Woke up to 11,423 emails. All but three were spam. Somebody (the spammer) had used my email address to spam millions of people, which means I receive all the ones that are returned because the recipient’s have spam filters, server firewalls, or ‘On holiday’ messages. Don’t you just love spammers?

From time to time I work on design projects that I cannot tell you about, which is frustrating. For the last week there has been such a job. It’s gone well and I think the designs are effective. Looking ahead, I plan to revisit the Yorkshire coast this weekend and I also have been asked to photograph a wedding the week after. Shall be slightly nervous, but I have done a couple before in the days when we used rolls of films as digital photography did not exist. Now those were the days….no spam!

In the late 70′s and early 80′s many coal mines were sadly closed throughout Yorkshire and the North of England. Barnsley Council redeveloped the 250 acre site at Old Moor, into a nature reserve which is run by the RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). It’s now a fabulous location and I spent several hours there photographing the wildlife this morning. It was pretty windy today and there were few butterflies and dragonfly brave enough to venture out, but I will return when the hot summer days finally arrive.

Meet the 6-Spot Burnet Moth. A day time moth, that is reluctant to fly and just holds on to his chosen plant in the breeze and eats. It’s the first time I have seen one. Below is a beautiful male damselfly.

Spent all day getting my accounts ready for the taxman, before taking my brother Craig to see Alicia Keys in Manchester. What really impressed me was the way the stunning audiovisual show, fabulous lighting, great choreography and music all worked together to create a great show. Things have moved on a long way from the days of The Undertones, Joy Division and The Pogues – but then so has taking photos on a mobile phone. Just need my ears to stop buzzing now!

After a week of sorting lots of technical issues, ie transferring existing websites and various Dreamweaver problems, Sunday was a chance to escape. Spent the day trying to improve my photography skills at RAF Waddington Airshow. I got completely drenched by the British summer rain, but the dark grey clouds provided a dramatic background. I am aware that this blog is looking like a photography blog but I am going to concentrate on posting more design projects in the coming days. Promise.