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Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:09 pm
by Wurzel
Week 20 - the grand finale!
The time has come, with the 20 weeks of 'Favourite Species Shots' all over and dealt with, today is the opportunity to showcase your favourite SINGLE image (or video) of 2014. As like last year there are no restictions on species, subject or location. Also like last year details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Re: Favorite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:15 pm
by Wurzel
Overall Favourite of 2014
A couple of apologies to start with. First sorry as I have finally given in to temptation and have posted first. Second sorry if my choice could be considered as 'rubbing it in' but this will be the last time I post about this particular butterfly...
‘Number 56’ had to be my favourite really
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
It is my favourite shot of the year as it was a first for me and it was taken on a pretty awesome day and when I see the image I’m taken right back there to the day. Also the more I see it the more convinced I become that the species should be renamed the “56er”.
Have a goodun
Wurzel
Re: Favorite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:20 pm
by Nick Broomer
It has to be this photo of mating Orange-tips, because it was the first time i had realised that this species sometimes mated overnight. They were joined for at least fourteen hours, Which must be a world record for this species.
Re: Favorite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:01 pm
by bugboy
A really tough choice but I think my favourite is this one of a very friendly male Adonis Blue from Box Hill on 20th August. It was one of my target species since I re-awakened my love of photographing butterflies in the summer and one of my first trips to Box Hill. I was overjoyed when I came across this obviously freshly emerged individual who allowed me to get a good set of pictures before he flittered off in search for his first female.
Re: Favorite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:16 pm
by downland boy
My favourite image of 2014 is of this Raft Spider (Dolomedes fimbriatus). This one was feeling for the vibrations of any approaching prey by holding its feet under the water. I'm not that relaxed in the company of large spiders but this one was a handsome creature.
Re: Favorite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:23 pm
by Nick Broomer
Great photo downland boy.
All the best, Nick.
Re: Favorite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:33 pm
by Vince Massimo
My favourite is not necessarily the best image I have ever taken of a Red Admiral, but it is the most memorable because it was taken on Christmas Day and became my latest ever sighting of any species.
![IMG_3359-01G.jpg (440.94 KiB) Viewed 1455 times Red Admiral - Crawley, Sussex 25-Dec-2014](./files/thumb_3678_8ce68ec490d73a00cb2ce81830340c67)
- Red Admiral - Crawley, Sussex 25-Dec-2014
I was really expecting many more sightings to be reported that day because the weather was fantastic, but I suppose that most people had other things to do. Fortunately, because the site is only 5 minutes from home, I managed to sneak away and get back to the sprouts before anybody missed me
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
.
Vince
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:29 pm
by David M
My favourite image of 2014 wasn't a particularly good one; it's just that feeling you get when you finally 'corner' a species that you've yearned to see for a long time - Apollo in the French Alps:
Following close behind for the very same reason was this male Cynthia's Fritillary:
As far as being satisfied with the clarity of subject matter goes, this image of a Purple Edged Copper on the same trip comes out top:
From a UK perspective, this Adonis Blue taken on 8th August at Swellshill Bank, near Stroud, was particularly attractive, since it was so recently emerged that it had a 'two-tone' lustre to it that I had never seen before:
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 10:22 pm
by Nick Broomer
Hi David,
lovely photos, Especially the Apollo, and the Purple-edged Copper.
All the best, Nick.
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 11:50 pm
by Tony Moore
I'm torn between two. This female Common Blue, which was the 'bluest' I've ever seen:
And this male Aetherie Fritillary from Portugal, as it was the result of a carefully planned pilgrimage to see this wonderful butterfly:
.
Scarce Fritillary is my main target for 2015.
Tony M.
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 9:04 am
by downland boy
Thanks Nick, glad you liked the spider photo.
I must say that I have enjoyed looking at everyones contributions to these threads over the winter months; there have been some lovely shots appearing.
Not too long to wait now for that first Holly Blue or Speckled Wood fluttering along the hedges in my garden.
All the best, Downland boy
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 10:43 am
by Goldie M
I'd like to say ' THANKS " Wurzel for all the time you've taken with the the Favourites Postings, I've really enjoyed and looked forward to posting each week, it's certainly makes the Winter seem shorter and it's great to see all the lovely photo's people have taken through the year, more so the " where and when" the photos were taken
I've looked through my shots and I think the most memorable one is the Speckled Wood I saw at Gaits Barrow which tricked her suitor by playing dead
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
Photo taken 16th June
I also loved the courtship of the Brimstones, photo also taken at Gaits Barrow 16th May they were so caught up in chasing the Female they didn't notice when she slipped a way Goldie
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 12:16 pm
by Chris Jackson
Thanks for running the show this winter Wurzel, it did keep my moral up, although down here I should be the last to complain.
Some excellent photos above - all of them in fact.
I love the toe-dipping spider - that's original.
David's "Cynthia's" is particularly remarkable.
Here are a few of my favourites from 2014, most of them born from an obsession to get decent open-wing shots out of my Panasonic FZ150
Provence Orange Tip, female, April in Marseilles
Cleopatra, female, June in Marseilles
Cleopatra, male, June in Marseilles
An unlikely pair - Berger's Clouded Yellow male + normal Clouded Yellow female form
helice, October in Vitrolles, near Marseilles
Lesser Purple Emperor, July in the Massif Central, France
Chris
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 5:52 pm
by David M
Nice stuff, Chris.
I hope I'll finally get to spend some time with Provence Orange Tips when I visit Var after Easter!
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 6:07 pm
by bugboy
Some brilliant pictures there of some fantastic butterflies David, I've always wanted to see the Cynthias Fritillary since I first saw a picture of one in a book as a kid, still not happened though!
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 10:15 pm
by millerd
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:46 pm
by CFB
Two of my favourite photos from last year concern two first-ever sightings.
From June 15 to July 2 there were Spanish Festoon (
Zerynthia rumina) larvae on
Aristolochia pistolochia, seen several times at the same location near la Roche d'Ardy.
Then from July 3 to July 17 there were several of the white underside form of the Marbled White (
Melanargia galathea f. leucomelas) seen on several occasions between July 3 and July 17 near the Moulin des Gabres by the Brague river.
And I can't resist posting a photo of the only Small Tortoiseshell I saw last year.
So far this year, I have only seen two or three (presumably) Red Admirals going past at great speed, so I am still waiting for my first butterfly photo of the year
![Sad :(](./images/smilies/icon_sad.gif)
.
--
Colin
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 6:00 pm
by Reverdin
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:10 pm
by MikeOxon
A seemingly impossible task - a SINGLE favourite image! I see many 'cheated' and posted several images but, after sitting on the fence for a long time, I've gone for this one of mating Large Blues at Daneway Banks:
![LgeBlues2014.jpg (157.71 KiB) Viewed 1104 times Daneway Banks, Glos. - 26th June 2014<br />Lumix FZ200 (fl=65mm) - 1/40s@f/5.6 ISO100](./files/thumb_11310_7145362c3ba1db2eb0dde4e4600131a7)
- Daneway Banks, Glos. - 26th June 2014
Lumix FZ200 (fl=65mm) - 1/40s@f/5.6 ISO100
I've posted a very similar shot, taken with my Nikon, before but, when skimming through my collection, I preferred the colours of this version.
Mike
Re: Favourite Photo of 2014
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:03 am
by John W
I love David's Apollo, Tony's female Common Blue, and Mike's Large Blues!
My favourite has to be this Purple Emperor with all four wings showing purple taken at Fermyn Woods on June 30th. I was lucky enough to spend 50 minutes with this one on the ground, which gave me time to figure out the best angle to take the photo from in order to get all wings purple.
Cheers
John