Gavin Johnson's photos

Continuing the insect theme, I rather liked this 'head on' shot of a bumble bee taking off from a lavender flower.

Yesterday I posted an image from last year of a pair of damselflies. That must have influenced my choice of afternoon walk, as we found ourselves back at the local reservoir yesterday afternoon, and I found more of the little beauties. I think this new image has more detail, and I like the way their bodies are bent into a heart shape.

One of the joys of summer is to see insects flitting around when out on a walk. Sadly, UK insect populations are in decline, but there are still quite a lot of these brightly coloured damselflies around. When mating, the blue male grasps the head of the green female, and they fly around as a pair until the female separates to lay eggs.

HFF! Another view of Chosen Hill, this time up the gentle slope through a field growing wild grasses for silage.

Spotted at my local supermarket. The damage to the car looks expensive, but at least the owner has a sense of humour about it!

An extremely polite notice at the entrance to Saint Bartholomew's Church.

HWW - Some very weathered carvings with memento mori on the wall of Saint Bartholomew's Church on Chosen Hill. The building was originally constructed in the 12th Century, with many additions and modifications over the centuries, but this eroded sandstone decoration is a relatively early component. Nearby is the church door, with a particularly British polite notice (PiP).

I've uploaded the black and white version of this before, but I'm really interested in which image people prefer, as I can't decide myself. It was the colours in the scene that originally caught my eye when I walked past; with the faded paintwork and the dusting of moss giving it a pastel look. On the other hand, I think a high-contrast black and white look can work well with industrial subjects. So, please help me improve my photographer's eye and tell me which looks better (or if neither works for you!) Thank you.

HBM! A view from the Saint Bartholomew's Church on Chosen Hill in Gloucestershire, looking east over Cheltenham to the Cotswold hills beyond.

Günter, this one's for you - your amzing macro images inspired me to get out into the garden and explore the miniature world. I think this is some sort of solitary bee rather than a honeybee, and it's one of the few shots where I managed decently sharp focus as it was busy feeding and pollinating.

I stumbled across another photo in my collection; this one from Singapore, back in the early 2000s. I liked the juxtaposition between the man with his ageing bike (and a magnificent metal trunk on the back) and the display of expensive jewellery in the window behind him.

HWW! Another image from a few years ago. It’s a genuine photo, but also a something of a cheat. It was taken at an open day at the Barn Owl Centre of Gloucestershire (https://www.barnowl.co.uk), and the owl, found injured injured and being rehabilitated, was placed and happily hanging out - in a hole in the wall for a while, before having a well-earned snack and continuing its recovery.

I think this is a pure white pigeon, as the lcal doves are rather smaller. It was kind enough to pose for me while I was out taking photographs for our local Parish website.

Around 2 km from my house stands Coopers Hill, which is the site of one of Englands more eccentric events. On the spring public holiday at the end of May, participants throw themselves down a terrifyingly steep 27 degree slope in pursuit of a 3-4 kg wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. The person who catches the cheese, or at least is first to the bottom of the hill, wins it as a prize. Most people fail to stay on their feet and there are frequent injuries and broken bones. A couple of local rugby teams line up across the bottom of the hill to catch anyone unable to stop by themselves. Local man Chris Anderson hold the record of 23 wins, suffering a broken ankle, concussion, a torn calf muscle and bruised kidneys over the years. Notably, he is not a fan of cheese; only eating cheddar, so has given away his winnings each year. This year's men's race was won by a competitor from Germany - I hope he's able to get the cheese back home through customs! The photo is from today's event - I didn't fancy getting caught up in the crowds so shot this from a long way off, through a lot of haze. [ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper%27s_Hill_Cheese-Rolling_and_Wake ]

I haven't heard a cuckoo yet this year, but I've just spotted my first wild orchids of the season. It looks like there are a lot coming up, but here's the most advanced flower so far.

A closeup of one of the residents of Cotswold Alpacas. They'd recently had their annual haircut, so were looking a little thin.

HFF - continuing my accidental series of local landscapes, Cotswold Alpacas have a herd of 45 animals in the village of Cowley. You can book mindful walks with the alpacas and buy their wool, but for a small donation, you can also help yourself to well rotted alpaca manure, which seems to be rocket fuel for our garden plants. As it was a quiet day at the farm, we were also encouraged to spend a little time in the company of these charming and inquisitive creatures. (Closeup in PiP).

I seem to have accidentally posted a series this week of "landscapes I can walk to from home", so here's another of those. About 1km from Monday's bench is this field at the foot of Chosen Hill in Gloucestershire, with a rusting but still functioning metal shed at the end of the tractor tracks. If you look closely, you can see the Malvern Hills in the far background.