Food for Flies

I found myself getting frustrated trying to get a picture perfect lily last week. When I looked closely these flies were the villains. When I thought about it later, maybe the lily was there for the flies and not my perfect image. Another reminder for me to photograph what I see instead of what I wish was in front of the lens.

One or Two?

The choice for today's blog is a single lily with its reflection or a pair of lilies pushing through a sea of green   A lot is made of shooting odd numbers in photo competitions but there is also a place for even numbers, especially pairs. They can tell a story and create a connection to the subject whereas odd numbers seem more clinical. Wildlife photography showing two animals, especially different species, usually tells a better story than a single animal. The next time you are making choices think about the story. Have fun!

Struggling Pair

I spent a long time with just a couple wood lilies trying to capture the various emotions I was seeing. I fell back on my 10-22 wide angle zoom for most of the images, changing focal length and camera position. I see the pair winning the struggle, stretching above the background competition in this composition.

Technical: red slightly desaturated 

Roadside Beauty

I spent a couple days at Fish Lake Wildlife Area over the weekend after missing last summer's flowers due to a health problem. It was invigorating to return and the absence helped me recharge creatively.  Photographing these wood lilies interspersed with non-native crown vetch made it easier to cope with the hovering, occasionally biting flies.

Technical: sky exposure reduced using -1.5 stop graduated ND filter in Lightroom

Uplifting

I like the sweeping diagonal lines of the clouds and the road leading into the horizon. Upward and onward is the message I see in this image.

Fish Lake Sunset

This was shot near the cabin after I raced out for sunset but in trying to find a good foreground missed the hot orange clouds that I originally saw. In rapidly fading light I managed to get a few images using a ND filter.

Full Moon over Fish Lake

I've been dabbling in night photography now that I the season has changed so I can do it and still be in bed before midnight. This was taken during the last full moon along the road near our cabin. The bright flowers are the result of light painting to give the illusion of being moonlit. Technical: f8 at 8 seconds, ISO 1600

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.

Shooting Silk

I saw this while filming a crab spider bouncing around on a windy day. When I saw the silk being expelled I couldn't believe it had happened, the light hit it in just a couple frames. Yesterday I found an interesting talk at Google Talks. It was a little more detailed than my interest but you can get an idea of the incredible complexity of spider's silk between minutes 4-6 (approximately).

Gotcha!

Insect drama is not as exciting as the drama that unfolds for photographers when they see the charismatic megafauna of Africa or Yellowstone but it is much more common and cheaper to record. A slow walk in the woods or on the prairie will give more than enough opportunities to photograph drama in the natural world. I noticed an upside down flying butterfly and followed it until it landed. Then saw it was in the clutches of a big fly. 

So much food, so little time.

The orange is overwhelming as the is its food supply for the butterflies and bees that cover it. I chose to use a wide angle lens instead of the usual macro lens to show the diminutive size of the butterfly on the flower and make the most of the morning colors.

Butterfly Breakfast

It was 46 degrees when I woke up this morning, way too cold for butterflies. I finally went out when it hit 55 degrees and found a couple hairstreaks feeding on a dew covered butterfly weed. I settled for the butterfly after getting frustrated trying to capture a bumblebee in flight as it moved from flower to flower.

Sleeping Crane

This crane fell asleep on the nest while I was watching it yesterday. There are several things you never hear wildlife photographers talking about. I'm sure more could be added.

1. Watching grass grow.
2. Watching ice melt.
3. Watching sleeping wildlife.
4. Waking up with a back ache after an afternoon chasing butterflies while hunched over and carrying your gear.
5. Don't forget the ticks, and phantom ticks, after laying down on wet grass to get the ultimate macro shot.

And you think its wet

I'm not sure who looks more miserable.

Technical: I chose a journalistic approach and did not clone out the branch through the beak. Still image taken with Canon C100 using a 500 mm lens. Shot from the portable Toyota blind.

The sandhills are back.

Cranes have returned to Crex Meadows and are busy on the ice. This pair has selected a corner of Grettum Flowage to raise a family. If you look closely you can see a band on the female's leg. I contacted David Fronczak (Migratory Bird Management) who said this bird was hand raised at Necedah NWR in 2011 as part of a whooping crane project. Necedah is about 200 miles southeast of Grantsburg. What a story she could tell!

Technical: Recorded with Canon C100 using 100-400mm lens. 

September Blazing Star

Frost was predicted and I had a shot in mind, then I overslept.  The sun waits for no one. How many times have I been reminded of that lesson?  Working in the shade with the temperature quickly rising I found a couple opportunities. This blazing star presented itself and then the lens fogged up.

Making the most of a good night's sleep.

Clinging to Summer

Geese are in the air, cranes are gathering, and hunters are chasing bear but I'm not quite ready to let go of summer. A few asters and bottle gentian are the only flowers that remain on the prairie. There are a few more days to photograph them, I plan to make the most of the remaining time.

Solitary Sandpiper

As I nature photographer the possibilities are endless, each morning's shoot is an adventure.  A few days ago this sandpiper was a cooperative subject.  I like the dynamic feel of the lines and the bird as it is considering where to step off the log.  Technical: handheld, slight cropping.