Tag Archives: close up

Photo of the Week – May 30, 2014

Posted on by
12

I made another trip up to Griffith Prairie last week.  It looked pretty much as it had the week before – still lots of ragwort blooming –  but the photographs I returned with were very different.  This time, I came home with a bunch of photos of dumb invertebrates.

(I don’t mean that invertebrates as a group or concept are dumb, rather that the particular individuals I photographed seemed not to be very smart or savvy.  I’ll explain in a minute.)

Since I’d spent quite a bit of time photographing landscapes on my previous visit, I decided to put my macro lens on the camera and look for insects this time.  It was immediately clear that the long winter had dulled my insect photography skills…

First, I had to get my brain refocused on the idea of finding small creatures.  That part actually came back fairly easily.  Second, however, I had to work on my approach once I spotted those small creatures (come in low and slow).  I started by tracking some damselflies that were flitting just ahead of me as I walked.  I’d wait for one to land, then creep slowly toward it.  Unfortunately, just as I’d set my tripod down and lean forward to focus, the damselfly would fly about 2 feet further away and I’d have to repeat the whole process.  That highlighted the third aspect of insect photography I had to recapture… patience.

This was not the first damselfly I tried to photograph...just the one that finally let me get close enough to get a picture of it.

This was not the first damselfly I tried to photograph…just the one that finally let me get close enough to get a picture of it.

I did finally manage to get a photo of a damselfly.  I think it was a matter of following several different ones until I found one that wasn’t as skittery.  Of course, that’s probably a bad sign for the potential survival of that individual damselfly, since skittery is a good tactic to avoid predation.  I often wonder whether the insects I photograph are the ones that are not long for the world…

This returns us to the “dumb insect” topic.  Do you suppose smart insects look different from dumb ones?  I’ll probably never know because the only invertebrates I can photograph are the ones that are too dumb to run, jump, or fly away!

Here is a selection of some of the invertebrates that hung around on ragwort flowers long enough for me to photograph them last week.  I wish them the best, of course, but I’m not optimistic about their long-term survival…

This tiny beetle was on several ragwort plants. Most of the beetles turned away or jumped to safety when they saw me coming, but this one didn't.

This tiny beetle species was on several ragwort plants. All of the other similar-looking beetles turned away or jumped to safety when they saw me coming, but this one didn’t.  It appeared to be enjoying its pollen dinner too much to bother running away.  It’s probably inside a bird or spider by now.

.

Not a very smart little fly...

Not a very smart little fly…

.

I must have seen two dozen crab spiders before I got this photo. All the rest of them crawled beneath the petals when I approached, or dropped to the ground if I kept coming. This one just sat there.

I must have seen two dozen crab spiders before I got this photo. All the rest of them crawled beneath the petals when I approached, or dropped to the ground if I kept coming. This one just sat there.

.

I got several photos of various individuals of this bug species (a true bug - Hemiptera). Maybe the whole species is not so smart?

I was able to photograph several individuals of this bug species (a true bug – Hemiptera). Maybe the whole species is not so smart?

It was pretty neat to see the diversity of insects and other invertebrates using this one species of wildflower.  There were quite a few more than I’m showing here because most of them didn’t stick around long enough to be photographed (the smart ones).  I’m grateful to those that did.

…and I bet there are some grateful predators out there too.

Photo of the Week – December 13, 2013

Posted on by
7

Monday morning was cold here.  If I remember correctly, it was about 4 degrees below zero when I decided to go for a walk with my camera.  (Because, hey, what else would you do on a morning like that?)

There wasn’t much wind, so it honestly didn’t feel all that bad, especially since I was dressed for it.  However, my camera was sure cold.  It worked fine, but I had to keep an extra battery in my pocket (so it would stay warm) because batteries don’t last long at very low temperatures.  The biggest issue, though, was that the viewfinder on the camera kept frosting over from my breath.  Those of you who think photography is easy haven’t tried holding your breath every time you put the camera up close to your face…

As the sun came up, the prairie was populated with seedheads wearing little snow caps.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I couldn’t seem to find a single one that photographed well.  So, I ended up with this photo of milkweed seeds, in which you can’t even really tell it was snowy.

But trust me, it was cold.

Common milkweed seeds on a frigid, snowy day. The Leadership Center Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.

Common milkweed seeds on a frigid, snowy day. The Leadership Center Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.

Oh, and by the way – I took several versions of this photo and struggled to decide which I liked best.  You might ask, “Chris, why don’t you just put a couple versions up and ask us which we like better?”   Sure, that’d work great.  I tried that yesterday with the bison photos.  Twenty four hours later, well over 100 people voted, some contacting me outside of the blog, and the vote was almost exactly evenly split.  A number of you tried to have it both ways, so your “vote” didn’t really help.  The remainder of you did, at least, express an opinion, but in the end, there was no consensus.

I suppose I could take my cue from the United States government, and decide that since the readership is polarized I should just shut down the blog for a while.  However, as an example to my country, I’ll take the high road and compromise.  Both photos will be included in next week’s “best photos of 2013” feature.  You have only yourselves to blame, though, when you look at through that photo montage and think to yourself, “Gee, this is nice, but it seems like there’s one too many images in it…”

(Seriously, though, thanks for voting.  Both images were obviously popular.  Some people felt very strongly one way or the other.  Others liked them about equally.  It was fun to read the reasons people chose one over the other.  While there were some very thoughtful responses, my favorite was definitely the one from Mary, who chose photo B  because the bison reminded her of her old uncle!  As of the time I’m writing this, the vote count is 53 votes for A and 50 for B…)