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Mandy Daniels

@mandydaniels.bsky.social

440 followers 150 following 340 posts

UK based photography and astronomy, not using AI. Check out my photographs on EarthSky: https://ecp.earthsky.org/community-photos/?filter_1_3=Mandy&filter_1_6=Daniels&mode=all #photography #astronomy #astrophotography #moon

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 2d

The 66% #waning #gibbous #daytime #Moon, 2025 10 11, 08:53:24 UTC at an altitude of 38° 29' and a distance of 366 243 km.

Nikon D800
Skywatcher 200P

f/5.9, 1/500s, ISO-100, 1200 mm FL

#astronomy #astrophotography #craters

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 2d

The 70% #waning #gibbous #Moon, 2025 10 11, 23:04:24 UTC at an altitude of 27° 44' and a distance of 365 406 km.

Nikon D800
Skywatcher 200P

f/5.9, 1/80s, ISO-200, 1200 mm FL

#astronomy #astrophotography #craters

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah, it has no idea. The composition is good, though apart from the woman in the foreground. Rules are made to be broken! Keep up the good work.

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 3d

"The tram feels slightly tight on the bottom"? Hmm, obviously the bot is blind. I would prefer the foreground woman not to be present, but, hey, you gotta take the shot when the tram is in the right place, which it is.

Honestly, it sounds to me to be regurgitating reviews it has trained on.

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 3d

The 78% #waning #gibbous #Moon, 2025 10 11, 05:22:58 UTC at an altitude of 57° 25' and a distance of 360 007 km.

Nikon D800
Skywatcher 200P

f/5.9, 1/80s, ISO-100, 1200 mm FL

#astronomy #astrophotography #craters

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 4d

The 89% #waning #gibbous #Moon, 2025 10 09, 22:34:12 UTC at an altitude of 38° 06' and a distance of 357 485 km.

Nikon D800
Skywatcher 200P

f/5.9, 1/160s, ISO-100, 1200 mm FL

#astronomy #astrophotography #craters

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 5d

The 95% #waning #gibbous #Moon, 2025 10 08, 22:10:28 UTC at an altitude of 39° 02' and a distance of 355 892 km.

Nikon D800
Skywatcher 200P

f/5.9, 1/250s, ISO-100, 1200 mm FL

#astronomy #astrophotography #craters

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 8d

My camera has a bug!

#photography #ladybird #ladybug #bug #insect

Photograph shows a red ladybird sitting on top of a Nikon camera, next to the flash hotshoe.

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 11d

I do quite like the new version.

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 11d

Thank you for the correction. They look so similar, it's easy to get them mixed up.

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 12d

A brown marmorated shield bug sitting in a leaf on the flowering ivy.

Nikon D800
Nikon 105 mm macro lens

Exposure: f/16, 1/250s, ISO-1600

#insect #bug #shieldbug #stinkbug #pentatomidae #macro #photography

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 13d

Are we sure that ChatGPT isn't running on a Commodore Pet?

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 13d

A smiling wasp defies gravity to look directly into the lens of my camera, whilst perched on seed heads that look like miniature lime cup cakes dusted with sugar.

Nikon D7200
Exposure: f/16, 1/250s, ISO-1600

#macro #wasp #insects #photography #nature

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 13d

Another #ladybird visitor for the flowering ivy, today

Nikon D7200
Nikon 105 mm macro lens

#macro #insects #nature #plants #photography

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 13d

#Syrphus #ribesii wandering over a flowering #ivy seed head.

Nikon D7200
Nikon 105 mm macro lens

Exposure: f/16, 1/800s, ISO-1600

#macro #photography #insects #plants

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 13d

Of all moths, #Emmelina #monodctyla, morning glory plume moth or T #moth as it is known for its shape, is probably the strangest and one of the most beautiful.

#insects #macro #photography #nature

The T moth, so named for its resemblance to a capital letter T is very strange, prehistoric looking creature with a long wood like body topped with a pair of outstretched furled wings. It has four long legs, about half the length of its furled wings, outstretched like a letter X. At the lower end of its abdomen is a birfurcated tail. At the mid point of each hind leg is spur. At the front (top in this image) is a small bar across the forward part of the head, that looks like a hollow tube.

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 13d

That's really interesting. I'd not heard of that tool before. I shall have to look into it. You are welcome to use any of my Moon photos as inspiration. I'd love to see them turned into real art. I think your work is lovely.

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 14d

A bumble bee drops in briefly to feed on the flowering ivy seed heads.

Nikon D800
Nikon 105 mm macro lens

Exposure: f/16, 1/125s, ISO-1600

#bee #bumblebee #nature #photography

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 14d

A ladybird on the flowering ivy seed heads.

Nikon D800
Nikon 105 mm macro lens

#ladybird #insects #nature #photography #macro

A large, red, seven spot ladybird climbing upwards on a seed head.

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 14d

There is beauty in everything, even a wasp.

Nikon D800
Nikon 105 mm macro lens

Exposure: f/16, 1/1000s, ISO-1600

#macro #photography #nature #insects

A wasp feeds on the seed head of flowering ivy, it's segmented body curving around the plant. It's body is covered in fine hairs and it's eyes are almost the size of its head.

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 14d

What an awesome piece of art and a wonderful gift. Did you work from a photograph?

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Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 15d

Syrphus ribesii on a flowering ivy seed head in black and white.

Nikon D800
Nikon 300mm f/4 prime lens

Exposure: f/11, 1/1000s, ISO-1600

#blackandwhite #syrphusribesii #insect #photography

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 15d

A Harlequin #ladybird with red spots and a black body.

Exposure: f/11, 1/1600s, ISO-1600

#insect #ladybug #photography #closeup #nature

A small black ladybird with two large red spots with black centres that look like eyes. It has the usual white eye markings above what looks like a nose. It is situated in the upper right quadrant of the photograph and was moving towards the centre of the image. It is on the seed head of a flower.

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 18d

A few more insect photos. See Alt text on images for details. All photos taken with Nikon D800 and 300mm f/4 prime lens.

#insects #flowers #ladybird #ladybug

Eupeodes luniger flying towards pink Valarian flowers. It's wing beat is too fast for the shutter speed to freeze it.

Exposure: f/8, 1/1250s, ISO-800

Syrphus ribesii on pink Valarian flowers with it's wings spread.

Exposure: f/11, 1/1000s, ISO-1600

Cocinnella septempunctata, or common large 7 spot ladybird on a cluster of deep pink Valarian buds.

Exposure: f/8, 1/400s, ISO-800

Syrphus ribesii on pink Valarian flowers.

Exposure: f/11, 1/2500s, ISO-1600

Mandy Daniels @mandydaniels.bsky.social · 20d

The autumn flowering "dandelion" or Autumn Hawkbit (Scorzoneroides autumnalis), is commonly found in the UK and is also known as the Fall Dandelion.

Nikon D800
Nikon 300mm f/4 prime lens

Exposure: f/8, 1/2500s, ISO-3200

#flowers #nature #naturephotography #photography #autumn