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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Apr 11

A strawberry - it will be in a week or two, he's trying very hard to grow, don't tell him I will be eating him! 12 shot focus stack - 16mm extension tube
#photography #focus_stack #strawberry

12 shot focus stack - 16mm extension tube
Date: 09 April 2025
Camera: FUJIFILM X-S10
Lens: Fujifilm XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS
Aperture: 50.5 mm,
F Stop: F5.6
S Speed: 1/640
ISO 160

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Mar 19

A toad hiding behind a strawberry plant. He is welcome in our garden, along with the mantises and the bats, they eat the things that bite us and eat our strawberries. The Chafer beetles are back, I hate those buggers, nothing seems to eat them and they cause havoc, grrrr!

A toad in a strawberry plant, Marina Alta, Spain
19 March 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 206.5 mm, F5.0 , 1/40 , ISO 160

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Mar 19

A Bird of Paradise plant in my garden after the rain, a lot of rain, more rain than we had all of last year, rain, rain and more rain.

Bird Of Paradise flower with rain drops, Marina Alta, Spain
19 March 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 300.0 mm, F14.0 , 1/400 , ISO 800

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 26

Another bee of the day! Two bees or not two bees? Looking through my old photos, I found this on, also from 2023, not 2024, when you get as old as me the years get confusing, back in my day the years were much easier because they were smaller numbers.
#photography #bee #insect

Bess hanging on a yellow flower, Marina Alta, Spain
04 May 2023 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS , 55.0 mm, F16.0 , 1/250 , ISO 640

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 26

Today's bee of the day is from way back in 2024 - it was a different world back then! This chap was tiny, really tiny. The centre of the African daisy is about 1cm across (something or other in inches, who knows/cares?) so he was less than 1cm.
#photography #bee #insect

Tiny bee on African daisy, Marina Alta, Spain
04 May 2023 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS , 55.0 mm, F16.0 , 1/250 , ISO 640

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 26

A clever photography teacher told me that subject is everything, always use the rule of thirds and other stuff I ignore. Is the subject the sky in this picture? Dunno, don't care, the sky was impressive yesterday evening but not behind the mountain so I just snapped the sky
#photogaphy #sunset #sky

Dramatic sunset sky, Marina Alta, Spain
25 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 70.0 mm, F10.0 , 1/20 , ISO 800

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 24

Bee of the day is .... dunno. It might be a violet carpenter bee, it might not, it's a bee and it likes lavender, I will name it Arthur.
#photography #bee #lavender #nature

A bee on lavender, possibly a Violet Carpenter bee, Marina Alta, Spain
24 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 300.0 mm, F9.0 , 1/420 , ISO 800

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 14

It's because they couldn't drink the water in olden days, they had to drink beer, a tradition I like to follow.

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 13

A different type of shot of the creepy crawly caterpillars. If you see these chaps run away screaming like a little baby, they will attack for no reason! Oh no, that's sharks, I always get them mixed up.

Pine processionary caterpillars (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), Marina Alta, Spain
13 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 300.0 mm, F22.0 , 1/125 , ISO 2500

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 13

The pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) is a toxic caterpillar A danger to people and pets, and have been responsible for the deaths of many animals. Eeeek! These chaps were pretty, but I didn't touch them! There were about 30 of them in a line.
#photography #caterpillars

Pne processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), Marina Alta, Spain
13 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 300.0 mm, F5.6 , 1/125 , ISO 200

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 6

More bins! Bees and bins seem to be my photography 'specialities'. Montgo (the mountain) always looks nice from Xabia, but I've got zillions of snaps of her, so I try and find less boring shots - bins! A glorious January day yesterday that made the bins look great?
#photography #Montgo #Xabia

Large recycling bins with Montgo mountain in background, Xabia, Marina Alta, Spain
05 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , Viltrox AF 35/1.7 XF , 35.0 mm, F10.0 , 1/480 , ISO 320

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 4

Today's bee of the day - a European honey bee enjoying the wood sorrel. I had to go for a pneumonia vaccine this morning so I took my camera to take my mind off the awful experience - I was brave, I didn't cry but the nurse did not give me a sweety! Cruel.
#photography #bee #woodsorrel #Spain

European honey bee on yellow Wood Sorrel floor, Marina Alta, Spain
04 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 239.8 mm, F10.0 , 1/680 , ISO 160

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 4

Almond blossom time! Winter has ended (not really, it's still chilly overnight and in the mornings, a year or two back we had a really cold March and the poor old Almonds got decimated).
#photography #almondblossom #Spain

Almond blossom, Marina Alta, Spain
04 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 239.8 mm, F10.0 , 1/320 , ISO 160

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Feb 4

One of the great things about living in Spain (there are many) is Spring in January! These wood sorrel are apparently invasive weeds, they are everywhere, gazillions of them, they are edible but I haven't tried them yet.
#photography #floers #woodsorrel #bee

Wood sorrel, yellow flowers with a bee, Marina Alta, Spain
04 February 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 94.3 mm, F10.0 , 1/1250 , ISO 320

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 31

Not a normal Bluesky sunny day this morning in this part of Spain. I did fiddle with the photo a bit (3 shot exposure bracket, Nik Bleached Portrait filter) to make it even more dark and moody, but it really is a dismal day today - but good for snapping pics.
#photography #landscape #mountain

Dark cloudy sky behind Segaria mountain, Marina Alta, Spain
31 January 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , AF 35/1.7 XF , 35.0 mm, F8.0 , 1/250 , ISO 5000 , 3 shot Exposure bracket, NIK Bleached Portrait Filter

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 26

BOTD - Bee of the Day. The bees are getting busy even though it's only January. Some of the Almond trees are starting to blossom so I'll be out snapping them (and their bees of course).

Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) on yellow flower, Marina Alta, Spain
26 January 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 300.0 mm, F16.0 , 1/2000 , ISO 3200 , 11mm Extension Tube

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 25

Today's bee was a bit shy, she kept hiding when I was trying to take her picture. She's a Bombus hortorum according to Google, on some English Lavender, how did that get to Spain?

Bumble bee (Bombus hortorum) on lavender, Marina Atta, Spain
25 January 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 118.0 mm, F6.4 , 1/500 , ISO 400

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 23

OK, so this is not an exciting picture, boring, dull, but I don't think I have ever seen the sea as eerily calm as it was this morning. (Balearic Sea also known as Iberian Sea, in the Mediterranean Sea between the Balearic Islands and mainland Spain)
#photography #sea #balearic

The Balearic sea, calm, Marina Alt, Spain
23 January 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , VilroxAF 35/1.7 XF , 35.0 mm, F10.0 , 1/250 , ISO 160

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 22

Same rock as the las post, same stream - yay, we've got a stream, with actual water! I got a new lens yesterday and I'm testing it out, it's a Viltrox 35mm F1.7, so far it seems very nice.
#photography #stream #landscape

A rock in a stream, Marina Alta, Spain
22 January 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , Viltrox AF 35/1.7 XF , 35.0 mm, F9.0 , 1/400 , ISO 320

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 22

A rock in a stream! Wow! Why am I so excited about this? Well, I haven't seen water in this stream for a long time here, it's taken a while for the water to run down from the mountains to plonk some water in this stream which has been dry for well over a year.
#photography #nature #stream

A rock in a stream, Marina Alta, Spain
22 January 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , Viltrox AF 35/1.7 XF , 35.0 mm, F3.2 , 1/2000 , ISO 400

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 21

Today is the sort of day where everybody needs a bee, if you are feeling depressed (who isn't today?), try and find a bee. If you're in a chilly place and don't have your own bee available, here's one from my garden this morning.
#photography #nature #bee

A bee on Aeonium arboreum flowers
21 January 2025 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 300.0 mm, F9.0 , 1/400 , ISO 320

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 9

My bike around the local area, the closest I'm going to get to doing a selfie! Cycling is a great way of getting around for photography. Warning! Don't cycle holding your camera like I did a while back, I hit some gravel and ...... smash, ouch, oh no! The camera survived, phew!
#photography #Spain

Four pictures of my bike on photo trips, Marina Alta, Spain

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 8

Three trees. We get very nice sunsets at this time of year, these trees in a little park at the end of our road look nice with a bit of spectacular natural backlighting.
#photography #trees #sunset #Spain

Three palm trees silhouetted by spectacular sunset, Marina Alta, Spain
06 December 2024 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR , 231.0 mm, F5.6 , 1/640 , ISO 320

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 8

El Llavador de Ondara -old public wash house. It will surprise some people to find out we don't use these anymore in Spain, which is in the continent (not country) of Europe - we have all sorts of stuff like electricity, the internet, indoor toilets and .. freedom!😜
#photography #history #Spain

El Llavador de Ondara, Old public wash house in Ondara, Marina Alta, Spain
01 December 2021 , FUJIFILM X-T1 , XC35mmF2 , 35.0 mm, F2.8 , 1/125 , ISO 400

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Simon In Spain @simplysimonspain.bsky.social · Jan 8

This chap is apparently a Geranium Bronze #Butterfly- Cacyreus marshalli, sitting on a plant pole. I think they're nice, my wife doesn't like them 'cos they cause havoc in her geraniums.
#nature #photography #butterfly #Spain

Geranium Bronze Butterfly- Cacyreus marshalli, Marina Alta, Spain
14 May 2023 , FUJIFILM X-S10 , Laowa 65mm, F11.0 , 1/200 , ISO 320

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