Yesterday fog patches pulled up from the sea. At the coast was quite dense and hid anything further than 20 meters away.
But fog does not only hide things farther away, it also reveals other things nearby. For example the many spider nets in a small bog nearby.
Today, when I looked out of my kitchen window I saw the flowering lilac being swarmed by butterflies. There were some European peacocks but most of them were painted ladies. Most of them flattered away, when I came with my camera but one of them was so kind to wait with open wings.
If you look closely at its wings you can see that they are frayed and that the colours are not the freshest. No wonder, because these butterflies are long-distance flyers coming from Southern Europe or even from North Africa. They sail with the wind and use to fly north each summer – this year even to the Swedish county Västerbotten. So this little fellow probably has flown 3–4000 km. Incredible!
Now my macro lens was attached and I was eager for more insects. Perhaps some dragonflies at the shore of the Nördfjärden? I packed a neoprene suit into my car and drove to the place. I really saw many dragonflies – for example common blue damselflies or
four-spotted chasers – when I waded through the shallow water. However I didn’t get any photos I’m really content with. The dragonflies are so shy and so fast. I guess I’m too impatient for nature photography.
I made however a dragonfly-related photo I like. It’s a so-called exuvia, the leftover of the dragonfly after it has hatched. These exuviae have a great advantage: they don’t move.
| English | German | Swedish | Latin |
|---|---|---|---|
| European peacock | Tagpfauenauge | Påfågelöga | Inachis io |
| Painted lady | Distelfalter | Tistelfjäril | Vanessa cardui |
| Common blue damselfly | Gemeine Becherjungfer | Sjöflickslända | Enallagma cyathigerum |
| four-spotted chaser | Vierfleck | Fyrfläckad trollslända | Libellula quadrimaculata |
Since the summer solstice on 21 June the nights are slowly getting longer again. Last night sunset was 23:21 and today’s sunrise 01:56. At this time I usually sleep.
I was extremely lazy photographing the last weeks, so I decided to ignore my tiredness and drive to the coast. This time I chose a new place I’ve never been before. I left my car at the side of the small gravel road that I had followed for some kilometres. I took my camera bag with the tripod and crossed the hilly forest until I reached the coast.
While photographing I decided to publish at least two photos in this blog, whether I like them or not. I have to admit that I’m not so content with the result, but anyway, here are two shots of last night. Both pictures are taken in the last minutes before sunset, the first 22:59, the second 23:12.
