Tag Archives: macro photography

Photo of the Week – July 10, 2014

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When I was at the Niobrara Valley Preserve in late June, I did some macro photography, in addition to the sunset photo I showed last week.  Here are four photos from that trip.

Echinacea angustifolia

Purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia) is in the loamier soil along the edges of the river bluffs, but doesn’t seem to stray out into the sandhills to the south.

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Grasshopper on spiderwort

This grasshopper didn’t really my lens pointing at it, but wasn’t quite nervous enough to jump away.

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If I didn't know leadplant (Amorpha canescens) was a legume, I'd never guess by looking at the flowers.

If I didn’t know leadplant (Amorpha canescens) was a legume, I’d never guess by looking at the flowers.  Leadplant is one of the most common wildflowers in sandhills prairie.

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I keep seeing this caterpillar at different sites. It must be pretty common - or maybe it just doesn't hide well. Regardless, I enjoy taking portraits of it.

I think I keep seeing this caterpillar species (salt marsh caterpillar?) at different sites. It must be pretty common – or maybe it just doesn’t hide well. Alternatively, I’m mistakenly calling different species the same thing…  Regardless, I enjoy taking portraits of it.

 

Photo of the Week – March 27, 2014

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Prairies are underappreciated by much of the general public, even in states and provinces where prairies are (or were) the dominant landform.  They’re often seen as boring, drab, weedy, or otherwise uninteresting.  One of my goals in life is to get people to see prairies a little differently.  The best way to change someone’s opinion of prairies is to take them on a hike and show them what’s really there, but the first step is to pique their interest.

That’s where photography comes in.

Stiff sunflower. Lincoln Creek Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.

Stiff sunflower. Lincoln Creek Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.

These two photographs are among 60 prairie photos I’ve just posted on the “Prairie Photos” page of this blog.  You can see all 60 by clicking on the “Prairie Photos” tab at the top of the blog’s home page or you can just follow this link.

Spider at sunrise. The Nature Conservancy's Platte River Prairies, Nebraska

Spider at sunrise. The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska

If you have friends or acquaintances that haven’t yet experienced the charm of prairies, please consider sending them the link to these photos.  Maybe one or more of the images will spark an interest in an ecosystem they’d never really thought much about before.  Then, if you see that spark, grab them by the scruff of the neck and drag them out to an actual prairie so they can see one for themselves.

Thanks.