I Love August For...


... garden wildlife

I once referred to August as a drowsling month, where the air is slow moving and the garden is taking an afternoon nap, lulled by the background hum of bees, hoverflies and suchlike. When I look through my photographs from previous years, there's a definite increase in my attempts to capture my garden's wildlife on camera in August. Perhaps this reflects more time I spend in the garden rather than gardening?

It usually ends in frustration as my point and shoot camera simply isn't up to the job - as far as the pictures formed in my mind's eye are concerned anyway. The wildlife I want to capture is either too small (the insects), or too far away (mainly birds, but the odd squirrel and badger is known to frequent these parts) to be anything but a small dot in the final result.

I hope this is about to change as I have a shiny new camera. For years I've argued with myself about getting a DSLR as I already have 2 bulky film SLRs plus a compact digital camera. The first 2 are no longer used (and I miss them) and the latter is ideal for slipping into a pocket or bag for taking photos on the move.

Whilst on the whole I'm relatively happy with what it provides for my blog, I frequently find myself gnashing my teeth in frustration, especially when I find myself shooting blind on a sunny day. It's click the shutter and hope I have something decent, especially at shows like Chelsea.

So, I've finally taken the plunge and I LOVE my new camera. It's early days yet re taking the pictures I want, but I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to get there.

The picture is of a dragonfly which took a liking recently to the tallest of 3 rusted metal bulrushes (aka reedmace, cattails or Typha latifolia) I 'planted' as part of my makeover of the double terrace beds. I can see plenty of flaws with the result, but it's 100% better than anything else I've managed so far with my other digital cameras :)

What do you love about August?

Comments

  1. Sue Garrett2 August 2014 at 09:58

    Which camera did you go for?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP4 August 2014 at 07:57

      It's a Canon Rebel T5i - I'm amazed how light the new slrs are compared to my film ones.

      Delete
  2. petoskystone2 August 2014 at 16:02

    Those wings are glistening with beauty!

    ReplyDelete
  3. CJ2 August 2014 at 21:15

    A new camera, how exciting. That's a lovely shot, I know what you mean about spotting more garden wildlife in the summer, I find that too. I hope you enjoy the new camera, it's always fun to be inspired by a new thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP4 August 2014 at 08:00

      It's a lot of fun :-)

      Delete
    2. VP4 August 2014 at 08:01

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  4. Shirley2 August 2014 at 22:41

    I get what you mean on the slow-mo and hums of the garden in August. I love the life in the air seen everywhere you look.

    I could say I love August for more sightings of butterflies, I do, but that’s not what I think of first for August.

    I wish for clear night skies in August, as I love August for the Perseid meteor shower activity which is to peak on the 12th-13th this year. I find this absolutely mesmerising to watch tinged with disappointment if we get cloudy skies. I love following the meteor showers through tweets with photos live in the evenings too :-)

    That’s a nice pic from your new camera – enjoy experimenting with it. Looking forward to seeing your results here :-D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP4 August 2014 at 08:03

      Thanks for the reminder re the perseids - hopefully it'll be warm enough to lie out in the garden to spot them

      Delete
  5. Linda4 August 2014 at 04:47

    I love August because I can count the days to September!!!! THAT'S my FAVORITE month!! 28 days and a wake up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP4 August 2014 at 08:05

      Hopefully you'll come back in September to tell us why September is so special :-)

      Delete
  6. Anonymous4 August 2014 at 16:04

    I know just what you mean about SLRs, I really miss mine too. I insisted that my small digital had a viewfinder (so that I wouldn't spend my time squinting at a sun-drenched screen) and then realised it wasn't much cop because (unlike an SLR) it didn't show me exactly what I was looking at. Looking forward to more super photos from you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous5 August 2014 at 13:30

    What kind of camera did you end up buying? I must say I love my Nikon D90. I've tried other cameras, and they're just not up to the task. Even my point and shoot computerized slr, the Nikon V1. Did you get a Nifty 50 lens for yours too?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anna6 August 2014 at 21:56

    Snap! I think that we have the same camera but mine has the Canon EOS 700D name tag. Did you get yours on your recent trip to the States? I'm still have the L plates on and am still relying on my older camera too much. I suppose that it's a matter of getting familiar with the new. Have fun :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Donna7 August 2014 at 20:02

    good luck with the new camera

    ReplyDelete

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