Wild Ginger

There is "wet belly" photography on the prairie and "nose to the ground" photography in the woods. In this case it helped that there was a steep hillside. This intricate flower has an unpleasant aroma that attracts flies for pollination.

April is a Memory

I was walking one morning last week and the  leaves of this bloodroot caught my eye. Woodland beauty continues even when the flowers are done blooming. The leaves will grow and glow until the canopy closes in. 

Who me?

This meadow hawk seems guilty of something. My dream shot is a shot like this with a fly being eaten. Lots of macro shooting recently now that the flies and mosquitoes are past peak.

Hanging On

A spring peeper on a milkweed leaf which gives some sense of its size. This was cropped to vertical to accentuate the feeling of instability. There were several color variations among the frogs, perhaps a reaction to the light. Another fascinating observation to Google check.

Peeper on fern

I've been out the last couple mornings concentrating on a short section of roadside. Black and White does not work very often in macro, usually only when I have overstayed the light.

Red Admiral eats Rattlesnake Master

The title could be a headline in a tabloid newspaper but actually describes the a common butterfly feeding on an uncommon Minnesota prairie plant. I like to photograph relationships and butterflies feeding on prairie plants provides a great opportunity to show the connection between them. It also easier to sit and wait for a butterfly to land than trying to chase it from plant to plant.

Head to Head

As you can imagine this does not have a happy ending for the grasshopper. Crab spiders can adapt their color somewhat to blend into the flowers as they lay in wait for prey. Web spinning spiders are hard to see during the day making this spider one of my favorite spiders to photograph when looking for butterflies.

Love those lilies!

I can't seem to get enough time with Turk's Cap lilies. Now that they are past peak I'll be daydreaming about ways to photograph them until they bloom again next July. The lines and colors offer unlimited possibilities for the macro lens, it is just a matter of trying ideas at different settings and compositions. Recorded with a 180 mm Macro at about f5.6 to blur the background.

Frosted pane

What do you do when the wind chill is -45 degrees and you want to take a picture? I dressed like an Eskimo to get the mail this morning (a bill and two catalogs) and decided to get some frost shots. The garage windows were frosted and out of the wind but it was still -20. Anyhow, I got some clicking in before the fingers went numb. Technical: dirty window cleaned with Lightroom clone tool

Autumn Feast

What are they? Beats me. I could have spent some time identifying each species but this quote from Mary Oliver comes to mind.

"Still, What I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled---to cast aside the weight of facts and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world."

Enjoy.

Take a Break From the Big Picture

In photography we tend to concentrate on the big picture, the grand landscape, and charismatic megafauna. In life at this time of year we are focused on the number and size of presents. Take 30 seconds to watch one of God's little creatures. Say thank you to the harried clerk, look for the twinkle in the eye of a child, and remember how this all started.

Still Chasing Butterflies

I was wandering yesterday afternoon and came across a couple butterflies.  This pearl crescent held still for a minute allowing a couple shots. Eastern tail blues are still around.  This butterfly is named for the white mark (pearl) surrounded by brown on the edge of the hindwing.  They won't be around much longer.