Japanese Flowering Quince
The stunning beauty of this Japanese Flowering Quince’s crimson-red petals and yellow-tipped stamen belies its defensive nature: the shrub is festooned with piercing thorns all over its branches and as one grows just outside my rear door, I find myself being scratched inadvertently when I pass by Chaenomeles Japonica and forget how close I am to the ‘daggers of Nature’ it unsheathes… it’s no wonder the flowers are red after all!
*Shot on a Canon 80d 24mp dSLR camera using a Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Nano lens with camera settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/10, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/320 seconds*
Exquisite Peacock
In a secluded wood on the edge of the Forest of Bowland outside Caton in Lancaster, UK there is wild ‘muster’ of Peacocks, totally feral and free to wander within this hard-to-reach-and-find area. This exquisitely impressive male bird was snapped at a distance between the trees as he was getting ready to sound his call – or ‘train rattle’ as it’s known – a cacophonous crow that can be heard over five miles and is constructed of certain frequencies we as Humans’ cannot hear, but the female Peahens register.
*Shot on a Canon 70d 20.2mp dSLR using a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 IS L lens with settings at ISO-400, aperture at f/4.5, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/100 seconds*
A life aquatic
As this black Labrador is about to leave its aquatic kingdom from Grizedale Dock Reservoir in Wyre, UK for more solid ground, the dog has a look of perplexed pity on its snouted face: yep, a poor animal is once again regarding the ‘goon with a camera’ (that’s still me) as an inconvenience it has to put up with!
*Shot on an Olympus E-M1 Mk1 16mp m4/3 pro mirrorless camera using a Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 II Lumix G X Vario Power O.I.S. lens with settings at ISO-200, aperture at f/4, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/400 seconds*
Reflection
This half-submerged, decaying tree branch mirrors itself with the water’s reflection and hides the eye from what truly lies lurking beneath this dark surface…
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix G9 M4/3 mirrorless camera using a Panasonic 100-300mm f/4-5.6 MEGA O.I.S lens with settings at ISO-200, aperture at f/6.3, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/30 seconds*
Nicky Nook tarn
A panoramic view from the back side of Nicky Nook beauty spot in Scorton, Wyre (which is located in Lancashire, UK).
The tarn is set in moorland peat and supports small fish (probably Trout) and its crystal-blue water is inviting to any passing hiker or rambler on a hot day! Above the trees that fringe its left-hand bank can be seen the snaking M6 motorway heading towards Forton services – its futuristic “UFO” eatery just visible if you zoom in – and onto Lancaster.
The far hills in the centre of the picture are Clougha Pike and Grit Fell, which loom over the small farming village of Quernmore; the closer hill to the right-hand side leads to Hawthornthwaite Fell in Over Wyreside; and to the far right you arrive at Grizedale Bridge, Holme Wood and Grizedale reservoir.
A pretty damn fine view from the top of a small hill, don’t you think?!
*Shot on a Samsung S10+ 12mp phone camera using the panoramic option*
Toothy
A freshly-shorn Alpaca – left sporting a 1980s ‘New Romantic’ mop-top hairstyle – shows some teeth as it chews grass in a figure of eight motion.
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix G9 M4/3 mirrorless camera using a Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 DG Vario-Elmar Lens with settings at ISO-200, aperture at f/5.4, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/1600 seconds*
Daffodils
Nothing indicates the change in seasons in the UK than the flourishing of Daffodils, their yellow trumpet-shaped heads stiffly swaying atop rigid green stalks, even when the lightest of breezes catches them.
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 20.1mp digital Bridge camera with camera settings at ISO-125, aperture at f/5, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/1250 seconds*
Keep on running
A brown Hare begins its acceleration away from the ‘goon with a camera’ – that’s me – who’s managed to disturb Britain’s fastest mammal from enjoying a relaxed grazing session and turn it into a 40mph furry blur!
*Shot on a Panasonic Lumix G9 M4/3 mirrorless camera using a Panasonic Leica 100-400mm f/4-6.3 DG Vario-Elmar Lens with settings at ISO-200, aperture at f/7.1, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/160 seconds*
Consumed
A forgotten grave and its headstone, slowly being consumed by Nature’s inextricable progress once we forget to keep its power in check…
*Shot on a Canon 6d 20.2mp dSLR using a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 IS L lens with camera settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/5, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/250 seconds*
Incoming waves
As the tide turns in Morecambe Bay, the incoming waves begin to build momentum and break, their white-tipped rolls crashing onto the jutting rocks at The Barrows at Heysham in the UK, until the Moon’s influence decides to issue a watery retreat later in the day…
*Shot on a Canon 5d Mk II 21.1mp full-frame dSLR using a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens with settings at ISO-100, aperture at f/2.8, spot metering mode and an exposure time of 1/1250 seconds*
Stretch the Horizon 