God's Artistry

While my big lens was at Canon being repaired, I took advantage of playing with my macro lens. Louisiana is full of unusual, and sometimes beautiful, insects. At least I think so! I've thrown in some plants for those that aren't into bugs.

Microcrambus elegans (Elegant Grass-veneer moth)

Wild strawberry

Grasshopper?

Ladybug with a heart.

Carolina Mallow

Sweet love

Carolina Mallow

Tent Caterpillers meeting on the boardwalk.

Sweat bee on Daisy Fleabane

I've learned a life lesson by observing and photographing bugs: Once I realized how God poured so much artistry, detail, and thought into each creature, they've become difficult to despise or swat away. Carrying that same thought out to people, if we really and truly got to know them, wouldn't that knowledge make it harder to push them aside or ignore? Maybe I'm not articulating this right, but I feel I'm onto something! :) We don't take the time to SEE. Do y'all get what I'm saying? 

Wide Open

Ever since I took the basic photography course from the talented Aaron Hogan a few weeks ago, I've been playing with different settings on my camera. Lately I've been shooting on the largest aperture possible. For two solid years I had been shooting on f/8, and while that seems to be the sweet spot on all my lenses, the trade-off was losing that luscious, creamy background. In addition to going wide open with the aperture, I lowered the ISO, taking it off 1600 and putting it on 100, 200 or 400, depending on the light. I've really enjoyed taking control over my shots instead of letting my camera make the decisions for me.

Tiger Swallowtail.

Anyone know what kind of plant this is? The thorny stems fascinated me.

Macro of purple thistle.

An orange clump of pansies in the middle of purple and gold ones.

Two x Two

Cilantro

I was captivated by this pansy that sprang up between the bricks.

A great illustration of a smooth background as a result of f/2.8.

In this instance, f/8 would have focused more on the bee below. Do you see it?
But I wasn't going for that in this instance and I like how it turned out.

I appreciate everyone who stops by to visit. Thank you for lifting my spirits with your words of encouragement. So far, blogging once a week has been going pretty well. I still get to see what most of you are doing, and also have time to go out and see what the world has to offer.

Mostly Macros

Still cleaning out my hard drive. I plan to take as many photos in 2014 (Lord willing) and my Mac is getting a little full—kinda like me on Thanksgiving Day. Time to purge and make room! Photos taken in July and August, 2013.

Edited to add: Common Housefly
Thanks, Linda, for asking!

This bottle fly is either eating something or about to deposit an egg sac.

Is this an immature grackle? Not sure.

Assassin bug eating a bottle fly.

Mealybug. Cute like a poodle, but deadly for plants. :/

Cute little jumping spider. 

Monarch caterpillar?
Black swallowtail - thanks, Kim!

Linking with Our World Tuesday.

Reflections

Since I spend 51 weeks out of the year complaining, please indulge me as I take five days to be grateful. Notice I'm not doing 30 days of gratitude; I don't want to damage my reputation. *smile*

As some of you may have noticed, I've updated my blog; Google finally let me change my header! I also updated the standalone pages (About Me, etc.) and added new Share buttons on the bottom of each post from sharethis.com. If you're so inclined, I'd appreciate a look-see and feedback. Thanks!

During June and July I played around with water refraction photography. My plants were appreciative because they received extra water; especially the vincas, which seemed to retain droplets the best. Again, this was using the Opteka magnifier before purchase of the 100mm macro lens. There are better examples on the web, but I sure had fun playing!

"Life is an echo, what you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others exists in you." Unknown

As we begin Thanksgiving week, I am steering my thoughts and prayers to a place of deeper gratitude. I oftentimes grumble, and I've been known to get judge-y. God has to continually remind me how much I have to be thankful for—how he rescued me from the muck and mire. And the minute a criticism escapes my lips, I get a gentle tap on the shoulder that says, "Hey, you're not perfect either. Be kind. Be compassionate."

If we fill ourselves with God and his love, we will be like these water drops, reflecting his beauty back into the world.

My prayer for those struggling is to search for God with all their hearts and to ask for his gifts which are wisdom, peace, strength and kindness, and so much more. Start with that and all the other puzzle pieces will fall into place in a miraculous way. Watch and see.

Sharing with Our World Tuesday.

Magnified

Before I broke down and bought a macro lens, I shot for a few weeks with an Opteka magnifier my daughter had given me years before. It screws on to the front of the lens just like a filter or polarizer. As I continued to use it, I began to realize that I would always love macro. And that's when I bought the 100mm macro.

These are some shots I took with the Opteka magnifier in the month of June.

If you're squeamish, don't click this post!

One evening in early September, Double D stepped outside the front door to get the mail. He stuck his head back in the door and told me I should go get my macro lens and come outside. Oh, I was so delighted to see what my love had found for me to shoot.

A cicada! Finally! I had been looking for them all summer.

Attached to the stucco, close to the ground, this little stud posed like he was meant to be on the cover of Insect World. I set up as quickly as possible, afraid he was going to fly off. Excitedly, I began shooting like a paparazzi, and when I saw that he was being so cool about it, I used every angle I could think of. My neighbors must've thought I was crazy lying on the ground, contorted on my side. Ah well, you know what they say: if people aren't talking about you, you're boring. :)

Suddenly, it dawned on me that something wasn't right. I took a stick, prodding the cicada, ready to duck if he flew at me. Clink. He fell to the walkway making a hollow plastic sound as he clattered to the ground. My cover model was a SHELL! Did I feel stupid or what? lol The animal kingdom continues to fascinate and awe me.

Cicadas live underground as nymphs for most of their lives at a depth between one and eight feet. In their final nymph stage they construct an exit tunnel to emerge in order to shed (molt) their skin on a nearby plant and become an adult. Their exuvia or abandoned exoskeleton remains, still clinging to the bark of trees; or in this case, stucco. Their life cycle is roughly 2-5 years. The mating/egg laying process is very damaging to trees. More fascinating information on cicadas can be found here. If you do click on the link scroll to the bottom to see a neat animated gif of them shedding their exoskeleton.

EDIT: TexWisGirl and Terri are correct! This is a cicada that did not complete the transition. After looking more closely, you can see part of the body trying to emerge, but it didn't make it. Still, I'm leaving the post because I think he is a beautiful specimen. Thanks for your keen observation, girls!

Linking to I Heart Macro and Macro Monday 2. Thank you, hosts!!

Happy Monday!

Independence Park in Baton Rouge has been my "go-to" place this summer for flowers and insects. I know you're rolling your eyes and saying "Not another macro post!" Well, I suffered to get these shots, so I'm sharing. How did I suffer, you ask? With temperatures in the mid-90s (fahrenheit) and a "feels like" temp of 100+, let's just say it brought back nightmarish memories of summers in Texas. I went out with my camera every other day, staying about an hour at a time because one day I over-stayed and almost fainted. I'm brown as a raisin, though!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Dragon time!

These dragonflies were photographed at a local arboretum in Baton Rouge. Every once in a while I can get one that seems to enjoy posing for the camera, allowing me to get fairly close. But most of the time, they are extremely skittish. If you spot them flying around, pick a dead stalk or something metal to stand near and be very still (with your tripod). Eventually, they'll probably come around to light, but it takes an inordinate amount of patience--something I lack in all other areas of my life--except photography. :)

Approximately 5680 different dragonfly species belong to the order Odonata. They are beneficial for eating mosquitoes, flies, bees, ants, and wasps; very rarely, butterflies. In turn, they can be eaten by frogs, birds, lizards, and spiders. Dragonflies hang out by rivers, ponds and marshes, so if you find yourself near a water source, they are probably around somewhere.