Well, it's been a while and as predicted, going back to school for the last term pretty much killed of any blog activity for a couple of months...shocking.

That's certainly not to say that it hasn't been exciting though! I've finally gone and acquired a Alpha 700 which has helped me step up a gear with the photography and matches up extremely well with the Sigma 24-70 i've had since Christmas. Getting it now has got me into a tiny bit of trouble (!) but does give me enough time before the upcoming wedding to get some practise in and become familiar with the new camera.

The series that follow weren't taken with the Sigma but with a Tamron 70-300 which I bought with the previous Alpha 200 and is a bit of a cheap zoom but works well enough and has a macro setting which is a nice bonus.

Stopped out to f8 it works well enough and the a700 helps it focus a little closer, making the pictures a little sharper. These are pictures of the wildlife pond at school http://www.oakwoodschool.co.uk/ which was looking pretty fantastic in the sunshine.

The bee is a bit soft for my liking but I'm a big fan of the weeds around it and like the way the patterns contrast between the pond weed and bee's (or wasp?) body. The ever so slightly lazy photoshopping brings out the colour of the bee quite well I think.