Mother and Child Northern sheep need to be hardy - especially if they live in Tideswell, 1100 feet up. On the Buxton plateau, farmers long ago built stone walled shelters where their sheep could huddle in snow storms. Nobody can guarantee when snow will or won't fall, even in June.
@ Mother and Child Karak begins his photographic tour of Northern Light: Creatures.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Sephira.
Karak shook paws with Sephira the Green Happy Dragon. They both received one silver mole!
Natural Framing Ostensibly this picture is some cows in a field. But the tree trunk, branches and stone wall frame three sides. 'Natural framing' makes simple pictures look grand.
@ Natural Framing
Blue And Gold Egg The first painted eggs came from Mesopotamia, and because eggs were forbidden food during Lent, people painted eggs while Lent was being observed—after Lent, they would eat the eggs on Easter Day.
Beautifully decorated eggs “pysanka” are associated with Ukraine, and the oldest painted egg that was unearthed in northern Ukraine is dated to the end of the 17th century.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Teeka.
Karak shook paws with Teeka the Black Feisty Fox. They both received one silver mole!
Peter Rabbit's Friends and Relations At Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's former home, only a wire fence stands between visitors and rabbits at play. They completely ignore humans, because they know they are safe. There is no better place to watch the descendants of Peter Rabbit at play.
@ Peter Rabbit's Friends and Relations David was trained as a Systems Analyst in the steel industry and would have loved to stay in that role forever.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Oksana.
Karak shook paws with Oksana the Brown Owl. They both received one silver mole!
Heilan Coo I don't know when or why these cattle were introduced to Derbyshire, but it certainly has highlands! I think it can not have been before 1990. They wander around the hillsides without hindrance. I cannot imagine they are being milked; farmers would have to travel miles just to round them up for milking. But because of their thick shaggy coats they do not need a layer of fat to keep them warm in winter, and thus their beef is very lean.
@ Heilan Coo David would like a model railway, but in 63 years he has never had one of his own that worked.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot gemma.
Karak shook paws with gemma the Black Great Dane. They both received one silver mole!
Thinking Backwards In summer, honey bees and other flying insects are on and off a flower as fast as they can. If you want a great shot on an exotic flower, you cannot chase the insect; focus is critical and you will never get the shot right in time.
Instead, wait by the flower you want an insect to land on; get the focus right, stand as still as you can, and wait for the right insect to come to you. The best place to go is a garden centre or public park, where the right kind of flowers are all around. This bee landed on a flower in Sheffield Botanical Gardens.
@ Thinking Backwards David hates London and most other English cities. The only city he has ever been happy in is Sheffield, where he was at university.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Choose a name.
Karak shook paws with Choose a name the Tabby Cat. They both received one silver mole!
Pollen All Over I love to do extreme macro work. For this you need a specialist macro lens, or extension rings, or both. I usually use both. A ring flash ensures enough light and thus enough depth of focus. If I can count the grains of pollen, I have got the shot right. Macro work is 90% equipment and the technique to use it properly.
@ Pollen All Over David's first computer was a ZX Spectrum. If anyone told you David was 'on the spectrum' he would think they were referring to a time in his life when he spent all his free time programming!
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Isabella.
Karak shook paws with Isabella the Strawberry Milky Moo Cow. They both received one silver mole!
Roaming Wild I found these horses near Elton, which is close to the middle of nowhere, but not quite the bullseye. All around are tumbled dry stone walls and derelict agricultural buildings.
The only things you can make money out of as a farmer up high are wild flowers. Government subsidies are assigned by bureaucrats with no idea about farming, and the way of life up in the hills depends entirely on what they decide.
When horses can wander onto the road, they are wild. Whether they once had a home, I have no idea; but nobody has the money to mend the walls unless the government decides they make the countryside more picturesque.
@ Roaming Wild David found out about girls rather late at 22. Before that they seemed entirely baffling to him. It was probably mutual.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Saphira.
Karak shook paws with Saphira the Midnight Happy Dragon. They both received one silver mole!
Tropical Butterfly The Tropical Butterfly House at (of all places!) Doncaster gives you the chance to see and photograph exotic insects which could never survive in the British climate. The climate inside the butterfly house is so much warmer and wetter than the world outside, it took twenty minutes for condensation to quit forming on my camera lenses (and spectacles!) But the wait is well worth it.
@ Tropical Butterfly David's first computer was a ZX Spectrum. If anyone told you David was 'on the spectrum' he would think they were referring to a time in his life when he spent all his free time programming!
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Frisky.
Karak shook paws with Frisky the Black Lovable Labrador. They both received one silver mole!
Middleton of Nowhere I said Elton was not the bullseye. Middleton, Derbyshire, is well named. It is the middle, the very centre of nowhere. The only inhabitants I saw in the village were this cat and a few chickens. I would love to retire there.
@ Middleton of Nowhere David's favourite TV programme ever was Top Gear (British version). The cars have almost nothing to do with that. His favourite movies are the "Pink Panther" series. He drives Lisa wild by laughing his head off at the same old jokes over and over again.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Enterbeauty a name for this pet.
Karak shook paws with Enterbeauty a name for this pet the Green Beautiful Unicorn. They both received one silver mole!
Enterbeauty a name for this pet and you found 5 Travel Tokens!
Snowdonia Pony Grazing on the undulating lowlands of Anglesey in front of the mountains of Snowdonia, this Welsh pony was probably the first animal of any kind which gave me the impression it wanted to be photographed. It posed more like a human than a horse. Once I had taken a photo it got on with grazing. I prefer the natural shot to the posed one!
@ Snowdonia Pony David came from a family with an endless supply of aunts and very few uncles. Two of the few uncles he had were called Granville. This made life quite confusing for him on occasions.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Dave.
Karak shook paws with Dave the Playful Penguin. They both received one silver mole!
Vivid Dragonfly I have often seen dragonflies in pastel shades. This just doesn't happen in the Lathkill Valley. Maybe they have all the minerals it takes to be so colourful here? I don't know. But for once the sun was out by the little pool at Monyash, and I caught this one lazing on a rock.
@ Vivid Dragonfly At age eight David lost almost a whole term due to a life-threatening illness. The pain hurt so bad he calmly told his mother he understood his leg must come off and she must not feel bad about telling him. Despite this he was still top of the class that year, by a single mark.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Choose a name.
Karak shook paws with Choose a name the Tabby Cat. They both received one silver mole!
The Compleat River In later editions of "The Compleat Angler" (first published in 1653), Izaak Walton's young friend Charles Cotton described the "Lathkin" as "the purest and most transparent stream that I ever yet saw … and breeds, it is said, the reddest and the best trouts in England."
However the river often disappears into mines delved beneath it when there is little rain. Then the trout are stunned by electric shocks and transported downstream by dedicated conservationists. If that happens anywhere else in the world but here, I will be amazed.
@ The Compleat River David cannot swim. He cut his knee just before taking lessons, and ended up with a condition that nearly killed him. He never went back to a swimming bath after that.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Tess.
Karak shook paws with Tess the Grey Playful Kitten. They both received one silver mole!
It's an Upside-down World Ladybirds, or lady bugs as they are known in the USA, are the gardener's friend, because they eat aphids. They can eat as many as fifty a day! My father taught me never to kill one. If you can't find one on top of a leaf during summer, try looking underneath it.
@ It's an Upside-down World David freely tells anyone he was committed to killing a believer at the time he got saved. He also told everyone about this the day he was baptised. The guy he intended to kill was holding onto David's towel while he got dunked. They have been friends since about a month after David was saved (in 1987).
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Pookey.
Karak shook paws with Pookey the Brown Lovable Labrador. They both received one silver mole!
Ravenous Caterpillar If it's ragwort for dinner, then this must be the caterpillar of the cinnabar moth. Anyone can get a picture of a caterpillar. But why not try to see the world from its point of view?
I like to show them with a sense of purpose, going somewhere or doing something, not just being looked at from far above. Their lives are filled with purpose. Eat!
@ Ravenous Caterpillar David's favourite TV programme ever was Top Gear (British version). The cars have almost nothing to do with that. His favourite movies are the "Pink Panther" series. He drives Lisa wild by laughing his head off at the same old jokes over and over again.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Bubbles.
Karak shook paws with Bubbles the Green Rapid Dragonfly. They both received one silver mole!
Cat's Eye Taking a picture of a cat's eye is easy with macro gear. But it is almost impossible to do so from the front without getting a reflection. Ring flashes can be dialled down to very low intensities - this ginger tom was not the least bit bothered when I shot this picture with a ring flash.
@ Cat's Eye Oh look ... you won a little pet!
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Midnight love.
Karak shook paws with Midnight love the Midnight Happy Dragon. They both received one silver mole!
Carsington Fly I went out for the day to Carsington Water, a manmade reservoir that takes water from the rivers in winter and gives it back in summer. There are plenty of things to do there, but as usual the sky went iron grey as soon as I got near to it. So following my own advice, I looked for insects. Just look at the colours in those wings in an enlarged version of this picture! When you meet the very small on its own terms, there is so much to see.
@ Carsington Fly David's favourite colour is orange, but he has no idea why.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Wuzzy.
Karak shook paws with Wuzzy the Green Beautiful Unicorn. They both received one silver mole!
Water Dog There are so many breeds of dog, I cannot keep track! I think this one is an English Setter. It was playing in and around the River Bradford with its owner.
@ Water Dog David still thinks prog rock is great. He shares this belief with Jeremy Clarkson and probably no-one else alive.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Toast.
Karak shook paws with Toast the Stormy Sky Bunny. They both received one silver mole!
Doncaster Meerkat The Doncaster Butterfly House is home to far more than butterflies. For meerkats, community is everything. This one appears to be making political judgments about who it should suck up to and whose beetles it can get away with stealing. They are very expressive creatures, and a lot of fun to watch.
@ Doncaster Meerkat At university, David was captain of his hall of residence table football team. He actually did weight training to develop powerful wrists.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Mae.
Karak shook paws with Mae the Angel Wing Butterfly. They both received one silver mole!
Border Collie I have a deep affection for this breed. They want a lot of exercise, but are very entertaining. My father owned one; it would be tied up on a rope so it could go inside the barn or lie outside. When there was rain, it invariably stayed outside because it could.
This one was playing in the River Bradford, and I got the camera set to a fast shutter speed ready for the inevitable shake!
@ Border Collie David's favourite book of the Bible is Hosea.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Zelda.
Karak shook paws with Zelda the Party Fowl. They both received one silver mole!
Bull in the Sun What a magnificent coat this bull has. The rare sun has picked out so many subtle shades.
My aunt kept cattle. My cousin showed me how to bring an entire herd in for milking with little effort. You need to know which is the 'boss cow', get her attention, and she knows what comes next. She starts moving and the rest of the herd follow her.
@ Bull in the Sun David left the Methodist church in his early teens because they convinced him God did not exist. Then he did a physics degree in the hope of explaining to everyone exactly why this was so. Three years later he got saved.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Icicle.
Karak shook paws with Icicle the Midnight Happy Dragon. They both received one silver mole!
Bradgate Stag One of the first brick built mansions in England, Bradgate Park was once the home of the De Grey family. They are best known for Lady Jane Grey, the nine day Queen, unwilling centre of a plot to prevent Queen Mary from taking the throne.
Bradgate Park is now preserved forever as a gift to the city of Leicester. It is a deer park where you can encounter red deer and fallow deer. The fallow deer are a gentle lot which like the woods. The red deer have a very strong sense of territory. If one of them gets up and looks at you, you go round it. After taking a picture, perhaps.
How big are they? I once walked out of the toilet block and nearly walked clean underneath one.
@ Bradgate Stag David has never been drunk. He's seen it done; that's what put him off.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Darby.
Karak shook paws with Darby the Black Feisty Fox. They both received one silver mole!
Fish Flash The River Wye at Bakewell runs fast and furious under the bridge. As a result it is very hard to see the large fish which swim beneath. But for the duration of a flash, a ten thousandth of a second, the water is almost perfectly still. Then the camera can see right through it, and all is revealed. You will need a powerful flash to get a result like this; not the midget mounted on your camera by the makers.
@ Fish Flash David was brought up on plain British fare (which he still loves) and was very nervous about foreign food. He only bought his first pizza because he worked out he could get money off for late delivery by ordering just before rush hour. The pizza tasted great and he's been eating them ever since.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Shadow.
Karak shook paws with Shadow the Black Feisty Fox. They both received one silver mole!
Might is Right I have followed wild red deer round swamps and into them. After trying long enough, you realise it would be better to go to a deer park and watch them where they do not run away.
Once you do, you will be doing the running. This stag and many others could look down at me with their neck raised. When they get to their feet and hold their ground, you go where they want you to, not vice versa. But when they are solely concerned with one another, you can take all the shots you want.
@ Might is Right David does not like modern programming languages. He thinks C, JavaScript and all their derivatives are an abomination, but unfortunately you can't get things done without JavaScript on the web.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Finley.
Karak shook paws with Finley the Ragdoll Kitten. They both received one silver mole!
Winner Takes All Even more interested in the stags than the cameraman, the rest of the herd watches inter-stag conflicts attentively. Who wins, rules. Who rules, breeds.
@ Winner Takes All As a small boy, David believed he was going to marry his mother's sister when he grew up, because she was so nice.
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Pinotte.
Karak shook paws with Pinotte the Ragdoll Kitten. They both received one silver mole!
Pinotte gave you 1 "'Northern Light' Travel Token" size 7
Pole Dancer Times were hard. I struggled over whether to buy a second hand macro lens on the internet. When it arrived, I thanked the Lord for it. That night, this strange beauty flew in through my barely open window. She then settled down for an hour, just twiddling with her feelers.
Those little balls are a sixth of an inch apart. I have never seen anything like her before or since.
@ Pole Dancer Karak has now completed his viewing of Northern Light: Creatures. As he prepares to go home, he receives a wonderful gift!
Karak has enjoyed his photographic tour of Northern Light: Creatures, but it is time to go home now! Please select another pet as visitor, so it can also enjoy a photographic tour of "Northern Light!"
While peeking through the viewfinder, you spot Butterscotch.
Karak shook paws with Butterscotch the Yellow Lovable Labrador. They both received one silver mole!
Butterscotch gave you 1 "Mama Brown Bear" FULL SIZE
Karak has completed the quest of
