Vist to Austerfield Field Study Centre July 2008
When Axholme Camera Club was asked for volunteers to spend an evening in a room full of snakes, spiders and insects, I'm sure no-one expected the ladies to be first in the queue. However, the ladies outnumbered the men by 2 to 1 when the Camera Club visited Austerfield Field Study Centre to photograph the livestock on Wednesday.
 
Head of Centre Andrew Jagger (BEd) hosted the session for the group, talking about the creatures he presented for photographs, so the evening was entertaining and enjoyable, with some members taking so many photos they ran out of film or digital capacity.
 
The snakes were very popular, and posed nicely for the photographers, or perhaps they were just basking in the heat of the floodlights. With their beautifully smooth, patterned skins and slow movements, they made good subjects for the cameras. However, the expert advice of experienced photographer Alan Townsend was much appreciated by those new to photography, helping them to get the best possible results.
 
Some of the ladies were happy to hold the snakes, but only Monica Bland was keen to get more closely acquainted with a Mexican Red Spider ( commonly known as a Tarantula)!
She picked it up and allowed it to crawl up her arm, its hairy legs delicately feeling the warmth of her bare skin.
 
Hissing sounds emanated from the cockroaches when Andrew demonstrated their self defence mechanism, and due to their size, bigger than a £2 coin, they were easy to photograph. The strangely shaped Australian Leaf Insects clung to a sturdy shrub for their portraits.
 
The star of the show was undoubtedly the Firebellied Toad. The striking green and black warty skin of its back was replaced by a fiery orange when it turned over and played dead! Numerous repeat performances kept us amused for ages. The heavily pregnant Firebellied Newt, however, refused to indulge us.
 
Gerbil City, a high-rise of white plastic apartments, contained families at all stages of life,
from the jelly- baby-like one day olds, pink and wriggly, with no eyes, ears or fur, through all ages to the elderly gerbils, all albinos.
 
With the constant chatter of cockatiels demanding attention in the background, the members of Axholme Camera Club had a great evening, and some good photographs should be appearing in future competitions.
 
We are grateful to Andrew Jagger for his time and expertise, and would recommend a visit to anyone interested. Andrew can be contacted at 01302710415 or by Email on AFSC1882@aol.com  for group bookings.