Bdelloid rotifer

 From a sample of standing water in the garden. 

A Bdelloid rotifer and red algae

There Stood a Mighty Oak

 Taken a few years back at Stockton on Tees, a big oak tree stood by the river Tees. 

A little moth and a big spider

 Couple of visitors the other day, first an Orange Swift which I photographed with a new macro light set up I got from SRB.

A couple of days later there appeared a small brown moth which I got IDed as Light Brown Apple Moth

Then in the evening my daughter spotted a spider near the back door. It had been a very hot day, 30°C plus, and this chap had managed to find himself a drink.

A Special Event

 A partial solar eclipse happened today. 

Beginning around 7pm we got a partial eclipse with 92% coverage.

It was cloudy for most of it but I got a couple of images, first using a home made pinhole lens, (camera body cap with small hole taped over larger hole underneath)

Then I used my 75-300 at 300mm with a polariser and exposure of 1/8000 sec at f45.

Fly on the shed

 Had to get low with my Canon IXUS and point and hope. 

Gulls in the street

 And a pigeon... 

Had a go at photographing the gulls flying around the houses. Using the 75-300 at the long end, manual focus. I don't photograph birds in flight very often and and I  thought I'd give it a go. I tried one shot with autofocus, but I found for most shots manual is good preferable.

Some mono shots

 Seeing as Deviant Art has gone belly up I have downloaded some older black and white photos before I lose them. 

Talking of binoculars...

 Back when I was 14 I think my mom bought me a pair of Russian 8x30s. They were my first pair of bins and they came with yellow filters for the eyepieces (I never used them). The eyepieces themselves were awkward if you wore glasses,, as I did. Fold down eye cups weren't a thing back in the early 80s. So I would use them by looking over my glasses, and enjoying the views. I can remember it like it was yesterday! Later I removed the hard eyecups and made my own using sticky backed foam. Then the left ocular came out and I messed around with the arrangement of the glass elements, which was quite interesting.

Anyway I've kept those binoculars and even though over the years the screws have got a bit rusty and the left ocular has become lost (I'm blind in that eye anyway) I still have them and they are still very sharp, and quick to focus. Russians built things to last! I wonder how long my Bresser Hunters will last! 

Fly Wing

 From a prepared slide at 40x and 100x.

I need to look closer...

More micro stuff

 My partner bought me some prepared slides. Not bad quality too! 

Here's a few snippets

Onion skin

Water flea

Bee leg

My binos

 Having tried numerous options for bird spotting/star gazing I've settled on these Bresser Hunter 7x50s. Great pair of binoculars, very sharp and lightweight. 

Micro worlds

 Got myself a new microscope and I've been exploring. 

Some cyanobacteria:

A rotifer shell:

Some white  mold from a Strawberry:

Some macro shots

 Some flower shots from the garden. 

Used a Pentax 50mm lens reversed onto my Canon 5D mkII for 1:1 macro 

Revisiting an old book

 Years ago I borrowed a library book on pond life and was fascinated by what I might see. I remember seeing Spirogyra and hoping to see it one day for myself

Years later I found, if not the same book, but one very similar on Abebooks so I bought it.

And sure enough, Spirogyra is in there. Along with lots of mini beasts.

Moths

 Some moths I've spotted over the last few years.

Silver Y, Magpie moth, Willow Beauty,  Footman, Juniper Carpet 

Little spider

 My daughter found a dead spider, so I popped it under the scope at 20x