Richard Broom Photography

Photographs, Video and Stuff

Posts from the ‘Nature’ category

The Toilet Seat Growth (today’s question)

We were up in the Scottish hills this morning where a number of trees have been cut down (to allow others more space to grow we think). We noticed this strange wooden-like growth (shaped like a toilet seat) growing around the top of the tree stump. Appropriately brown! We’re not quite sure what causes this growth. It is solid and is not some kind of fungus. We noticed the ‘toilet seat’ on several tree stumps. What are these growths? That question has got us stumped too. Anyone know the answer?

The Toilet Seat Growth (today's question)
The Toilet Seat Growth (today’s question) – Richard Broom Photography

The Little Critters

Vegetarians step away from the blog! Just help land 9 boxes of these little critters from a trawler that arrived at MacDuff Harbour about an hour ago. Until I started this job (harbour night-watchman), I had no idea it was possible to catch prawns this size in the waters off the coast of Scotland.

The Little Critters - Richard Broom Photography
The Little Critters – Richard Broom Photography

The Warning (2)

Don’t say you weren’t warned! See previous post. There is nothing at Troup Head to stop you falling over the cliff if you get too close to the edge.

Troup Head is a RSPB sanctuary not far from where we live in Banff. Some magnificent scenery and the sanctuary is teaming with birds and other wildlife. So good that we have these protected sites in the Scotland.

The Warning (2) - Richard Broom Photography
The Warning (2) – Richard Broom Photography

The Patient Rock

It occurred to me that this Scottish rock has been waiting patiently for, perhaps, millions of years for me to happen along with my camera. I can’t help wondering if anyone else has ever photographed this particular lump of broadly unspectacular but colourful rock. It is a bit of a geological jigsaw puzzle…

The Patient Rock - Richard Broom Photography
The Patient Rock – Richard Broom Photography

The Oak Processionary Moth

We’ve spotted a number of these ‘nests’ made by the Oak Processionary Moths in nearby oak trees here in the Netherlands. We’ve never seen them ever before. That’s global warming for you Mr Trump!!!

But, before blaming Mr Trump too much, it looks like we British might be responsible for introducing this particular (and toxic) pest into Europe. More information here.

The Oak Processionary Moth - Richard Broom Photography
The Oak Processionary Moth – Richard Broom Photography

The new Adobe Camera RAW Texture Slider – The flower

Still having fun with the new Texture Slider in Adobe Camera RAW. It’s a fun tool and it worked well on the flower below. I love taking photographs of flowers with a very narrow depth of field – it makes the flower pop out of the background. The new texture slider gives the image a bit of extra pop!

The new Adobe Camera RAW Texture Slider - The flower - Richard Broom Photography
The new Adobe Camera RAW Texture Slider – The flower – Richard Broom Photography

The Not Stinging Nettle

Sue tells me that, whilst the plant/weed shown in the first image below looks like a stinging nettle, it isn’t and you would not be stung if you touched it. I will not be testing this hypothesis. If it looks like a stinging nettle, then it will sting you. I apply the same logic to snakes. If it is a snake, it is poisonous!

For comparison purposes, the image at the bottom of this post is a stinging nettle.

The Not Stinging Nettle (apparently)
The Stinging Nettle – definitely!
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