Closer than you ever wanted



My mother is actually getting a kick out of hearing stories about our little vegetable patch, because when I was growing up she had to threaten me with no more Star Wars toys, ever, if I didn’t get out and help with the garden. In my defense, our current patch is very small, nothing at all like the half-acre we’d planted in my youth, and our present plants read more

Classical allusions

Just in case you were wondering what might have become of my Rubenesque models from this post, they’re still around, living happily (I’m assuming) in the azalea bushes out front – I make it a point to see if I can find them daily. The number I can spot varies at least one is a regular read more

Showoff

So yeah, I’m well outside of the range of the annular eclipse, still taking place as I type this I believe, and my friend in Kansas thought he was too. But at least he was watching carefully at sunset when he got the right conditions.



No filters needed when it’s this low on the horizon, since the atmosphere cuts the light levels down to manageable levels. Notice read more

A year goes by fast

Last year about this time, I published a post about my little friends the fishing spiders, whom I call ‘friends’ not because we hang out and hammer down Pepsi together, but because my first photo sale featured one as a subject. Lately, a few have been making themselves obvious, clearly begging to read more

One good reason

Did I mention that, to be a nature photographer, you had to get up early? No one ever looks back on their life and says, “I wish I spent more time in bed.”

Okay, wait, that’s probably a tad inaccurate. It likely happens a few hundred thousand times daily. That doesn’t make it a bad proverb, though.

Okay, yes it does. But ignoring all that, if you want to get interesting nature read more

Pride

Yes, I know this appears to be a crass copy of the pose seen here, but unless that otter is actually eating a vole, I’d hazard that the evidence leans towards coincidence.

I had earlier spotted the same species jumping spider as this one, atop a log and showing off its vivid rust-colored abdomen, but it was so shy that I never got remotely close enough to photograph – the same can be read more

There isn’t always a complete answer, part one…

For those of you who have been hanging on the edge of your seat, checking thrice daily to see if I’ve offered an update, I apologize for keeping you in suspense. Actually, no I don’t – suspense is good for you, and anxiety strengthens the heart. Well known fact.

Anyway, I mentioned trying to follow-up on the read more

Back atcha

Last year, I did a post on macro photography that featured some detail pics of a Giant Water Bug, also called an Electric Light Bug but better known by the scientific name Belostoma flumineum. This post totally rocked the internet, and by that I mean, was just another post on just another blog, read more

Good morning!


I thought I was pretty fortunate to discover a few tiny praying mantises on the azalea bushes out front yesterday, until I went out this morning right after sunrise when the dew still hadn’t cleared…

If you look closely at the top pic, you’ll see a large dewdrop adhering right between the mantis’ eyes. Which means, if you look at the image to the left, that forward bump by read more

Okay, maybe I don’t do “cute”



I’ll let you in on a little secret. No, it’s not that I can’t photograph cute animals – that’s pretty damn obvious. This has to do with book reviews. You see, I spend more time on the illustrating image of the book cover than I do on the review itself, largely because I get a concept in my head and try to produce that image, which may or may not work.

In the case of read more

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