A few photos taken on a stroll around Springwell Lake.

Technical details: Fuji X-M1 with Fujinon 60mm macro lens.

Kole Kole is part of the Baobab Beach Resort, lying on the white sands of Diani Beach, south of Mombasa. The friendly chaps in the first few photos were more than happy to pose while doing their antics in our hotel room!

Technical details: Sony a33 with Sigma 105mm, Minolta 70-210mm and Sony 35mm lenses.

Technical details: Sony a33 with Samyang 8mm fisheye lens.

A gorgeous Spring day at Kew Gardens, London's royal botanical gardens, and what better place to test out a new macro lens - the Fujinon 60mm f2.4 macro. I found it to be stunning - the reviews of proclaiming edge-to-edge sharpness even wide open as well as tack sharp in the centre proved to be true - a pleasure of a lens to use. With the exception of when photographing insects, the slightly slow AF can be forgiven in light of the near-perfect optical performance.

Having a quick browse through the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition displays provided some inspiration to Neha and myself for the rest of the day! I'm hoping to return to Kew later this year in late Spring / early Summer to capture the changing flora and scenery.

Technical details: Technical details: Fuji X-M1 with Fujinon 60mm macro lens.

More spring beauty in the capital. The view atop the Primrose Hill, despite the slight haze, offered wonderful views over London - with many of the prominent sites clearly in sight. It is one of the most expensive residential areas in London, and this article from the FT explains:

"If you want to understand the appeal of London’s Primrose Hill, an expensive enclave just north of Regent’s Park, simply take a stroll through the area.

Among the matrix of pretty streets and squares, you will see desirable, four-storey Victorian terraced houses neatly painted in pastel colours; G-Wiz electric microcars parked next to Porsche Cayennes; lampposts carrying makeshift signs for local book clubs and spinning classes; and, in Regent’s Park Road, about 30 small shops, half of them cafés or restaurants, with not a chain store in sight.

Primrose Hill’s unique selling point is that it is a small settlement near the centre of a world city. It may be just five minutes’ walk from gritty Camden Town or a 10-minute drive from Selfridges but “village” is the word you hear from local residents and estate agents alike."

Technical details: Fuji X-M1 with Tamron 35-80mm MF lens.

Like last year (click here), here is another round-up of some of the most memorable images taken over the past year. Click the photos to navigate to the associated full blog post. Happy viewing!

Please take a few minutes to vote for your favourite photos - click here.

Our dear friend Bal had long recommended a visit to the national arboretum (a botanical garden devoted to trees) in Autumn and we were lucky to have the opportunity to witness this riot of colour, or as the Forestry Commission describe it, "a natural firework display"!

Details on the arboretum: "The historic, Victorian picturesque landscape and internationally important tree and shrub collection contains 14,902 labelled trees (around 2,500 different types of tree), comimg from Britain, China, North America, Japan, Chile and other temperate climates. Planting started in the 1850s by Robert Holford; the rich Victorian landowner to whom the Westonbirt estate belonged." (Forestry Commission)

Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm and Tamron 28-75mm lenses.

Photos taken during a circular walk that trails away from the Aquadrome, across farms and into the woodland - details and map can be found here.

Technical details: Olympus E-PM1 with OM Zuiko 28mm f2.8 lens.

First photo shows the famous Long Walk, a straight 2.65 mile path that linking Windsor Castle with Snow Hill in Windsor Great Park. "Snow Hill was where, as the legend has it, King Henry VIII sat and waited for news of the execution of his second wife, Queen Anne Boleyn. However, the path as we know it only came into being during the reign of King Charles II who had double rows of Elm trees planted the entire length of the route. There were 1,652 trees planted to create the basis of the landscape we know today. Charles wanted to remodel Windsor in a modern popular style and the Long Walk was just one aspect of his improvement scheme" (Windsor Berkshire).

Windsor Great Park "was once part of a vast Norman hunting forest which was enclosed in the late 13th century. The 2,020 hectares (5,000 acres) of parkland, which includes a Deer Park, is a varied landscape of formal avenues, gardens, woodland and open grassland. The antiquity of the landscape is enhanced by the scattering of great ancient oaks for which the Great Park and its forest are renowned." (The Crown Estate).

Technical details: Sony a850 with Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) lens.

A selection of nature photos taken in early May - the beauty of Spring can certainly be seen in the flowers and young chicks below!

Flowers
Location: In the Garden
Technical details: Sony a850 with Sigma 105mm lens.

Birds
Location: Springwell Lake, Rickmansworth
Technical Details: Sony a850 with Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) lens.

Location: Regent's Park and Hampstead Heath
Technical Details: Sony a850 with Minolta 70-210mm f4 lens.