Red sails in the sunse...er, afternoon...

The remnants of the Indian summer continue, although as the weekend comes to an end temperatures begin to drop across the country; in fact, this morning was the first time I witnessed a frost on the grass.

Making the most of the good conditions I return to Stanpit marsh, at the confluence of the Avon and Stour rivers, Dorset. The Glossy Ibis, the centre of attention of the area for the past month, has apparently now departed for warmer climes - much to the chagrin of the BBC's Autumn Watch programme, that sent a crew to attempt to film it last week.

Instead, I turn my lens to other areas of the marsh and surrounding area. Today, I'm using a macro lens - an optic primarily designed to photograph subjects up to a magnification ratio of 1:1 (life-sized on the image sensor of the camera) but this type of lens can also be used for general photography - as today's image illustrates. The short telephoto design is also useful for portraiture, as it slight flattens perspective, flattering the sitter.

105mm f/2.8D Sigma Macro. 1/500 second at f/11. -0.33 EV compensation. ISO 400

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