Big Cats at Colchester

26th July 202026th July 2020 By cpadmin

Big cats at Colchester

Big cats at Colchester. This week we had a day at Colchester Zoo. We booked tickets on line and turn up for our time slot. This post shows three images from the many that were captured on the day at Colchester Zoo. A page on our website has a slide show of twelve images

The male lion sat lion sat majestically, surveying his domain. What else would you do if you were him? The lionesses were stretched out asleep. The tiger stretched on the roof of a hide in an aloof way. People wandering past seemed of no interest! He yawned as if we bored him!

Our penultimate visit was to the cheetahs. The expression on this cats face seemed to say “what a fine specimen I am”. And he was a fine specimen too

Big cats at Colchester — What a fine specimen I am!

The flamingos were difficult to photograph, they kept moving. In the image of them shown in the slide show they are nosing an egg around. Sometimes one of them would sit on it. You could title this image “bottoms up”. Have a look for it on our website page.

The website page is https://www.compassphotography.co.uk/a-day-at-colchester-zoo/

Virtual exhibition continues

11th June 202011th June 2020 By cpadmin

The virtual exhibition continues at Rayleigh Windmill. Four more of Mike’s images have been posted on the Facebook page of the windmill. They are images that have been created during lockdown. The lockdown made me take more images in the garden, probably ones I would not have sought out if we had been free to roam Click on this link to see the images. Here is one of the images

All creatures macro and small — Unfurled tulip with added greenfly

Visit our website to see more images

Ladybirds in the sun

22nd March 202022nd March 2020 By cpadmin

Ladybirds in the sun. Spent most of the morning today in the garden as there was nowhere to go today! Just finished mowing the lawn and I noticed this ladybird on a fence post in the garden. So I nipped in and got the camera, fitted the macro lens and grabbed the tripod.

Getting the close up shot was not as easy as it could have been. The two ladybirds were sunning themselves on a post next to a bale of hay. I had to fight uneven ground to set the tripod on, the bush in the way and the angle of the sun to get an image or two.

I was just lining up a shot of the two together when one of them beetled off! Still, I’m pleased with these and might have another go tomorrow setting the camera on a pile of bricks instead! I hope you enjoy looking at Ladybirds in the sun.

The National Geographic for kids website says that “There are about 5,000 different species of ladybirds in the world. These much loved critters are also known as lady beetles or ladybugs, and in many cultures they’re considered good luck. They come in many different colours and patterns, but the most familiar in the UK is the seven-spot ladybird, which has a shiny, red-and-black body”. Got to the website by clicking here.

See more of our images by visiting our website www.compassphotography.co.uk

Batty guest photographer

19th February 202019th February 2020 By cpadmin

Compass Photography has a Batty guest photographer on its website from today for a while. John Dobson has allowed us to show 10 of his wildlife image including several of bats. One of the images is really fascinating. The sleeping bats are covered with condensation droplets. Its quite normal apparently but strange to the rest of us who know nothing about bats and probably would not seek them out in caves to photograph! The image below has a lovely purple sheen. You can also clearly see the fingers hanging on to the wall.

Please look on the site and see John’s images and read his biographical notes which tell you more about him. You could also look up the Essex bat group’s website. John is not really a Batty guest photographer though

Jayne Kirkby Guest Photographer

14th April 201914th April 2019 By cpadmin

Jayne Kirkby Guest Photographer. Jayne has placed seven great images on our website as our guest photographer. Each image is of a harvest mouse. The tiny creatures are captured in slightly different ways in each image. You are invited to visit our website and take place in a poll to vote for the images you like best. Originally I had the mice down as field mice. A friend who “knows about these things” emailed to say that they were harvest mice. You learn something every day!

Here is one of the images. This is the link to Jayne’s gallery on our website where you can see all seven images and vote for the one you like best.

www.compassphotography.co.uk

Birds on the wing at Mersea

7th April 20197th April 2019 By cpadmin

Birds on the wing at Mersea

Birds on the wing at Mersea is a shot of a bird murmuring on the Blackwater Estuary captured by Shru. She had ventured out on yet another trip on the Lady Grace from Mersea.

Shru said:

“It was a biting cold day with thermals on in an open boat feeling the wind on my face. There were several fellow photographers on the boat. We saw many different types of bird on the mud flats and we even manage to see a seal. It was sunset when I captured this image and I particularly like the way the sun catches on the bird’s wings.”

Find out more about Lady Grace boat trips by using this link

See more of our images by visiting out website www.compassphotography.co.uk

Canon EOS 7D Mark II EF 100-400mm II IS USM

F11 1/800 ISO 3200

Birds on the wing at Mersea — A Murmuring captured on the Blackwater

Incoming Pelican!

25th February 201925th February 2019 By cpadmin

Incoming Pelican! Shru captured this Great White Pelican at Ana Sagar Lake in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

It’s a simple shot to capture. The incoming pelican has its wings out and is gliding in a wide turning circle in a clear sky to land nearby.

The bird’s wing span can range from 2.5 to 3 metres. These birds are so majestic! As the pelican circles, the individual feathers on both the leading and trailing edges of the wings are clearly visible. You also get the feeling that the beady eye is searching for the landing spot!

Canon EOS 7D Mark II EF-S 100-400mm II IS USM

Settings: F11 1/1250 ISO 400

Sara Livingston – Guest Photographer

23rd October 201823rd October 2018 By cpadmin

Guest Photographer – Sara Livingston

We have a guest photographer, Sara Livingston, on our website for the first time. Click here on the link to see Sara’s work and read more about her.

Glorious sunset at Mersea in Essex.

21st October 2018 By cpadmin

A boat trip up the creek at Mersea Island in Essex

Glorious sunset at Mersea in Essex. Yesterday Shru organised a boat trip for five photographers from the crabbing pier at Mersea in Essex. Five image from the boat trip are shown below.

The water in the creek was classically calm as a millpond allowing astounding reflections as we passed the other boats. The trip was scheduled for sunset, however as you will see from the images the sunset exceeded our expectations. This was an open boat so the weather was also kind to us at the end of a warm October day. As we journeyed along the creek in the setting sun we passed a range of wildlife he sun set showing such glorious skies. It truly was a “Glorious sunset at Mersea in Essex”.The images include:

° Reflections of the boats as we passed them

° A sunset featuring one of the marker poles

° A bird taking off in the golden waters

° A sunset with the waters so calm that the clouds are reflected in it

° The moon out as we journeyed back to the pier

Can certainly recommend Lady Grace Boat Trips

Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V, Tamron 16-300mm

Settings varying with the shots

Autumn Colours at Danbury Lakes

17th October 201817th October 2018 By cpadmin

Autumn Colours at Danbury Lakes

Five images of the autumn colours at Danbury Lakes are shown with this post. Three are from this year and two from earlier years. Information about the images is at the bottom of the post.

About the images

I was lucky with the squirrel, who posed nicely for a second on the end of a piece of stone. His tail curves round nicely and you can even see his whiskers! This year the lake has not yet reached the colours of the attached image. When I was at Danbury last week the waterfowl were also cutting up the surface so the reflections were not as nice either.

Along one of the banks there is a fascinating tree where it appears that the trunk has turned back into the water. The reflections of the tree and the banking are clear, however the movement in the water makes them a zigzag.

Two images from inside the woods follow, where the green canopy is still there, with a carpet of fallen leaves. One image has the dry stream bed running across it.

Equipment: Sony SLT-A65V, Tamron 16-300mm

Settings vary with the image

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Category: Wildlife

Big Cats at Colchester