Butterflies / South Hill

South Hill – Day Dreaming

by Jeff Bevan · Published 24th June 2017 · Updated 1st July 2017

I had recently seen some old but beautiful backlit images of marbled whites within their grassland. I wanted to try and replicate this style of picture. So there was only one place to go – the Somerset Wildlife Trust reserve of South Hill near Somerton.

South Hill – Nr Somerton, Somerset, UK. ID 822_1661

Marbled Whites

The wonderful black and white butterflies were all over the reserve. They looked great sitting sitting on the grass.

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) – South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7184

But this classic but harsh shot was not the plan today

Day Dreaming

I wanted to capture an old fashion dreamy picture of the butterflies backlit in the grass. This was one of my first attempts. Nicely backlit, with a little bit of help from Photoshop, but why did this butterfly want to rest pointing downwards?

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) - South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7250

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) on Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album) – South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7250

This butterfly was sitting pretty. I liked the softness of the bedstraw against the straight lines of the grass.

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) - South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7315

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) on Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album) – South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7315

Bed of Straw

These pictures on bedstraw were my favourites from the visit. They came late as I was leaving the reserve and starting to give up.

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) - South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7478

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) on Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album) – South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7478

When I spotted this butterfly it had a couple of friends. I got very excited about photographing this group but it was not to be as the others quickly flew away. Probably just as well as I would have struggled to get all of them in focus at the same time.

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) - South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7623

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) on Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album) – South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7623

It was a very good looking butterfly.

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) - South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7638

Marbled White (Melanargia calathea) on Hedge Bedstraw (Galium album) – South Hill, Somerset, UK. ID 822_7638

I never got the picture I planned for but I was pleased with the ones I got – maybe next year. Anyway, it was a great way to spend a hour in the countryside after a hard day in the office.

And Finally…

I find bees really hard to photograph. I took about 50 pictures of this bumble bee and this was the only one where the bee got itself in focus.

This bee was fast asleep on the plantain flower. It has covered its eyes with its hands – not sure if that helps keep the light out but probably offers some protection.