Yellow rattle - a parasitic plant of the meadows

Yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus minor) is a plant that has been in plentiful supply in some of our meadows this summer. Apparently, it is semi parasitic on grass that inhibits its growth - this stops the grass from becoming too dominant. It is strange that it is common on some fields but absent on others only a hundred yards or so away.

The image at the top is part of the flower head and shows an individual bloom. You can see where the 'yellow' in the common name comes from. The green bulbous part below the flower is what ripens to hold the seeds This rattles when dry which gives the plant its common name.

The picture below shows a ripened 'rattle' - you can just make out the seeds inside (the dark bits).



The third photograph shows the top part of a flower stem that carries several individual flowers. In the flora section of the environment gallery you can see more photos of the yellow rattle plant including some showing it in the meadows.




Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: Canon 17-85mm IS lens for the outside photos, an older 100mm macro for the 'studio' shots
Sensitivity: ISO200
Inside: 1/200 @f16 with flash diffused through a 'Lastolite' screen.
Lighting: Outside - Natural light, inside diffused flash
Other: The 'Studio' is a home-made unit made from a cardboard box.

White wildflower, possibly a 'common mouse ear'

A few days ago I noticed a clump of small white flowers growing by one of our compost heaps. Looking closely at it I thought the colours were quite delicate and worth recording. As it was late afternoon I managed to get some photos of the plants as they were growing and the following day I took a cutting indoors to take a selection of photographs of the whole plant and the flowers in a 'studio' setting.

Looking at my reference books and field guide my best guess is that it may be a 'common mouse-ear' but the leaves are not as hairy as the field guides suggest. The anthers are a pale blue whereas other specimens are yellow. I would be grateful if anyone can positively identify it.

Shown here are some of the results - more can be seen in the wildflower section of the environment gallery.

The first picture shows a complete flower - it is less than 1/2" across. I think this is a really beautiful flower close-up, but plain looking when seen from a distance.

The second image below is a crop from another photograph - this gets in closer to the centre of the flower. I do love the pale grey-blue anthers and how they contrast with the green parts.




This third picture shows a flower bud just starting to open - it could only be a about 1/4" long. Note the fine transparent hairs on the sepals and stem - many of these end in a fine ball. which you can just make out.




Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: Canon 17-85mm IS lens for the outside photos, an older 100mm macro for the 'studio' shots
Sensitivity: ISO200
Exposure: Outside: Aperture priority with the camera on auto. -1/3 stop was required, typically 1/40 @ f9.
Inside: 1/200 @f16 with flash diffused through a 'Lastolite' screen.
Lighting: Outside - Natural light in the evening shade. -Inside diffused flash
Other: The 'Studio' is a home-made unit made from a cardboard box.

First visit to a Tropical Butterfly House

A couple of weeks ago I made my first visit to a local tropical butterfly centre to take some photos. This was, for me, a bit of an exploratory visit to see what the photographic conditions were like and to see how good I could get the photos.

To be honest, it was hard work. When we got there it was quite overcast so the light levels were quite low, and lower still inside the 'house' - this was basically a polytunnel: a structure made of a sheet of polythene stretched over a set of hoops set into the ground.

When we got there, as we we the first visitors, the owner turned the heating on to warm up the butterflies so they would fly about. This had two effects: as it was so humid the lens on my camera kept steaming up, and the butterflies started flying much faster.

The quality of the photos ended up lower than I would have hoped for - too low to produce a decent print, but just about good enough to show on the web. Next time I will consider taking a flashgun although the photographs would not be so natural looking.

The first butterfly shown above was a 'Postman' - Heliconius melpomone. It was explained that there were two sub-species of these from two different areas. This is a 'classic' view of a butterfly showing its colourings.

The second picture below is a head-on view of one feeding. I think it is an ' Emperor Swallowtail' - Papilio ophidicephalus. One of the wings is slightly blurred as they often flapped whilst they were feeding.




This third photograph is also an Emperor Swallowtail feeding. The view is different as it is 3/4-on. The wings are blurred as it flaps it wings. This was a common problem when I was taking the photos - they just wouldn't keep still for long. This is an older butterfly - you can see that the wings are getting quite tatty.



More photographs can be seen in the butterfly section of the 'Wales' picture gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: Canon 17-85mm IS lens.
Sensitivity: ISO1600
Exposure: Aperture priority with the camera on auto. No override was required. Typically 1/200 @ f8.
Lighting: Natural light but very overcast.

The Beach at Ynyslas

The subject this week is totally different - not a wild flower in sight!
It was a fine afternoon on Friday (we have not had many this summer), so we decided to visit a beach about 30 miles away that we have not been to before. It is one of those places we have always been meaning to visit but never got round to.

The beach is at a place called Ynyslas which is about 13 miles or so north of the university town of Aberystwyth in Mid-Wales. Most of the shore area is a nature reserve although the road leading to it goes past a golf course that is amongst or behind the sand dunes.

The area is very flat as it is part of the estuary of the river Dovey that flows down from the nearby mountains of north and mid Wales. Along the edge of the beach are established sand dunes. Behind the dunes the land is quite marshy although where the road ends, cars park on the sand without any problems (although there are warning signs that they could get flooded at high tide!)

We wandered around enjoying the views, the sun and the sea. The tide was out so we were able to walk out a hundred yard or more. I took quite a few photos of plants, the dunes and the beach.

One of the things that fascinated me was ripples in the sand that the retreating water had left. The way the sun shone on them gave a glorious silver and blue image. The first photograph shows the distinct ripples in the sand.

The second photo shows some more ripples of sand and water in a small area that was an inch or two lower than the surrounding sand.




Also on the beach was some driftwood - not the sawn planks that you often see, but trunks of a tree. One specimen had a wonderful etched surface texture that was covered in the golden grains of sand - I show a close-up below.


More photographs can be seen in the seashore section of the 'Miscellaneous' picture gallery.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: Canon 17-85mm IS lens for the outdoor image.
Sensitivity: ISO200 and 400 (the 400 was a mistake!)
Exposure: Aperture priority with the camera on auto. No override was required.
Outdoor Lighting: Natural light.

Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)

This week I am featuring another wild meadow flower, the Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus). I have had quite a run of photos of wild flowers but I think it is getting to a time for a change - even though I have many more to show. If I get time, I will work on some different topics over the coming weeks.

This plant has been quite a common site in our meadows this year, along with other legumes and vetches. I do not know if it is something to do with how we have manged the fields, or if it just a 'good year' for them, but there has been a fine show of all these plants.

The first picture was taken in the cardboard box 'studio' that I use to take many close-up photos (I must get abound to writing up how I made and use this). It is a nice study of the two flowers on a stem showing flowers both full-face and in profile.

The second picture below is from further pack to show the leaves of the plant. This has less 'artistic merit' but is taken, like many of the photographs, to show different aspects of the plants.




This third image shows a small group of the plants in the meadow. It is intended to show the plant in its natural environment.


You can see more photographs of the Birdsfoot trefoil in the flora section of the Environment gallery.


Technical details:
Camera: Canon EOS350D
Lens: older Canon 100mm macro lens, for the close-ups. 17-85mm IS lens for the outdoor image.
Sensitivity: ISO200
Exposure: Studio -1/200 F16 with ETTL flashgun
Indoor Lighting: Off camera flashgun diffused through a Lastolite diffuser.
Outdoor Lighting: Natural light.
Other: Those taken indoors are in a 'studio' made from a cardboard box