{"id":2337,"date":"2012-07-21T23:07:50","date_gmt":"2012-07-21T22:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/archives\/2337"},"modified":"2013-11-04T19:16:14","modified_gmt":"2013-11-04T19:16:14","slug":"getting-out-the-macro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/getting-out-the-macro\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting out the Macro"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Hard as it is to believe, we really do seem to have seen the back of the bad weather. It was mainly sunshine today, and the forecast is for a mini heatwave next week. Long overdue, but very welcome. The dry weather also meant that it was time to tidy up the garden (or at least cut the grass). Inevitably I kept a camera close by. The macro lens got the most use.
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OK, a cat is not the typical macro subject, but this is the most regular of the local cats and often settles down in a corner of the garden. More typical and appropriate since I was cutting the grass (or should that be 'their grass') is this grasshopper.
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I've no idea what these tiny bugs are.
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The next shot is a much easier identification. It's a slow worm which I found sleeping in a quiet corner.
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These next two shots were more of a challenge, not least because when the moth landed on me I happened to have a 400mm lens attached to the camera body. There was no way I was going to get far enough away to use that lens (minimum focus distance around 10'), so I had to switch to the macro without disturbing the moth, which had settled just above my ankle. It's a magpie moth (Abraxus grossulariata<\/i>).
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That was the first shot. After various contortions I managed this.
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The evening has once again been quiet. The foxes are about (the trailcam has the evidence), but their behaviour has undoubtedly changed over the past week or so. Adult foxes are more apparent at night, and the cubs less so (though occasionally showing up with one of the adults). It's a little too early in teh season for the adults to be evicting the young (dispersal usually takes place in autumn as old and young foxes start to compete for territory). The fact that we have a large other mammal making good use of the garden may have something to do with it. Foxes are wary of badgers, and while they are unlikely to be attacked they may be taking precautionary measures. This clip includes a brief appearance of one of the adult foxes.<\/p>\n