel-L Macro rail to focus on the subject.
I hope this answners your question.

Gary

Gary,

Lovely video of the emerging Small White. A great 25 minutes viewing.

Regards Kev

Firstly, thankyou to all those who have commented on the Small White Egg Hatching Video. Your comments are appreciated.

Today I did my transect. On my way to and from I got a number of photos, despite the cloud. One of which was my first Meadow Brown of the year.

I looked at the weather forecast this morning and it said it was only going to be bright for a little while. So I dashed off the the Gallops. 5 hours later I got back home as the cloud moved in. So much for weather forecast. At least I was on the right side of the weather for a change.

I saw a number of different Bufferflies up there today. Meadow Brown, Large Skippers, small Blues, common Blues, A single female Adonnis Blue, a freshly hatched Tortoiseshell, 2 Grizzled Skippers (One of which was laying eggs) and a Pained Lady (also laying eggs).

I love the egg shots, Gary. The Canon MP-E is quite something; still getting used to it myself

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete.

The MP65-E is a really hard and unique len to use, isn't it. Any wind and through the viewfinder it looks like it is blowing a gale. In bright sunshine hardly any light reaches the sensor. Finally, if you get the wrong angle on the subject the len itself shades it. But if you over come all that and you are luckly, you can some really stunning shots.

Gary

Se great close-ups there, Gary, especially the Painted Lady ovum.

Gary.N wrote:I use a Noveflex Castel-L Macro rail to focus on the subject.

I'd be interested to know how you get on with the macro rail, Gary. My concern is that, with the weight of the camera, the rail doesn't provide the smooth level of focusing needed. I've never tried one - hence the question!

Cheers,

- Pete

Pete.

I have no problems with the macro rail. I know that with out it I would of really struggled to get the shots I did when stacking images. The video of the Small White egg hatching would have been impossible with out it. As I had to keep adjusting it very time the wind blew a tiny amount to keep that shallow depth of field in focus, at an aperture of 16. The rail I use does provide smooth operation. It has a screw to the side to adjust the amount of friction applied or to lock it in place. The only thing I had trouble with when I started using it was the balance on the small tripod I use, but you quickly learn where on the rail to start to stop this happening.

Gary

Thanks Gary!

Cheers,

- Pete