Leetle ones

A small (heh!) collection of diminutive critters from the environs, the past several days.

Checking out the diamond spire gardenias one night as they had started blooming again, I saw a little knot around one leaf cluster, almost but not quite appearing as fallen leaves.


Yes, this is a reasonable illustration of scale – gardenia leaves and flowers aren’t that big, the read more

Polyunsaturated


Went down to the waterfront the other evening around sunset, the first time in a while because we’re usually getting dinner about that time, and there was a hint of promise with scattered clouds of different types, which are good when you’re looking for colors. Instead, the sun dipped below a distant cloudbank and only the barest hint of color was produced – so read more

Tip Jar 32: Layer masks

Been meaning to get to this one for a while, just never set aside the time to do it. Finally started this past week with a few days to spare, which was good, because I ended up having to re-record it after finding the screen capture software wasn’t capturing, like, the screen, instead cropping off the sides a little. So let’s take a look at using layer masks, because they’re read more

Just because, part 58


This is from the same night as this shot, and probably should have been posted then (or even as the month-end abstract,) but it wasn’t, so here it is because I’m not going to do much else with it. I like how confusing it is solely because the mist drops obscure the necessary details, but if you look closely, you may figure it out.

Or not. You’re looking at the tail and the hind read more

Estate Find 64

This is courtesy of The Girlfriend, who asked me to come out onto the deck to see something, which turned out to be in her overstuffed herb planter (that’s not a euphemism, shut up.) We were a little late to the game, and won’t be having any fresh parsley.


Those are the larvae of the eastern black swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes asterius,) and this was read more

That’ll teach you to listen to me

Despite many warning signs, including clouds just a wee bit too thick when I was setting up the tripod only ten minutes before the event, the skies were perfectly clear when the Falcon 9 stage impacted the moon, and I was indeed shooting video as it was supposed to happen. I’m not bothering to upload it, since there isn’t a damn thing to see – as predicted in the previous post. read more

There might be something to see


This news has been kicking around for a few days, but recent observations have narrowed down the time it might occur fairly tightly now: At 06:35:42.45 UTC, Wednesday August 5th, the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket (SpaceX) will impact the moon, just barely into the visible side. While this might present a visible flash, it is more likely to read more

Tip Jar 31: Film


This is just a quick rundown on shooting film, should you decide to give it a try. I admit that I haven’t shot film in years – and still have several film cameras in good condition, numerous rolls of film, and a complete darkroom packed away that may get set up before too long, since I have an ideal space for it now. If all you’ve shot is digital, the good news read more

Yay! First oak-leaf anole!


I’m not quite going to make this in July, but so be it. Late at night on the 31st, I found the first newborn Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) on the oak-leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia.)

Here’s the deal: At old Walkabout Estates, we’d planted a few oak-leaf hydrangeas, read more

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