Macro May 2020 - Day 31

I did it, the whole month with a new macro photo every day. Today's final offering is a little feather I found outside, it's fluffiness drew my eye but I didn't even notice until I started shooting, the faint blue tip...again, details can so easily be missed. I'll confess, with all that is going on, I wasn't prepared to commit to Macro May this year, but I'm glad to have had a project to focus on.

Tomorrow is the start of a new week and we still face seven more weeks of school from home, work from home and even though I have just had a week off I feel exhausted at the prospect of going back for seven more weeks of this. But it's one day at a time, one step before the next and hopefully we will eventually end up where we need to be. Stay safe friends.

Macro May 2020 - Day 30

Second to last day of the month and this is the same plant I photographed on day 19 (Buddleia Globosa) but now in bloom and attracting all of the bees. Managed to capture one eventually but it really is a challenge. I may have to revisit some bee photos without the macro lens after this month is over.

Macro May 2020 - Day 29

I know I have already posted a fern photo during this macro May, but this is the photo that spoke to me today, so here it is. We had a couple of shorter walks today, and discovered a flat tyre when it was time to head home, so that was fun. Happy weekend everyone.

Macro May 2020 - Day 28

We took a lovely walk out at Chew Stoke today, to the little waterfall. It wasn't a long or strenuous walk, it was really pleasant, with all the green and shade, plus waterfalls, no matter how big or small are always lovely. Pink flower growing from a wall close to where we parked.

I even managed to get a long overdue photo of my three - gasp.

Macro May 2020 - Day 27

Well I couldn't go a whole macro May and not include a rose. I have just two in my garden, in pots. They were miniature roses from last year that started indoors and then I repotted them and they have continued to do quite well. Both have new flowers this year and are providing a tiny bit of colour for me with their lovely velvety petals.

Macro May 2020 - Day 26

A good rhododendron provides so much colour. Honestly I didn't have a great photo I loved for today, but I was home from our walk before I realised I didn't have a 'winner' and it was too late to do anything about it. Five days to go and I've managed to get a photo each day so I wasn't about to let ideals stop me. I can do this....I will not be defeated.

Macro May 2020 - Day 25

Ok, so this isn't a pretty frame-it-and-put-it-up-in-your-house kind of photo. Ha! But it's still a good example of macro, with the close up and extremely shallow depth of field; nose perfectly in focus with everything else fading away in the background. Our cute Scout, part of the family and much loved, underbite and all.

Macro May 2020 - Day 24

The simple, iconic, cheerful daisy. The stuff of little girls' flower-crown dreams. This was one of the larger, planted on purpose ones, not a little one growing in the lawn. I think one could argue that they are as lovely as roses, in their own way.

Macro May 2020 - Day 23

Man, it was windy today. As I've mentioned before, any movement will ruin a macro photo, but we took a walk along the river and as it was kind of wooded, we were somewhat protected. It meant I was back to not much choice or variety of plants though as it was all the usual wildflowers. However, a little patch of blue caught my eye and ended up providing the only real potential for today's photo as the rest were definitely duds.

Macro May 2020 - Day 22

Bubbles are the best. Happy weekend everyone....finally!

Macro May 2020 - Day 21

These guys are fast! I really wanted a nice fat bumble bee, but it was probably thirty of these to every one of those and I just couldn't get the right angle.

Macro May 2020 - Day 20

I'm just going to let this one speak for itself.

Macro May 2020 - Day 19

This curious plant grows on top of the wall along the main park we walk our dog at. It has caught my eye on a couple of occasions over the last week, so today was time for it to have a photoshoot of it's very own. I like the simple boldness and I'll be watching over the weeks to see how it changes.

Macro May 2020 - Day 18

Today I spied our first blackberry flower. There have been buds for a while, but the sun has finally prompted one to burst open. We only get a handful each year as it's just a bush growing through other bushes, but still a nice treat.

Macro May 2020 - Day 17

Quite often during Macro May I have to remind myself to 'step away from the florals!' Sure they look nice, but variety is important too. This little cutie is a kalimba; a really simple, beautiful sounding instrument that our son requested for his birthday last year. I think I've also heard it referred to as a thumb piano. It's small, extremely portable and easy to learn and I thought it would make for an interesting subject today. Hope you have all had a good weekend, I'm off to finish my glass of prosecco and pretend it's not Monday tomorrow.

Macro May 2020 - Day 16

Social distancing was hard today. We drove out to a nature reserve and it was PACKED!!! There were no sounds of nature, just lots and lots of people, we walked for about five minutes before turning around to go and find somewhere a little less crowded. We do a lot of walks, we have a dog, but all these people just don't know what to do with themselves, I think they'd normally be shopping or eating out or taking their kids to a playground and those places are all still closed, so they're being forced into nature. Anyway, we drove deeper into the country and did much better; although there wasn't too much to photograph, mainly wild flowers I've already captured, so here is today's offering.

Macro May 2020 - Day 15

Phew another week over. This one has felt especially busy (work-wise) and I'm glad to put it behind me and have a weekend break. The days may seem to blur together but I still look forward to weekends. This delightful blue flower is a Nigella also known as love-in-a-mist.

Macro May 2020 - Day 14

A little bit of sunshine in a shady spot...almost at the halfway mark.

Macro May 2020 - Day 13

There's something magical and captivating about ferns.

Macro May 2020 - Day 12

I will need plant gurus to chime in and tell me what this plant is. We have a big bush at the back of our poor attempt of a garden and although I'd noticed the weird hanging leafy purple flowers before, I have never in the couple of years we lived here noticed the little white flowers in there too. It was a little surprise for me today :)

Macro May 2020 - Day 11

Well I did say I wasn't guaranteeing a photo every day and today was touch and go. After I'd finished my work day I had a pretty bad headache I couldn't shift for the next few hours. It was too windy to get anything outside (the barest movement is hugely amplified with macro lenses, meaning massive blur) so I once again had to hunt around indoors. Our youngest has a few mini cacti, so here is my best attempt for today rather than give up on my productivity streak.

Macro May 2020 - Day 10

Well the weather has most definitely taken a turn; for my US friends we had a drop of 20+ degrees, so after the glorious temperatures we have been enjoying, it is quite a shock to the system. All to say I decided to opt for another non-floral and instead decided to look around at home to see what I could find. I don't wear them often, but I do love pearls, they're just so classic and simple.

Macro May 2020 - Day 9

I have a long-lived fascination with lichens and moss: the colours and textures are numerous and intriguing and add so much interest to any scene. Whether on the ground, or rocks, or trees they seem to survive everywhere.

Anyway, I had some other prettier photos as possibilities for today, but they are ones I've taken again and again over the years for Macro May, so thought I'd throw in something a little different.

Also, highlight of our day was friendly cows! We went for a longer walk today and some of the public footpaths took us through various fields where we encountered these guys. Needless to say, my family was in heaven.

Macro May 2020 - Day 8

Elderflower is starting to bloom. About to pop outside to raise a glass for the 75th VE celebrations with all our neighbours...suitably distanced of course.

Macro May 2020 - Day 7

We had a gorgeous day of sunshine, then out of the blue came the rain. It was totally unexpected and wasn't in the forecast. I hadn't yet taken my photo for today and it was time to start thinking about dinner by the time it had stopped. I knew though, that I wanted to find a droplet, so I went hunting. There were plenty of raindrops just sat on top of leaves but I was looking specifically for a hanging drop. That's something I love about macro photography, it sends me looking for details I so often miss at other times. It forces me to look in a new way, to notice all that I take for granted...all of the ordinary beauty that is right there in the details.

Macro May 2020 - Day 6

I think this might be a clematis? Someone who knows about these things will need to confirm for me :P

Macro May 2020 - Day 5

5th of May, or as we like to refer to it in our house 'Cinco de Mayo', even if we are back in the UK. Technically, it's a Mexican holiday celebrated in Mexico and many parts of the States honouring a military victory in 1862 over Napoleon's forces (for the record, I actually had to look that up as I knew it was a Mexican holiday but had no idea what for) many of us just appreciate it as a good excuse to eat Mexican food and drink Margaritas.

Unfortunately we didn't have ingredients to make margaritas but I did make horchata for the kids (hence the cinnamon) and mojitos for the grown ups, while my middle child made an assemble-your-own burrito spread. All in all it was a success and I managed one more photo to boot.

Macro May 2020 - Day 4

I'm on a roll. Not the best lighting conditions as this was harsh daylight, but I couldn't exactly ask him to swing by later. Also, he was much speedier than I anticipated, so I didn't have long to choose his best side.

Macro May 2020 - Day 3

I have a love/hate relationship with dandelions. They are so bright and cheery, like sunshine, then inevitably they morph into the most amazing, delicate puff balls that just beg to be picked and have their seeds blown far and wide and it's so much fun to watch our kids, big and small do that. But, I don't want them in my small patch of green, which is desperately trying, not very well, to be a lawn.

They were here before we moved in and then last year were rampant, but this year I am trying to dig them all up. It's a long process. I re-check every day and as soon as I see a yellow bloom I dig it up, before it can turn to a puff ball and spread it's seeds further. I'm not convinced I'm winning yet.

Anyway, this little guy caught my eye late this afternoon, not the usual full bloom, but getting ready to tuck in for the night and I liked the different take.

Macro May 2020 - Day 2

I managed two days in a row...woohoo! 

We got in the car as a family today for the first time in over 6 weeks, instead of just walking round the corner to our local park, which is what we had been doing and which we are SO over. We are allowed to drive short distances to exercise, as long as the exercise lasts longer than the drive to get there. Well our drive only took 12 minutes but we walked for over an hour and were surrounded by green and sunshine and it was just what we needed. 

This is a gorgeous English Bluebell and this is their season; which is always too short. There is nothing as spectacular as walking through woods, carpeted with bluebells, it is quite breathtaking. That wasn't today, we were more out in the open, but there were plenty of these growing along the hedgerows. 

At some point this month I'll show a Spanish Bluebell, also common here; similar but quite different.

Macro May 2020 - Day 1

This whole staying at home, working from home, kids doing school at home due to the current Covid-19 pandemic has been so weird. We are now ending our 6th week! I am grateful to be able to work from home and keep as safe and isolated as possible. At the same time I grieve for my 16 year old who will not get a Leavers' Assembly or get to attend Prom or say a real goodbye to so many friends. This is a real rite of passage year and it all seems like it has been snatched away. It's sad and disappointing.

All three kids are handling it all so well though. We know they miss seeing their friends in person, but we really have not had complaining, they have just got on with it. Of course there has been more screen time, especially as it is the one way they can still connect with peers and unfortunately the house is pretty disastrous with all of us here and all our stuff, be it school work or work I've brought home, but I am proud of the way we have been able to handle this whole crazy situation.

I, on the other hand, had high hopes of being creative at the outset, but I find myself constantly exhausted, unmotivated and uninspired. Even in times of boredom, with time on my hands, it feels like so much effort to rally and do anything with meaning. But it is May 1st and in years past I have taken part in Macro May, so will try again. I missed last year as hubby and I started the month travelling to Rome for a long weekend to meet up with friends celebrating their anniversary. Although I had taken my lens, I had opted not to carry my big camera around, due to weight and worries about theft, plus the scale of that city is the very opposite of tiny and close up.

This year feels like it could be harder, spending so much time at home and no pretty garden to shoot in, so no guarantees that I will complete the month. We are restricted in how far and how often we can leave the house; only once a day for exercise or for essential travel to buy food, help vulnerable people etc. so I will do what I can and not add pressure to myself, when life already feels intense enough for the moment.

So day 1 isn't hugely exciting but here it is:

If you decide to take part in Macro May this year, let me know, I'd love to follow along.