First Frost

Some time ago i hosted the very succesfull Roe Deer workshops during their rut season. As i was working with the Roe Deer at the time i got the idea to return when the first snow or frost would appear this fall or winter. Last night the weather report gave some first nightly frost so this was the right moment.



So this morning when i arrived i went to look for the Roe Deer and after some searching i was able to find them in one of their area's. The moorland was covered in white ans there was a thick layer of fog hanging over the field wich created a wonderful atmosphere and i was glad i got out of bed at 06.30 hours.


The Roe Deer where perhaps not as cooperative as they where during the rut season but i still managed to get some decent shots and they let me get as close as 20 meters from them so my day was spent well..



Later this morning the sun started to shine and the light and atmosphere changed completely resulting in another setting and i was able to get some more shots in that light again before returning home.





Hope you have enjoyed viewing these Roe Deer images again and next week i will be off to southern France to host a week long photographic holiday and i am ofcourse looking very much forward to that event wich i will surely report more of on this weblog in a later stage.

Silver Y Moth Study

I have not been out much lately due to preperation of workshops and personal stuff. Today the light was stunning and i would have liked to go out but as it is "daddy-day" i was bound to our backyard. That is not a punishment as one can always find interesting subjects close to home. And so i did when i found this Siver Y Moth this morning and was able to turn it into a case study..


When i am working on a certain subject i always try to get very different images by using several viewpoints and lenses. In this case i used the Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macor lens and a Canon MPE-65mm F2.8 extreme Macro lens combined with the Canon MT 24 EX Twin Flash for some fill flash light (especially with the baclit images).
I love shooting backlit images but beware of flare and make sure you use a flash for some fill in light on your subject without loosing that all important rim of ligt on the subjects edges.


But also a plain "light in your back" situation can provide some interesting images. In that case try to render a uniform background by using the widest possible aperture in order to focus the attention on your subject without losing detail in the subject.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSnakes

I have been out to photograph the autumn migration of the Dutch Snakes. There are actually 3 species of Snake in The Netherlands being the Grass Snake (Natrix natrix), the Adder (Vipera berus) and the hardly known or seen Smooth Snake (Coronella austriaca).Migration sounds like they are heading south but what i mean by that is that most Snakes are returning to their winter den after giving birth to the youngsters in the moorland.



So let's start with the Grass Snake. A beautiful snake wich is often recognized by it's yellow collar. Contrary to popular belief the Grass Snake is not venomous. It does have some small fangs in the back of it's mouth but the venom within them is only used for digestion and is not dangerous to humans. It is also the largest snake we have groing up to more then 1 meter in length (allthough the specimens i found where just 20 cm long juveniles...) As this one was in slough it's eyes seem somehwat blue and obscured.







Then there is the Adder.This species of Snake is venomous and if you are bitten by one you won't die at the spot but getting to a hospital for anti venom is seriously advised. This snake is easily recognised by the square pattern on it's back and the vertical pupil instead of a round pupil like the other two species have. Adders are found within moorland and around small woodland ponds or dry tall grassland in forest area's.







For those of you who have not seen them yet i did a topic on Adders befor on this blog, see: http://jeroenstel.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html

Then the last one of the herpatological threesome is the rarest and most unknown we have the Smooth Snake. Unlike the other two this one des not have scales but has a smooth skin hence it's name. Where the other Snake species need warmer weather and a clouded sky with tempertures of around 15 to 18 degrees to be seen. This Snake get's out after a nice rain shower and lives a secretive life. That is the reason most people never get to see it or have not heard of it's excistance. A lovely Snake nevertheless ans one that has been high on my wishlist for several years.



Also the Smooth Snake has been covered before on this blog, see: http://jeroenstel.blogspot.com/2009/04/smoothy-anyone.html

Then last but not least there is another "Snake"...or isn't it...? Nope it is not...
The Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis) is not actually a Snake. It is a legless Lizzard and if you take a good look at it's head it resembles a Lizzard more then a Snake. This legless Lizzard is also living in wood- and moorland and is very slick and shiny and often seen crossing footpaths in forests.




And as i had so much fun photographing these beautifull animals here are some more shots fro the recent sessions of Hollands slippery 3...(or actually 4..)