Camera or operator
Am I good? Or, am I good because of good equipment? Or, does the equipment make me good? And so on and on… Luck? This butterfly cooperated. This all has a lot to do with the butterfly, who held still for its close-up. My good luck! Look at the detail – eye, the hairs. Pretty nifty! Hey! I’ve done this before. It’s not my first. But, its rare enough that I appreciate it’s not a given. A lot of things come together to get to this point. Ho hum. Whip out an iPhone and shoot. Uh uh. Not by the hair of its chinny chin chin.
Red butt
Wheel bug, assassin bug, you don’t see a red assed bug in your garden very often. They are not seen much so an internet search is pretty easy. I do not think they are native around here. So, this was worth a picture. And of course, the bug refused to cooperate. A proper photo was not easy to get. The bug kept crawling under a leaf or into the shade.
Bug
I hate bugs. Icky! I don’t mind taking pictures of bees… or, perhaps a dragonfly. Here’s an example with my spiffy macro lens. It ain’t easy. Everything is moving – subject and photographer – in 3D. There was a breeze swaying the flower. Luck and some skill is involved. No complaints. I got nice detail. Focus and detail, it all came together. This is better than before I used a macro lens. It’s still rare to get this confluence; the right place and right moment are hard to come by. Having the right tool at hand makes it easier to get the shot.
Big deal
This is the 17 year cicada brood in Ohio. They have red eyes. Oh!? They are silent when it’s cold. It was. No noise! Then, we got a nice day. It was noisy. For me, it’s background noise and hardly noticed as one would not smell a noxious odor after a few minutes. But, for others in the family, the noise remained deafening and annoying. Ok. I was happy enough for the photo-op. 17 years, I probably won’t be around for the next cycle. It’s a long long time to be dormant.
Bugs
I have two spiders who made webs and a home outside my windows. You would almost miss them. How? They are large! And, I was able to photograph their webs. The webs are nearly invisible. And they are large (too)! There’s not much cute about them. Somehow predators are not very warm and fuzzy. The details are what I could get. Not too good, not too bad. I was pleased to get as much detail in the web as I did. And, if you look closely you can see the thread of web spinning from the spider’s rear.
Death wish
It’s the middle of winter, sort of. And, this was taken in summer. That’s water on the praying mantis. I had just watered the plants when I noticed him. Notice – there’s an ant crawling up his left arm. Nuts! That would be a tasty snack. Shudder….
Monarch butterfly… & bee
A monarch landed on the deck among the mint blossoms. It stayed for 780 images. Yup!! Most times they have defects in their wings – damage from flying about. So? Which images were worthy? To be sure I have monarch butterfly pictures. (And, I have a whole lot more now.) These two made the cut. One – I never get a curled proboscis. Two – my goal has been to get a bee in flight – one next to a monarch butterfly – priceless!! To be honest, the bee simply flew into my picture. It was the one and only image.
Butterfly
It’s technically a butterfly and not a moth by the definition; I will not elaborate. I just got great detail. No complaints. It just flew into my camera view and landed on the butterfly bush. No kidding. It’s called a butterfly bush. Thank you. It works! – the bush.
This end…
Sphinx moth, tomato horn worm. I got ‘em. How? Dunno. They showed up eating a bite out of my green tomatoes. They proceeded to eat the leaves leaving bare stems. They pooped leaving droppings outside the tomato pot. Finally!!! I caught on. Duh!! First one, then another, then another… Colleen said they had to go. She’s got the farm background. Ok! They stick to the plant like glue. I fashioned chop sticks from two BBQ skewers. No luck. (They stick, remember?) The anatomy is fascinating. Fake “eye” spots. Horn! Multiple pairs of “clinging” legs in clustered pairs. The mouth end looks to have row upon row of teeth to chomp the leaves to the stem. They poop! But! They seem to poop near the head not the tail end. (Yes! That is pictured, top center.) That was interesting (too). I mistook the horn for the head and the head was so non-descript to be mistaken for the tail. Ha ha! My bad. I know my vision is fading with age… but maybe there’s something worse when you can’t tell the head from the tail.
Finally…
I’ve been trying for a “flying bee” shot. No dice. Persist. Finally! It’s not the bee I wanted to photograph. Hey! I did it! Now, what’s wrong? The wings are beating too fast to capture in the image. Ha ha! I have to use a superfast shutter speed. Nope, it’s not happenin’. Meanwhile, I shall seek to shoot a honey bee its legs loaded down with pollen…
Lucky
It’s not easy shooting moving targets. The flower and the butterfly are moving in 3D. This makes focus near impossible. Focus, composition, detail, and so on, all are critical. I was able to come away with two passable shots. It looks easy. It wasn’t. I feel fortunate that I was able to get something good.
Bugs
I liken my flower photo expeditions to the dives I did in the Red Sea. Walk around the garden and shoot the flowers. Not fish, flowers. And then pick out the best. And sometimes I get fauna – bugs. Lady bug, bee with pollen. Neat! It’s a plus!
I don’t Photoshop. I can. I would. I don’t much. Can you get it? But, there are exceptions as on this occasion where my vision and the photo needed tweaking to match my imagination.
Thanks
Wasp! I got great detail! My luck! I’m still waiting to get one in motion – flying. That will be quite a trick. I’m casual not crazed. So it will indeed be luck if I get a wasp in flight. Meanwhile, I got detail. Nice! He stood around while I got my shot.
Some time ago – many years – I started this blog. Photography was my passion. I never pandered for followers. There are a few hundreds who have come and gone. A few follow along at any given time. There are silent followers among friends and relatives. You know who you are. Ginny, Susan…more. Thank you. I am public and my thoughts hang out. Sometimes way out. Sometimes humorous. It is a picture into my life in photography. One (a few) pic and a short story (very long caption), it jumps forward and backward. There are no brakes and no editor other than me. Unfiltered.
To all of you who follow along – Thank you.
Old
I took these pictures. I know it because they are in my files. And it was from my deck container garden. Do I remember? No. I’m old and headed on to demented. Oh well, we knew this would happen. I hope not. Memory is a funny thing. I have forgotten more than I remember. I remember more than you know. I constantly amaze myself with obscure trivia that just pops up on demand. My images are my brain’s external storage. My photos have always served as an anchor. I can often see a random pic and recall the circumstance and place where it was taken. This flower and moth in my container garden? … not a clue. Demented? …every day you meet new people.
Bumble
Try to get a bumble bee in flight. Try? I’m generally unsuccessful. I can’t get the shot. Camera or photographer or both conspire to prevent me from capturing what I see. The limits of equipment keep the camera manufacturers happy. I buy another to see if it will perform better than the last. No! There are some things I shall keep trying. But another camera? I’d have to sneak that by the “Boss.” She may not know about cameras but she knows a new one when she sees it.
Bee
I’ve gotten to where I get the occasional bee upon a flower. It’s pretty rare to catch one in flight. I have skill. But, I lack in action photography. I learned long ago that I am off by … that much. I am and remain at the mercy of serendipity.
Spider
Yup, done this one before too. No problem. I haven’t done it many times and I don’t think I have done it upside down. Oh! Sure! Yes! Done that too! No matter, it’s still fun and unique. It’s not easy to get the shot. A point and shoot camera has certain disadvantages. Focus on small objects is a problem. But the main advantage is that I had a camera at all when I found this spider asking for his close-up.
Wooly Bear
At least this is what I call them. And it’s what I taught my kids to call them. Do you recall Proust’s La Madeleine? No matter. The appearance of a wooly bear recalls to me the childhood of my children and that magic moment when they first saw a wooly bear themselves. I was the one to point it out. And so, I passed down knowledge. Ah, they can’t take that away from me.
Swallowtail
Sometimes I see something again for the first time. It’s like looking but not seeing. It would be akin to not listening when Colleen is speaking. I like to pride myself on being able to parrot the last ten words she said to me in order to prove that I was paying attention (not). I usually fail to convince her. I wonder why? But, here, I am seeing the spots on the wing as though they were powdered on like delicate feathering. The transitions are soft not sharply defined. Nature is wonderful. In most circumstances I would have been thrilled to get a picture of the whole butterfly. That blue spray upon the wings is such a nice detail mother nature decided to add.
Collateral images
I’m having a day with the swallowtail caterpillars and a praying mantis walks up and into my picture. They are scary looking. And I do not know if they eat caterpillars. Frankly, it’s need to know and I don’t want to… know. It’s considered good luck to see one. They are carnivores. Great! We both go our own way…. I hope he will eat all the mosquitoes in my garden… probably not.
Praying mantis
My container garden is a magnet for insects. I had an invasion of Japanese beetles that ate a whole New Guinea impatiens. Just one, who knows why they spared the other plants. I have seen a couple praying mantises among the containers. It’s said to be good luck to see one. I think they eat lots of other insects. Maybe that will help against my ants and beetles? From my perspective this guy looks fierce.
Butterfly
We have a number of butterflies who come to the plants to eat. And much of the time they have injured their wings. This one is no exception and has a missing part to the back left. I am amazed at the detail of the camera and lens. I am good. The camera makes me look better. Between us we got a few great shots.
Dragonfly
Another year, another dragonfly. They do pose for me. And I shoot lots. And then I pick one to post. I suppose I should try to get a better vantage. But then again, I am happy that they will pose for me. Welcome back.
If you wait, then another opportunity will present itself. It’s a different day. And, the light was favorable. And the dragonfly was cooperative. I got a better shot. Hey! I have seen a bald eagle and a red dragonfly while we sat on the deck. I can’t show you the picture. The video of them is in my head. And you can’t download that.
Grasshopper
Sometimes pictures just jump into my lap. On our terrace door was a grasshopper clinging. This meant I had a ventral view – belly – not so usual for bugs. I got some shots. I was pleasantly surprised the camera did the exposure and it focused sufficiently through the glass so the eyes were sharp.
