Basketweave Bobby

OK, so I got bored as it is freezing outside. I though I would have a play with the free PS filter plug-in "AAA Blender"
 
which can be found .HERE. Included with the plug-in are a few border / frame masks and backgrounds but more frame masks can be downloaded from HERE and more texture backgrounds from Textureking HERE.

This is the result of using a basketweave texture and then adding a frame mask in the AAA Blender filter.



Yesterday I was really pleased to see a small group of Long-tailed Tits arrive in the garden. The first sighting for well over a year. Now the early morning temperature is around 0C I have the usual gathering of Blackbirds. Just as it started to get light I counted at least eleven around the back garden. It's about the only time I see so many males together without furious squabbles. Talking of birds squabbling - if you haven't seen Keith's video of Green Woodpeckers disputing a feeding area then it is well worth nipping over to "Caldecotte Lake - Dancing Woodpeckers" where Keith was fortunate enough to take some video of this unusual and rarely seen activity.

Cold but Nice Sunrise

Plenty of frost and ice about this morning but with few clouds in the sky there was a colourful sunrise for a short while. The view from my front door - minus telephone wires and pole.



An atry farty picture of a corvid on the telephone wire:

Friday at the Flicks - More Regular Bird Visitors

It has been one of those mornings. The latest version of Corel Video Studio Pro X4 is just as bad as the previous version for playing silly beggars when trying to load video clips from DV tape. This morning it got within three clips of the end of 26 minutes of filming when it decided to play it all backwards right back to the beginning and then stopped. Fortunately it had stored most of the clips on the hard drive.

Anyway I did eventually manage to produce the following video of some of the birds which have visited in the past week:



Soundtrack:  "Littbe River" from the free iPad app ":)Natural Music - Spiritual Pleasures" which is availabe for download through iTunes.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.

Wings on Wednesday - Collared Doves

As usual these past few weeks the lighting has been abysmal for decent photography, especially of birds at the feeders as the Birdy Bistro only catches the Sun for about an hour each day at this time of year.

The Collared Doves were quick to work out that the plank I put under the feeders was just right for them to reach feeders they never normally manage to get near.

Macro on Monday - Guess What + iPhone Microscope Revisited

Yes folks, last weeks 'Guess What' was a fungus, whether it would be classified as a toadstool or as a mushroom I have no idea. Either way congratulations and    go to Adrian, Keith, John, Wilma and Glo.

   

The best identification I could come up with is the Sphagnum Brownie (Hypholoma elongatum) which, along with dozens of others, was growing in the moss in my back garden.

I was at a loss until the last minute this morning as to what to use for this week's puzzle picture. A while ago I showed how a cheap tiny hand held microscope could be used with an iPhone to get quite reasonable micro / macro photos. At that time I had to hold the microscope next to the phone's camera lens. Since then I bought a package which included another microscope and a purpose made holder which clips on the phone.



   

The plate which holds the microscope just clips on the phone and the eyepiece of the microscope plugs in the hole. The fit is quite stiff and needs some pressure but as the plastic of the holder is flexible and not brittle pressure can be applied without fear of cracking it.

The new microscope was advertised as 60x magnification. The first one I bought was 45x. Now these are area magnifications. i.e. 45x bigger area which is about 6.7x linear. A 1mm long object should appear about 6.7mm long when viewed through the magnifier. Others who have reviewed these things have stated that the figures seem optimistic and in reality probably somewhat smaller in real life.

After a few test shots I found the 45x gave superior results. I found it difficult to get the 60x in focus and the results were not as sharp. These things do not have a manufacturers name and may have come from different sources or there may be little in the way of quality control. It is possible to buy the holding plate by itself and I think some are advertised with the 45x microscope.

The bottom of the microscope consists of a clear plastic cylinder with part cut away to let the LEDs shine through. The unit is in focus when this is resting on the object to be photographed which makes it easy to use. So far I haven't needed to use the LEDs as the phone camera is quite sensitive and there has been enough external daylight.

At last I get round to this week's mystery photo (sighs of relief all round) taken with the above set up using the 45x magnifier and the Camera+ app.
Guess What:


Clue: The Beatles said it can't buy me love.

No prizes. Just for fun.

A Doggy Christmas

Though it has been around for quite a while I have only just found this brilliant video on YouTube:

Dogs decorate a Christmas Tree.


Of course Bobby, being a typical laid back sighthound, leaves such mundain tasks to 'He Who Must Be Obeyed, When It Suits'.



My thanks to Adrian - Adrian's Images - for pointing out in one of his comments how to make animated GIFs in Elements.

Friday at the Flicks - Hoverfly - Garden Pond

There has been little opportunity to video anything new this past week so I had a look through some old videos that I haven't used yet.  The first was shot in October 2009 when Hoverflies were showing great interest in the Ivy flowers.



The second is a view of my pond. This was never meant to be a public video. In March last year I got it into my head to attempt to build a 'steady cam' as the commercial ones seem so expensive. The idea is that the camera is mounted under a universal joint which, with counterbalance weights, is supposed to keep the camera view steady as the operator moves. I think I can claim it was partially successful. I tested it out as I walked up and down beside my garden pond.



The idea was to improve the design this past Summer but, as usual, that got buried on the Round Tuit pile.
The pond is just a large rectangular shape and very shallow as it was originally designed for testing radio controlled boats. That didn't last very long and I have been lucky that, with addition of pond plants, it has matured and attracts a variety of wildlife which includes, frogs, newts, damselflies and dragonflies.

Have a great weekend observing the wildlife around you.