Glynn Hobbs - imageweaver

It's that time of year again, to look back on 2020 and pick my favourite 20 images, that I have taken during the past twelve months. In a year dominated by 'Covid 19' and the strict lockdowns here in France, I have been unable to travel further than one kilometer from my home for most of the year...........and even then, we have only been allowed out for a maximum of one hour per day!  -  This year, apart from a few short months, my garden has become my 'Wildlife World' and preserved my sanity!  So, in no particular order, here are some of my favourite shots, which I hope you enjoy: Emperor Dragonfly Little Owl Wood White Butterfly Red Squirrel Half  Moon European Hornet Female Kingfisher Roe Deer Green Woodpecker Crab Spider with prey Bee Fly Grey Heron Great Egret Graylag Goose Kermit meets Kingfisher for lunch Magpie Mining Bee Slug eating a flower head Little Owl Coypu If you enjoy my blogs, please share them on facebook etc. Older blogs can be viewed by clickin...

With 'Lockdown 2' in full swing here in France, my photography is now limited to my garden, or a distance of just 1 km from home....... and for a maximum of 1 hour per day! The recent  bright weather has sent all the wildlife running for the hills, so thank goodness that we currently have  a huge number of Hornets in the garden.   It has given me the opportunity to shoot these fascinating creatures, both 'close up' with my 'macro' system (around 6" from them), and also to try out 'long-lens' (700mm) shots from around 12 feet!  H ornets are not renowned for being very friendly, so the opportunity to shoot them from a safe distance, certainly had its advantages. The above images were taken 'hand-held', with my Nikon D500 body, Nikon 70-200 f4 lens, with Raynox DCR150 and Ring Flash attached  -  Shot from a distance of approx 4" The next question, was could I capture similar shots from a safer distance, but with a 'non macro' lens....

More of Mr Jeremy Fisher later...... Anyone who has followed my blogs this year, knows that the Kingfisher, is the bird that has been top of my list to photograph.  It is a bird that has eluded me for many years and although I have taken many distant shots, I have never had the time to concentrate solely on this stunning bird. Photographing Kingfishers is not straightforward at the best of times, and as a 'schedule 1' (heavily protected) bird, there are many laws in place to ensure that they are not disturbed, especially around nest sites. It is important to be aware of legislation within your area, to protect  yourself from litigation and more importantly protect  the welfare of the birds. My search started over 3 months ago, when I was offered the use of a private lake. There were no reports of Kingfishers on the lake, but I spent a couple of days there and found that a pair would visit the lake most days......but only in the very early morning, which was not ideal for...