The days are getting shorter

My grandmother always used to say around this time: “It is getting dark much earlier already”. I didn’t like that when I was a kid because it meant that the end of the long summer holiday was near. But now I look at it from a different perspective. Sunrise is at a more decent hour, and the nights are getting colder. Autumn, party season for nature photographers, is about to start. Here, is a solar harp and spider web preview from my local patch.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-200, f8, 1/200s; -0.7 stop; tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-200, f11, 1/250s; -0.3 stop; tripod.

Chalk-hill Blues

Chalk-hill Blue (Polyommatus coridon/Bleek Blauwtje) ♂ (top) and ♀ (bottom). Abundant on the southern slopes of the Eifel, Germany. The ♀ butterfly is foraging on Carline Thistle (Carlina vulgaris/Driedistel) the ♂ is posing on Pigeon Scabious (Scabiosa columbaria/Duifkruid).

* Canon EOS 7D, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f4.5, 1/200s; -1 stop; hand held.
* Canon EOS 7D, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f4.5, 1/160s; -0.3 stop; hand held.

Romance on Pietersberg

There is a true invasion of Clouded Yellows (Colias croceus/Oranje Luzernevlinder) in The Netherlands going on right now. This photo is taken a week ago on the Sint-Pieterberg near Maastricht. A new generation is being made that can continue the journey to the North. With Arie Ouwerkerk, Iolente Navarro, en Kees Ouwerkerk.

* Canon EOS 7D, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/800s; -0.3 stop; hand held.

Silverwings

Banded Darter (Sympetrum pedemontanum/Bandheidelibel) at sunrise. I was lovely to be out in the field this early surrounded by dew-covered darters. The backlight and dark background creates ‘silverwings’.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 300mm/f4; ISO-400, f8, 1/1250s; +0.7 stop; hand held.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 300mm/f4; ISO-400, f6.3, 1/250s; -0.3 stop; hand held.

Night time owl

Yes, finally the juvenile Little Owl (Athene noctua/Steenuil) was perching on the rusty harrow! I had this late-dusk setting in my mind for quite some time and put a lot of effort into creating it. Yesterday on a full moon muggy summer evening somewhere in Noord-Brabant everything felt into place. The scene is lit by a LED torch; the owlet was not bothered by it at all!

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 500mm/f4 IS; ISO-1600, f4.0, 1/15s; tripod; LED torch.

Tiny and delicate

This was what I had in mind this morning. Show that Silver-studded Blues (Plebejus argus/Heideblauwtje) are tiny and delicate butterflies. I used live-view to create the off-centre composition. But when this ♂ Silver-studded Blue spread his wings to take a sunbath, I could not resist the temptation to come a bit closer.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/640s; hand held.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 100mm/f2.8; ISO-200, f5.6, 1/250s; hand held.

Hello world

At 10.00 PM sharp (the sun just disappeared below the horizon) two beautiful eyes looking around curiously between the roof tiles of this old barn announced the presence of a juvenile Little Owl (Athene noctua/Steenuil). This young bird of a nest of 4 owlets survived the first critical days of his/her life.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 500mm/f4 IS; ISO-800, f5.6, 1/60s; bean bag.