best part of the day: radical

The weather wasn't really splendid enough to justify a drive somewhere nice on Sunday 23rd June, so we just went for a run round Holyrood. I had been hearing good things on the butterfly grapevine about Holyrood and in particular the area near the Radical Road. And planned to subvert the run in that direction.

Although the sun wasn't shining it was warm enough for vests rather than t-shirts.

We started with the boundary run which goes round the perimeter of the park.

although we were instantly distracted by a

lovely new Common Blue near Haggis Knowe

Further round the perimeter we came across this rather handsome Speckled Wood. And then just before Dunsapie Loch the first Ringlet of the year. It was both joyous and a complete pain as it did not settle for ages and then when it did, it hid in the grass trying its best to avoid cameras. 15 mins to get 1 decent photo. Mary was more forgiving than usual messing about taking photos too.

On the way back round the road we came across this solo NBA on the roadside flowers.

small heaths

As we got to the Commie Pool end of the Radical Road the sun was beginning to peep out and it all began to kick off. There were lots of Small Heaths dancing and cavorting in 2s, 3s and even 4s. There were also quite a few Blues both zooming about in pairs - males chasing each other at great speed - and also singles sitting about in the flowers and having chases with NBAs.

Mary found this 6 spot burnet moth, the first of the season in Holyrood

NBA

Northern Brown Argus

female Common Blue

NBA with Blue in background

Blue and NBA

I watched this pair for a while. Initially I thought they were deadly enemies. They would take off and circle each other as if in combat. Then land sometimes really quite close. As if vying for the same territory, neither prepared to tolerate the other. They would sit for a while then go at it again. Then I got the feeling they were doing this for the entertainment. I saw both of them fly deliberately right over the top of the other as if to get the game started again. They would fly about like maniacs for a bit then settle on their preferred perches. I couldn't say for sure but felt it was as much for fun as war. That they might be enjoying each other's company rather than having a war of attrition. They are both Lycaenidae - not-too-distant cousins, and have nearly identical underwings.

I became completely absorbed by this and other things nearby, Small Heaths going at it in a similar fashion. I was mainlining butterflies and it was fabulous. Mary lasted quite a while but has a limited enthusiasm for this. We chatted about how long I required and since I couldn't give her a likely specific time when I would be done here (when it goes dark?) she saw that I was beyond help and went home alone. I stayed for about an hour by which time most of the action had died down. I checked out the rest of the Radical Road but the butterflies are best in first 3 bays close in to the crags. The Radical Rd is closed off currently due to rockfall. Happily this seems to have happened mostly at the Holyrood end, so I have few qualms about nipping round the barriers at the other end to wander about the bottom of the crags. However there have been large rockfalls as the signage there warns, so be warned and wary.

July Belle

NBA vs Small Heath

Cinnabar moth

Having an NBA and Blue sitting within a short distance prompted me to experiment with the post focus and focus stacking options on my camera. Although it is a compact it has the sort of features you might only expect on a DSLR. By choosing post-focus the camera then takes a series of stills that look like a wee video clip of the entire range of focal points available. You can then choose which image to save on the back of the camera. I did this part later at home. In the above photo I chose the NBA to be in focus. You can fine tune the choice by zooming in to see the exact thing you require - like the butterfly's face - and choosing that. You can also focus-stack. That is: choose several parts of several images to have in focus. In this case I wondered how it would look to choose both butterflies to have in focus. The camera scratched its head for a while then produced quite a horrible result.

Now it could be this would work better with a tripod. I was lying in the grass, breath held, hand held camera and it was all a bit shoogly. Although it seems to take all the photos in about a second. The little video clip (audio-less Mpeg) works quite well and could be used in a video. But I suspect there was too great a distance between the subjects for a combined image. I might well experiment a bit more, particularly in focus stacking with just one butterfly using a macro set up where there is a very short focal distance you can extend with multiple images and layering. Not entirely convinced though.

One thing I have slightly changed recently. I am taking more photos using the EVF. Up until recently I would just use the screen to compose and check focus. Having used digital cameras for years now it is just a habit I got into because I find it easier to keep one eye on the screen while the other is on the butterfly or subject. If it disappears off the Electronic Viewfinder you don't know where to re-aim the camera. Far easier to roughly follow a fast moving bird or butterfly and approximate a scattergun capture using the screen. However if it is very sunny and your eyes are fading but the subject is settled the EVF gives a clearer view of what exactly is in focus. Perhaps because it is tuneable to the users individual eye, like choosing specs that bring everything into focus. So I am now using the viewfinder much more on settled butterflies and getting fewer surprises when I upload stuff to the computer. (One humorous downside is I get a large greasy noseprint on the screen every time I use the EVF. Bah.)