Writing can be hard sometimes

I thought I'd have a bit of a talk about the blog itself this week. Some of you may have noticed that they have not been coming every week - like I initially promised. Or in the case of the Christmas period every two weeks. The truth is that I am caught in a bit of a pinch. On one hand I have to look after Team Candiru and all our little projects. On the other I'm running out of things to write about!

Zebra jumper. To help break up the text.

So I started to feel like they were a bit rushed, or not too interesting or just lacking a point. Now I'm all about quality over quantity, so I'm thinking now that instead of focusing on getting something out all the time that it may be a better idea to just write one when I actually have something that I want to say. Which you will be pleased to hear is actually quite a lot of the time. So yeah they should still be fairly regular, but maybe not every week as I had originally planned.

Idolomantis diabolica

The good news is I do really enjoy this. I find the whole experience quite therapeutic. So maybe I'm just writing for myself... And if that's the case I don't really see why I should be pandering to you. I'll write when I damn well feel like it. Like Charles Bukowski.

"You don't, I told them. You don't try. That's very important: not to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more. It's like a bug high on the wall. You wait for it to come to you. When it gets close enough you reach out, slap out and kill it. Or if you like its looks you make a pet out of it."

A different preying mantis. Eating a different fly.

Right now we do have a number of projects on the go, and once we start making them things will heat up. However, the day to day stuff doesn't always make for a good blog post. I'll give you some examples from the last two weeks: Today I spent 4 hours filling out forms and looking at terms and conditions. I have also spent the last few day drawing up a lengthy excel spreadsheet and I even went to Glasgow to meet with some solicitors! While these things are necessary, they just aren’t very sexy. In fact I like to think that people may be reading this while they should be doing stuff like that, but have decided to procrastinate.

A tropical butterfly. The King Shoemaker. Expect more of these.

What is sexy though is the French Antilles -where I will be for the next two weeks! I plan to fill my days going snorkeling, hanging out on deserted beaches and photographing some awesome tropical insects - it's a hard life sometimes! Once I get back I can assure you that the next post will be sexy and interesting and filled with colourful tropical insects. Until then thanks for reading!

Follow me on twitter at @jamesadunbar

And Instagram at @jamesdunbarphoto

Whats new with Team Candiru?

Right now as I mentioned above we are mostly working on clerical legan and finiancial things to get the films we want to make off the ground. As mentioned in previous posts these are:

Scotland's Micro Monsters: This is a project that we are working on with renowned presenter and biologist Dr Ross Piper. We will be making a few awesome sequences about solitary wasps, nursery web spiders and sundews. We have just applied for some funding from Creative Scotland to get this project off the ground. If you enjoyed The Solitary Bees do watch this space.

Madagascar: We have submitted a proposal to the AEECL (The European Society for the Study and Conservation of Lemurs) to make a film all about the work that they do out in Madagascar. So far the initial feedback has been very encouraging. This film will be funded by a MAJOR crowd sourcing effort. Once it is underway we do encourage as many people to share and donate as possible.

Armenia: A few weeks ago I was filming at the Communicate conference. While there I met the delightful Bethan John founder of Wildlands Creative. I told her about our little company and said that we were keen to collaborate with new people. I am delighted to say that it looks like we are going to be making a film together to raise awareness about a vital land corridor running between Armenia and Iran. This land will be vital for the future of some of the Caucuses most amazing and endangered animals including the Asiatic leopard.

California Bees and Blooms: By far our largest and most ambitious project. Working together with the University of California Berkeley we will be making a film about the lives of some of California's 1600 species of native bee.

Tech Specs:

The Zebra Jumper.

Camera: Nikon d300s

Lens: Reverse mounted 24mm mf f2.8 witha home made reversing ring.

Lit by a SB-800 speedlight and a homemade diffuser.

The Idolomantis and the orchid mantis.

Camera: Nikon d300s.

Lens: Nikon 105mm Macro

Lit by a Nikon SB-800 and home made diffuser.

The King Shoemaker butterfly:

Camera: Nikon d300s.

Lens: Nikon 60mm macro

Lit by a Nikon SB-800 and home made diffuser.