www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Guy:

This is the view from my classroom this morning

Are you are telling us that SCHOOLS DON'T CLOSE WHEN IT SNOWS? Switzerland must be an incredibly old fashioned country

Jack

If they did close, Jack, I'd be out of a job!

Temperatures have plummeted again and the snow has kept falling. This was Huémoz (my village) when I got home from school on Friday:





On Saturday I didn't leave the house as it snowed all day but we had a sunny break today so I took a walk to the local woods:









Tonight heavy snowfall is expected over much of western Switzerland, to the extent that MétéoSuisse issued a severe weather warning. But yes, I'll be on the 07h18 bus to school, which won't be cancelled...

Guy

Great photos, Guy. Interesting too that the authorities seem to keep the minor roads clear of snow where you are.

You can be sure that if you were in the UK, unless you were on a major road, there'd be no chance of you having your thoroughfare treated.

The snowploughs keep trundling, David! We have fleets of the things in every town and village, clearing the roads from before the crack of dawn right into the evening. Joking aside, it would be quite unreasonable for county councils in southern England to invest this much in snow-clearing equipment so I do understand why the UK grinds to a halt for a few snowy days each year.

Guy

Superb photos as always Guy.

I think I am correct in saying that you still use a simple compact camera. Your images show that it is the photographer who makes the picture, not the camera. Who needs to spend a fortune on equipment when results like yours are achievable with a very basic camera in the right hands?

Jack

Jack Harrison wrote:a very basic camera in the right hands?

According to the EXIF data on Padfield's photos, it wasn't a camera at all but an iPhone 4S.

These phones are surely a "wake-up" call to camera manufacturers. I used one on a recent holiday in Iceland, after dropping my travel camera in a stream. The software and touch-screen interface make the iPhone much easier and more intuitive to use than any camera I have tried. I note that several accessories are available to add lens adapters to the basic phone.

Padfield's photos are, indeed, superb and he makes great use of the capabilities of small-sensor cameras and iPhones.

mike

I do still use the compact but for landscapes I tend now to use my phone instead. This is because I can then e-mail a real-time postcard to my mother, who enjoys getting a picture from the Rhône Valley or the mountains during the day. All the pictures in my last post were taken with the phone (iPhone 4S).

I have to say that I spent a long time at the weekend experimenting with Noiseware and Neat Image, eventually purchasing the standalone Noiseware and keeping the demo Neat Image (no time restriction on the demo but certain functionality restrictions). The effect of these programmes is rather like getting a better camera - they quite transform my pictures, particularly for printing off at large sizes, but even for the web too. I only use very basic processing software (crop, resize and sharpen). I now find that by running pictures through Noiseware before resizing, which I can do as a batch for any number of pictures, the resize comes out sharper and requires less or no sharpening afterwards. The resultant pictures are perceptibly better, even when the original seemed perfectly good to me! So thanks to you and Mike for tipping me off to these programmes.

Guy

Just saw Mike's crossed e-mail. And thank you both for the compliments - much appreciated!

Must say, my boss returned from a ski-ing holiday in Austria today and the photos she took with her i-pad were of incredibly good quality.

It's no surprise that someone with Guy's intellect can 'suss' out the simplest means by which to reproduce a pinpoint image on a website.

I'll continue to watch such things over the forthcoming months, as I already suspect that the £350 I spent 2 years ago on my Panasonic could have been better earmarked had it been invested in one of these so-called multi-purpose devices.

At 08h00 this morning, as the asteroid hurtled away from the earth, I entered my 50th year of existence. I must say, the gods were smiling on me. It was the first day of half term and was blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine, after what has seemed like weeks of continuous snow right up until last night.

A hen harrier was briefly conspicuous above the vineyards (having said 'wall-to-wall sunshine, that picture is actually taken against cloud that hung on over the mountain):





Alpine accentors lined my route for part of the way:



Best of all, of course, I saw four small tortoiseshells during the walk. One posed nicely for me:



For someone born in February it is always a delight to see a butterfly on your birthday!

Not that spring is here yet. There was a chill wind today and all but the most exposed, south-facing slopes were still snowy:





The valley floor at Martigny shows it is still very much winter:



But the Bulbocodium are coming through and the butterfly season is inching closer...



Guy

padfield wrote:At 08h00 this morning, as the asteroid hurtled away from the earth, I entered my 50th year of existence.

Happy birthday Guy! And some lovely shots. I recognise the site at Martigny - glad to see the trees in the car park are still standing after we reversed into them

Cheers,

- Pete

Happy birthday, Guy, and many happy returns

Are you doing anything special to mark your half century?

Happy Birthday Guy & a significant one at that. Congratulations also due as you have exactly the same day of birth as my Son! I do not suppose you remember the weather the day you were born (LOL) but I can assure you England was even whiter than the pictures you have just posted & no there were no small torts about! Eric

Thank you for the birthday greetings! I should say that I'm only 49 today - so by convention my next birthday is 'the big one'. Today only marked the beginning of my 50th year ...

If that means I'm out by a year from your son, Eric, well, it's still nice to know someone who shares your birthdate. Please wish him a very happy (rest of) day from me!

Guy

Ahhh, apologies, my mistake. still many happy returns for this birthday and in anticipation of the next one. X

Many happy returns, Guy. Hope you have a relaxing half term week.

Thanks, David.

Another couple of accentors:



A large flock of these seemed to be moving through, as well as fieldfares, finches, buntings and other birds.

Guy

Belated birthday greetings from me as well Guy

Best wishes
Vince

Hi Guy,

A belated happy birthday - hope you had a good one

Kindest regards. Mark

.... and more of the same from me. Happy Birthyesterday.

Neil

Happy Birthday Guy - I shall raise a glass in the general direction of Switzerland this evening.