the usual

Saturday 12th Oct

Nice not to have any races on, so Nick, Mary and I went for the usual trot around sunny Gullane. Coffee and cake were involved, then I was dragged away from the buddleias which had a couple of end of season Admirals and a Painted Lady.

In a slight deviation from the usual 6 miler we continued along the beach to the far end of Gullane Bay then came back through the dunes. I was pleased to spot the last Speckled Wood of the summer, a little bit tatty and losing its colour, but sunbathing on the brambles near the sea buckthorn. It was kind of the other 2 not to wait; they knew I'd prefer the sprint up the trails and across the grass to catch up!

Back at the cars I tried to take a few more photos of the butterflies on the buddleia, but was dragged back to the Berlingo by the ear like a complaining child. Nice day out though.

Later that same afternoon/evening I cycled along to visit my mum. Can't remember if she was still in hospital or back home. Anyway she was much improved for her holiday. Bumped into Richard W at one of the bridges over the WoL. I had a vague sense of recognition but hadn't seen him since we last met at Gullane during the Holly Blue sensation back in August. 

I had seen a couple of late afternoon butterflies looking for sunny spots to roost. I asked Richard his name and he told me I knew who he was. Of course! Oops. Sorry Richard! There was a Red Admiral and a Speckled Wood in the nearby buddleia overhanging the water, and we did a side-by-side comparison photo of the RA (about 8m / 25' away) to check the difference between my wee Panasonic and his large Canon with long lens. The difference was remarkable. Mine was not worth posting here and his was the sort of quality I can only hope for when I am right beside the butterfly! I have noticed this discrepancy, particularly with bird photos or anything distant. It is one of the reasons I was drawn to butterflies as a subject. Proximity to the subject determines whether you can get away with a travel zoom or need a huge lens.

The RA then moved to a shrub over the path and I got the shot below. This was the kind of quality Richard was getting from 5~8 times the distance. Perhaps I need to get a "walking camera." Although it does please me to have the least expensive kit of all the wildlifers and still take comparable images.