Nature images by Michael Holland | Photo Gallery — Growing Understandings

A few visual treats

These have been taken or made by me over the years & link to the natural world in some way.

Other image collections (of which I’m proud) can be found on Flickr here as well as on my Instagram page feed which you can see here.

Tonight marks a huge milestone: it’s the 200th episode of the Halenders Radio Show!
Join me for a carefully crafted blend of music. I’ll be celebrating with 4 ABBA covers in a row & gems from legends like Stevies Wonder & Nicks,

To celebrate World Teachers’ Day, my live Halenders Show will be educationally themed. Double chemistry & history, some classroom crushes, a plateful of food for thought & a little adult education. Expect Van Halen, Pink Floyd, Sam Cook

My #ArtistOfTheMonth is the rather wonderful Erica Luke.
We crossed paths while doing community gardening together for @hcga_gardens & when Erica mentioned her art, I had to have a look. Her colourful landscapes, still lifes, & self-portraits

Kurt Weill meets Kurt Vile; Chuck Berry, Matt Berry, ELO & Kenneth Williams all take on Beethoven; Skywalker meets his daddy, a new recording of an adagio from 1716, Skyscraper Stan, Billie Holiday, 3 sporty songs & The LAs are all on today&r

In my 2nd attempt at Halenders Show number 196, there be..
..Magnet, Mussorgsky & Morphine; Billie, Björk & Blondie along with Just Jack, English Teacher, Weird Al, The Zombies, some seasonal chat & some shark facts. Join me at Hspar

A bumblebee feeding from a daisy-family flower at London’s amazing Chelsea Physic Garden. [This would certainly have been taken using my lovely 100mm macro lens and a Canon EOS DSLR camera (and a steady hand).] — A bumblebee feeding from a daisy-family flower at London’s amazing Chelsea Physic Garden.
[This would certainly have been taken using my lovely 100mm macro lens and a Canon EOS DSLR camera (and a steady hand).]

Ctenium concinnum, also known as Sickle Grass

I took this picture in Swaziland’s wonderful Malolotja Nature Reserve in 1993, where myself and 5 others from the UK were carrying out a vegetation survey there. It was a magical few months and this is one of thousands of images from that expedition. More info on this Southern African grass can be found here: https://wildflowernursery.co.za/indigenous-plant-database/ctenium-concinnum-2/
[Taken using a 35mm Olympus OM series film camera on Kodak T-max film.]

Douglas Fir in Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA

This Douglas Fir tree (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is growing from deep within the unbelievably beautiful Bryce Canyon National Park in the American state of Utah.
It struck me as a true survivor when I saw this on an epic road trip in the summer of 1992.

[Shot with an Olympus OM series camera on Fuji Velvia slide film.]

KL map1.jpg — KL Map

Taken in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in about 2002, this is not actually a map. Have a closer look. It’s paint on a handrail, worn away over time - on the way up to a Hindu temple at Batu Caves. This is one of several hundred images of this type I have captured all over the world over the years.
‘Wear in the World’ is the name of this side project which brings to light that some of the same factors that act upon small painted surfaces appear to be the same as some of those acting on continents and landmasses.

Micro lawn

A closeup of the Birmingham City Council and Baroness Floella Benjamin garden display at the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Small scenes on a chamomile lawn.

This image was taken in my old back garden back in 2003- about 2 metres from the back door I crouched in my pajamas, with macro lens on the Olympus OM series film camera (old school)- holding my breath so as to capture the shot without too much movement of my own (the Web was doing plenty of its own - only millimetres, but it all makes a difference to these things). It is a garden spider (Araneus diadematus) -also known as the 'cross spider' - wrapping up a shield bug in silk to suck dry later.

This image depicts one of approximately 600 species of spiders in the British Isles and one of 44 species of shield bugs (their foods are sap and leaves).
This is a depiction of just one of the millions of meals taking place in our neighbourhoods all the time.
A given weight of spider silk is five times as strong as the same weight of steel. Reasonably successful attempts to synthesise it have included inserting the silk gene into goats and then extracting the silk from the goat's milk then spinning this to combine the single stands as a spider does with its spinnerets which did sort of work was not commercially viable.

Spiders fall into several groups including hunters and those that spin webs such as the one pictured. There are even species that create underwater webs.

Taken mid-morning on 29th December 2016 in Epping Forest, near The Hollow Pond. This image shows the mist created as the morning frost melts and rises up as it evaporates. I’d had to go to Whipps Cross hospital for some reason and decided walking th… — Taken mid-morning on 29th December 2016 in Epping Forest, near The Hollow Pond. This image shows the mist created as the morning frost melts and rises up as it evaporates. I’d had to go to Whipps Cross hospital for some reason and decided walking the 30 minutes home was a good idea and I am very glad I did.