Solifuge

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f8, ISO160, flash

The summer temperatures are slowly climbing as we move into the New Year, and so the camel spiders or solifuges are coming out to prowl in the heat.

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f8, ISO160, flash

This hairy fellow looks frightening, and he is frightening and very fast as they run across the ground hoping to bump into something to eat, but rest assured they have no venom.

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f8, ISO160, flash

Then again, with jaws as powerful as these you don't need any venom to overpower your prey.  These are fascinating creatures, not spiders, not scorpions but a species somewhere in between - there are over 1000 different types of solifuges.

Spring day hike

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/100, f7.1, ISO160

 While hiking on the Pat Busch Private Nature Reserve recently, I snapped a few photographs of what late spring had to offer from ferns....

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/200, f8, ISO250

 ...to these beautiful blue flowers...

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/320, f8, ISO160 

...and these wild iris-like flowers growing along the stream...

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/250, f8, ISO160 

...to the amazing warm texture of this driftwood washed down from the forests...

Pentax K5, Tamron 17-50mm, 1/180, f13, ISO160

...to this gnarled & stunted tree pushing up through a pile of enormous boulders.

Tiny Thief

 Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f7.1, ISO800

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/160, f7.1, ISO800

A few days ago I heard feeble scratching coming from somewhere in the pantry, after a careful search I found this tiny thief in the dog food bag.  He is seriously diminutive, compare him to the size of the cubes and you'll see what I mean.  I took him outside and let him go in the garden safe & sound, I even gave him a few cubes to take home :)

Never a dull moment on the farm with Cape cobras on one side and tiny shrews & mice on the other.

Nosy Parker

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/200, f9, ISO800 

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/100, f10, ISO400

 

Pentax K5, Tamron 90mm Macro, 1/200, f8, ISO800

Found this Nosy Parker in the office this morning, somehow he fell into the dustbin and couldn't get out.  I grabbed the bin, grabbed my K5 and headed into the garden for a macro photoshoot.  (No shrews were harmed in the posting of this blog)

The elephant shrew is native to Africa, and lives on a strict diet of insects which it sniffs out with its elephant like nose and then devours ferociously.  Apparently this is one of the fiercest creatures on the continent, attacking at the slightest provocation and preferring to fight than flee.  Luckily for us it is only a tiny little mammal otherwise we'd live in constant fear :) 

Beautiful Scales

Perhaps peculiar subject matter, but on a recent fishing trip I took these macros of a Carp's scales (no, I didn't catch it, I had a terrible fishing weekend......luckily the campers next to us knew what they were doing!)

Bumble Bee

Probably one of the most photographed flowers & subjects, here is a bumble bee visiting a water lily.

They are Red

If there is anything to say about this macro image of a blood red rose..............then it is only to describe its beauty and to dedicate it to my mother-in-law who shares the same name.

Little Bells

I don't know why, but I love this simple image of tiny little flowers on a fresh, verdant background.

Alien Flower in colour this time

I've posted this image before in B&W, but in colour it just seems stranger, perhaps something like a Passion Fruit flower.  This was found on the shores of the Breede River in the Cape, growing on the sandy banks.

Clock-spring

It has been pretty hot lately, so I thought I'd freshen things up with this young clock-spring fern frond.

2010 - The Year of Great Expectations

Happy New Year and all of the very best for 2010.  Hopefully with South Africa hosting the World Cup of Soccer 2010 I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunity to sparkle, regardless of how hard & multi-faceted the problems.

Red Dragon

Dragonfly, what amazing little creatures.

Sea life

Photographed these two anenomes at Arniston during low tide............its a whole new world under the waves.

Roses are Red

Red is one of the most difficult colours to reproduce accurately, be that in print or on screen.  This is one of the first images taken with my new Pentax K7, all things considered it is a superb dslr.  I believe the results speak for themselves.

Honey

Farm fresh honey from our own hives, sweet and golden - apparently this is the only natural product which does not go bad......so by that thinking it must be good for us?

Lambs

Flowers for my wife