Irish Burnet Rose, Rosa spinosissima (Briúlán)
Sigma SD15, 15mm-30mm lens, iso 50
Irish Burnet Rose, Rosa spinosissima (Briúlán)
Irish Nature photography by : Nigel Borrington
Rosa spinosissima (Briúlán)
A walk along a woodland path or river bank at this time of year will give you a wonderful view of Ireland wild flowers, yesterday I photographed these wild roses.
“This little rose is such a delight to find, usually on sandy soil, limestone pavements and grassy heaths. It’s an erect, bushy shrub, about 50cm in height with numerous straight thorns and stiff bristles. Its pretty 3-5cm flowers can be white, cream or pink and are comprised of five heart-shaped petals. They flower from May to August after which the bush displays its fruit in spherical, purplish-black hips which still have the remnants of the sepals at their tops. The leaves are 3-5 pairs of small rounded leaflets. This shrub usually sheds its leaves in winter. It is a native plant belonging to the family Rosaceae. There are some microspecies. ”
Ref : Wildflowers of Ireland
Sigma SD15, 15mm-30mm lens, iso 50
Irish Burnet Rose, Rosa spinosissima (Briúlán)
Irish Nature photography by : Nigel Borrington
Sigma SD15, 15mm-30mm lens, iso 50
Irish Burnet Rose, Rosa spinosissima (Briúlán)
Irish Nature photography by : Nigel Borrington
Hoverflies : Well its only nature
Nikon D7000, 105mm Macro lens, iso 100
Two hover-flies
Nature photography : Nigel Borrington
Hoverflies
Hoverflies, sometimes called flower flies or syrphid flies, make up the insect family Syrphidae. As their common name suggests, they are often seen hovering or nectaring at flowers; the adults of many species feed mainly on nectar and pollen, while the larvae (maggots) eat a wide range of foods. In some species, the larvae are saprotrophs, eating decaying plant and animal matter in the soil or in ponds and streams. In other species, the larvae are insectivores and prey on aphids, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects.
Aphids alone cause tens of millions of dollars of damage to crops worldwide every year; because of this, aphidophagous hoverflies are being recognized as important natural enemies of pests, and potential agents for use in biological control. Some adult syrphid flies are important pollinators.
About 6,000 species in 200 genera have been described. Hoverflies are common throughout the world and can be found on all continents except Antarctica. Hoverflies are harmless to most other animals despite their mimicry of more dangerous wasps and bees, which serves to ward off predators.
Flowers on the river bank
Nikon D7000, 85mm focus length, iso 200
Flowers on the banks of the River Barrow, Co.Kilkenny
Kilkenny photography, Nigel Borrington
I took this image yesterday, while walking along the banks of the river Barrow here in County Kilkenny. There had been a shower just before I got out of the car but the weather and the temperature afterwards was like a head wave for Ireland !
The bronze crabs of Galway bay
Nikon D700, 105mm macro lens, iso 400
Crab shell at Galway bay
Nature photography, Kilkenny photographer : Nigel Borrington
I came across these grab shells on a beach at the far end of Galway bay last year and there were hundreds of them, crabs molt their shells every time they have out grown them, some people think that this is at the turn of a new moon.
A Poem :
A Green Crab’s Shell
by Mark Doty
Not, exactly, green:
closer to bronze
preserved in kind brine,
something retrieved
from a Greco-Roman wreck,
patinated and oddly
muscular. We cannot
know what his fantastic
legs were like–
though evidence
suggests eight
complexly folded
scuttling works
of armament, crowned
by the foreclaws’
gesture of menace
and power. A gull’s
gobbled the center,
leaving this chamber
–size of a demitasse–
open to reveal
a shocking, Giotto blue.
Though it smells
of seaweed and ruin,
this little traveling case
comes with such lavish lining!
Imagine breathing
surrounded by
the brilliant rinse
of summer’s firmament.
What color is
the underside of skin?
Not so bad, to die,
if we could be opened
into this–
if the smallest chambers
of ourselves,
similarly,
revealed some sky.
Nikon D700, 105mm macro lens, iso 400
Crab shell at Galway bay
Nature photography : Nigel Borrington
Adult Tanner crab mating
Crabs (and other crustaceans) cannot grow in a linear fashion like most animals. Because they have a hard outer shell (the exoskeleton) that does not grow, they must shed their shells, a process called molting. Just as we outgrow our clothing, crabs outgrow their shells. Prior to molting, a crab reabsorbs some of the calcium carbonate from the old exoskeleton, then secretes enzymes to separate the old shell from the underlying skin (or epidermis). Then, the epidermis secretes a new, soft, paper-like shell beneath the old one. This process can take several weeks.
A morning walk for Molly
I love this time of year, we get up early and go for a walk in the woods….
The paths have turned so green and full of life…..
The Hawthorn flowers are all out and looking their best…
Its so warm already, I have to go slower than in the winter. This gives me time however to look at so much….
The clover
All the new leafs
Even the seed heads…
Finally a slow walk up the hill…
I was 10 last weekend, so I really enjoy a sit down and a long look at the view.
Thank you for sharing my morning with me.
Flowers on the river bank
Nikon D200, 50mm f1.8 lens, iso200
Flowers on the River Nore, county kilkenny
Kilkenny photographer : Nigel Borrington
Flowers an in depth look.
Nikon D200, 50mm f1.8 lens
This afternoon has turned into a wonderful day :), the weather here in Ireland has gone from spring to almost summer like in one week and everything is coming to life. I went out with Molly our Golden retriever after lunch for a walk along the river bank and there are flowers coming out every step you take.
As always I had a camera with me and took lots of images, its always fun with flower beds to play with lens depth of field and the panel of images below shows the effects of Lens apertures f8 upto f1.8 on image depth.
Nikon D200, 50mm f1.8 lens
More images from this walk to follow….
Rosebuds of May
Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens
White rosebuds and flowers
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
I love this time of year, our hedgerow is coming alive with all kinds of life, these white wild roses are just one wonderful example.
Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens
White rosebuds and flowers
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
When these Roses come out each year they are always wonderful to look at but they last such a short time, I would love it if they flowered all summer…
A Poem by :Robert Herrick
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day,
To-morrow will be dying.
The glorious Lamp of Heaven, the Sun,
The higher he’s a-getting
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.
That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer:
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times, still succeed the former.
Then, be not coy, but use your time;
And while ye may, go marry:
For having lost but once your prime,
You may for ever tarry.
Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens
White rosebuds and flowers
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
Nikon D700, 50mm f1.4 lens
White rosebuds and flowers
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
Simple things
Nikon D7000, 200mm Focus lenght
Seed heads
Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
When I am out and about with my camera, it is often the simplest of natures things that attract my attention…
Family of swans
Nikon D200, 200mm focus length, iso 400
Swan family at Heywood Gardens, Ballinakill, Co. Laois
Irish wildlife photography : Nigel Borrington
I took this images on a visit to Heywood Gardens, County Laois, two years ago and then place some of the photographs into an exhibition held in Callan, Co. Kilkenny the same year.
Heywood Gardens are not vast, but they offer one of Ireland’s most private wildlife locations.
Studying the Bee
Nikon D7000, 50mm f1.4 lens, iso400
A Bee study
Nigel Borrington
The Irish National Biodiversity Data Centre is one of the best resources you can get, if you want to do some wildlife photography.
You can use the on-line map to find the locations of any wildlife you are looking for.
This is the link for Bees and it contains plenty of valuable information, you can also log your own personal findings by setting up an account and adding your own data.
Of woodland places
Fujifilm X100, 35mm lens, f4, iso 500
Irish woodland nature photography
Nigel Borrington
Sometimes its the most simple of things that interest me the most when out with my camera, yesterday evening for example, just taking time to stop and notice springtime in its hight …..
Fujifilm X100, 35mm lens, f4, iso 500
Irish woodland nature photography
Nigel Borrington
This is wild woodland sorrel I describe it here : woodland sorrel
Wild Woodbine
Wild Woodbine
Joan McBreen
Wild woodbine was beyond my reach
in the thick hedges round Lough Gill.
The heavy scent filled the house for days
when my father brought it in
and it stayed fresh far longer
then meadowsweet.
Because I loved the delicate
pink and white wild rose
he picked it too, cursing the thorns, muttering
“it dies too soon,
you’d be better leaving it alone”.
Yet once, when my mother
swept its petals from the floor
I saw him rescue one
and place it carefully
in the small wallet
where he kept her photograph.
Liverpool
A weekend in Liverpool, Sometime back….
Ablert docks – Saturday Morning
Liverpool Cathedral – getting ready for Christmas
The Cavern – Home of the Beatles
Images from a weekend I spent in Liverpool sometime back….
Also… Along with many others (Thank you!) I received a very kind comment from Paul Scribbles about my McCarthys hotel post and Ilfords film so these are more for yourselve Paul, Ilfords XP2 using a Nikon Fm2n..
Scanning Nature
Photo challenge
photography a definition
n.
1. the process in art of producing images of objects on sensitized surfaces by the chemical action of light or of other forms of radiant energy.
Over the last few years I have listened to many opinions from all levels of photographers and artists relating to what they think photography actually is, people with big photography studios to others with camera phones and Ipads.
Among this collection of people are people who put themselves firmly into one seat or the other.
Personally I think that photography is the use of any device to produce an image that people like including yourself.
As I kid I remember getting a packet of photo paper from the photography teacher at school and placing an oak leaf over it then placing them both on a window ledge in the sun for a minute or so. I then put the paper back in a black bag and fixed the image in the school dark room. I did one of my photography projects that year based on this and never laid my hands on a camera for it.
So last autumn I returned to this concept and collected as much as I could find from our local woods and hedgerows and using a scanner created the following set of images.
If you would like to have a go all you need is a scanner and old shoe box and some black spray paint and paper. The black paint is for the inside of the shoe box (Spray two or three coats until fully black) the paper you lay on top of the upside down box as follows.
Place your selected object on the scanner screen and cover this with the upside down shoe box, the black paper covers this, it needs to be A3 in size for an A4 scanner. The edged border you see around my scanned objects is the edged of the shoe box.
So my school project comes of age and into the digital world!
Nigel Borrington 
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