A small, slightly battered butterfly rests on a partially burned log in the woods.
Nikon D5100 f/11 ISO 400 1/350s Nikkor 55-300@300mm – Summer 2012
One small spot of sunlight picked him out, showing his beauty against the darkness beyond.
Tiny toad versus butterfly! Who will survive?
Nikon D5100 f/16 ISO 800 1/180 s Nikkor 55-300@170mm – Summer 2012
Actually, the toad held perfectly still and ignored the butterfly as it walked past, picking up moisture from the mud with its proboscis. The butterfly seemed totally oblivious to the toad (which really resembled at tiny bump of mud)… If it had been a larger toad, I think the butterfly would have become dinner. Maybe.
Just in case the photo doesn’t make it plain, I want to tell you this is a truly tiny toad, around 1/2 inch long!
Insects often become aware of the photographer’s attention and either freeze or leave. This brightly colored little one froze, affording me the opportunity to take several shots.
Rarely does one threaten or attack. I don’t know why some people go into a panicked, jumping frenzy when they spot an insect less than a hundredth their size! Â With just a little quiet observation, a person can learn much.
Ready for Take Off – Spring 2012
It was a windy day. Many insects dropped out of trees, grabbing for any (hand)hold they could grasp.
Must. Hold. Tight! – June 2012
The wind was buffeting this katydid, but it clung tenaciously, allowing me a few magical moments of shooting 🙂
The focus is disappointing, which I attribute to the windiness of the day. But one only gets a few takes before the insect gets nervous and leaves. Really, I wouldn’t eat it, but try getting it to believe that!
These dew-covered flowers remind me of cold glasses of Grape Kool Aid, covered with condensation. I can almost smell the tangy, fake-grape scent, taste the sweet-sour flavor, and feel those cold droplets of condensation on the glasses.
What do these flowers make you think of?
Don’t you love the sunlight glowing and glistening through the petals of the flower, and highlighting the fur and shiny eyes of this intrepid explorer?
Peeping over the edge. Will he fly or will he stay a bit longer? - Spring 2012
Powdered with gold dust, she glows in the sunlight.
Velvety Golden All Over - Summer 2011
Doesn’t she look soft? Don’t touch her, though, or you’re liable to rub that dust right off and leave her damaged and unable to fly as well as before.
He is nearly invisible, despite his glowing green color.
Who Is Hiding Here? - Summer 2011
He just looks like a part of the plant on which he is resting.
It is like meditating. I go out to take photos – usually drawn out by the beckoning sunlight, sometimes driven out by a need to create something – I first take a few shots and restlessly move on. Then it captures my attention –  it varies – and my attention becomes focused on it, I change angles, or slowly move closer, or think of the angle of the light or how the background contrasts with it. Sometimes those photos turn out as I imagine them, but often, in the quiet of truly focusing, I become aware of something else that I had not seen – would not have seen at my earlier pace – and that becomes the real photo shoot of the day. This little insect was one of those, in the summer of 2011. I didn’t see him until I was focusing on a dragonfly, what I thought was it, trying to ease closer and get a shot with all the elements right, background, the glint of light on its wings, the… Oh no, the dragonfly flew away! Then I saw the bright yellow flowers on their glowing green stems – and it. When I came out of the trance and went back to my computer to look at what I got, I was pleased with this shot 🙂
Does anyone else find themselves out of the everyday hustle and bustle, almost meditating while pursuing the shot?
A small, red beetle crawled up an apple leaf. At the edge, what should he do?
What's Next? - Summer 2010
What would you do, were you a small, red bug? Fly off into the wild green yonder? Travel around the edge of the leaf? Cross over to the other side of the leaf?
