Solstice Sun

Getting used to seasonal shifts in daylight hours has been one of the hardest things to adapt to since moving to Europe. Although I spent many years in New Zealand when I was young, I lived near the equator long enough to develop a preference for daylight hours of equal length all year round. Still, being dragged comatose around the countryside by the dog early every morning means I'm still guaranteed to get a small dose of sunshine every day.

It's always summer in Provence

Time to shed the heavy coats and get a welcome respite from the northern winter in southern France.



Vergeze, a small village in the South of France

The fungus among us

Autumn microcosm in a northern French wood
Learning to identify edible mushrooms has been one of those things that has floated about on my personal to-do list for many years.
Still, for starters I do know which one of these was the shamen's 'shroom of choice...

Carefree

According to a new government census India's tiger population has fallen drastically during the past five years, with poaching and urbanisation cited as the probable reasons for the decline.

Tigers are poached for their body parts - skins are prized for fashion and tiger bones are used for oriental medicines. India is home to 40% of the world's tigers, with 23 tiger reserves in 17 states.

Yanomama in motion

The Ocelot (Felis pardalis) is a small cat from Central and South America.
The name "ocelot" comes from the Mexican Aztec word "tlalocelot" meaning field tiger.

The mysteries of the garden shed

50mm lenses can make anything look interesting

Chaos and Insects

If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.

E.O. Wilson

Enjoy England?

Margate, not the best seaside town England has to offer.
Being an Aussie gal, I'm probably particularly fussy about beaches

All in a row

In the mysterious shell grotto - ooooooh!
Margate - Kent

Botany Bay

Kent that is, not Australia

Pastorale

Sheep and apples in the Kent countryside, UK

Cairns birdwing butterfly

Cairns birdwing butterfly, originally uploaded by Nyx.

Kuranda butterfly sanctuary, Queensland

In the jungle

In the jungle, originally uploaded by Nyx.

One of my nicer self portraits...Do I look tranquil? Well I'm trying not to be eaten by mosquitos!

Wee willy wagtail

Wee willy wagtail, originally uploaded by Nyx.

Millaa Millaa

The unchanged Millaa Millaa cliché shot, originally uploaded by Nyx.

Queensland, Australia

Tree fern

Tree fern, originally uploaded by Nyx.

50mm lens - much better with the low light conditions encoutered in the rainforest

Bushfire

Bushfire, originally uploaded by Nyx.

Lethal

Crocs ahoy, originally uploaded by Nyx.

Love the expression and shadows here

Road trains at sunset

Road trains at sunset, originally uploaded by Nyx.

Road trains are the most common forms of goods transport in Australia. Huge trucks covering large distances every week.

Magnetic termite mounds

Magnetic termite mounds, originally uploaded by Nyx.

Selling tradition

Artist, originally uploaded by Nyx.

At the local Darwin beach markets, Australia

Tyger

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?


William Blake 1794

Canterbury

Canterbury on a warm midsummers night...and day

Jousting Horse

Hever Castle, Kent

The Red Knight

At this moment her thoughts were interrupted by a loud shouting of `Ahoy! Ahoy! Check!' and a Knight dressed in crimson armour came galloping down upon her, brandishing a great club. Just as he reached her, the horse stopped suddenly: `You're my prisoner!' the Knight cried, as he tumbled off his horse.

Lewis Carroll

Birthday Robot

Perfect gift for a 30-something woman

Bunnykins

I only recently discovered that rabbits were introduced into the UK by the Romans

On safari in the english countryside

Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is a species of antelope found mainly in India, but also in parts of Pakistan and Nepal. This was taken on the safari tour circuit where I work.

14th July Fireworks

Composite shot - It's hard to get a bunch of fireworks to properly fill the frame!
Bastille Day commemorates the 1790 Fete de la Federation held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation

Wanderer returns

I like how the lamp resembles the sun...or maybe the moon!

Desert Island Coral

Tideline

Mangrove fruit on a deserted island
Northern Territory Coastal Waters

Scuttle!

Some beach biota

Forest kingfisher

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark...

Crossing the Bar, Alfred Tennyson

Nabulwinjbulwinj....go on, try to pronounce it!

Dangerous spirit who eats females after striking them with a yam.
Seriously, hitting chicks with a yam?

Landscape

The ancient landscape of the wet-dry tropics. Ubirr - Kakadu National Park

Rock Formations

I loved the look of these rocks, they almost look like sinking ships

Typically Australian

Mataranka, NT Australia

Wallaby

Katherine Gorge, NT Australia

Apostlebirds

mean looking creatures, but funny!
They get their name from their tendency to hang out in groups of about twelve

Litoria meriana

Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu - Australia

Butterfly mirror

Symmetry in nature

Space Age Views

A very retro set of binoculars, Darwin Australia

Waterfall

everybody take a picture!

Northern Territory birdlife

I lived in Northern Australia for about 12 years in total, and spent a lot of that time out in the bush, surrounded by amazing colours, diverse nature and raw beauty. I was always interested in photography, and have had a camera kicking around for as long as I can remember but like a lot of people the cost of film could be a bit offputting when you were still working it all out.
I had so much fun cramming in 13 lost years into a one month holiday, but at the same time I quite regretted that I hadn't go into photography earlier. It was amazing to see how much easier it is to photograph wild birds in Australia as compared with Europe. All of these shots used nothing more powerful than a 200mm lens and a bit of cropping.



Striated pardalote - open eucalypt woodland, Litchfield National Park



Egret at Yellow waters wetland. Kakadu National Park



White bellied sea eagle along the coastal mangroves



Sulphur crested cockatoo in a flowering woollybutt tree


Whiskered tern
Lame joke from the boat guide:
Why do you always see terns in pairs?
Because one good tern deserves another (groan)