Insect
Harmonia and a Cherry Leaf: ISO 1600, 60mm, f/7.1, 1/200
The weather is still warm here and the leaves on the trees are just starting to change to their fall colours.
I was watering the flowers last night and I seen a large amount of Ladybugs walking up and down our little cherry tree in the backyard.
They were moving pretty quickly and it was very hard to get a close up. This one was sitting still on this low hanging leaf that had changed colour.
The Mantis and the Fly: ISO 800, 244mm, f/6.1, 1/1600
I was watering our gardens when I seen this Mantis emerge from our Boxwood Planter.
I ran inside to grab the camera and hoping that she would still be there when I returned.
I did not notice the brave fly until I processed the image on a larger screen.
Monarch Butterfly Feeding on Butterfly Bush: ISO 800, 468mm, f/7.1, 1/640
We had a new visitor to our backyard. She is a little different from the birds and rabbits that frequent our yard.
Our Dwarf Butterfly Bush is in full bloom and its fragrance has attracted a skittish Monarch Butterfly. I had to use my long Zoom to get this close up.
Itsy Bitsy Spider: ISO 1000, 210mm, f4.0, 1/250
It has been awhile since my last post. My life has been busy in the last year and have not had much opportunity (energy) to go out after working and exercising my photographic eye. Today, I got a chance to review some old shots taken last year.
Last summer, I was sent to work in Invermere, British Columbia. After one of my shifts I was sitting on the balcony of my hotel room during a light rain and spotted this little guy hard at work on the siding of my balcony view.
Seeking Shade: ISO 250, 102mm, f/4.5, 1/200
A photo of a frog seeking shade and waiting for food in my father's backyard pond.
I did not wait to see if that little bug on the stalk of the lily pad was frog food. It was hard to see with the naked eye.
06/07/13 Filed in: Summer
Breakfast Time: ISO 200, 200mm, f/6.3, 1/1600
I set up a bunch of bird houses in our backyard a few years ago. Every year but the last a wren pair had used one of them to start a new family. This year I was losing hope that they would again not use a house . It seemed they were busy building a nest in the neighbours’ trees.
Last week the wrens were getting agitated whenever someone or something invaded our backyard. Watching the wrens revealed that they had set up a nest in the birdhouse I set up in our garage side garden.
I got this image by sitting down on the lawn waiting for the wren to take its usual path from the back fence to the bird house. As you can see by the picture the bug is almost as big as this small bird. I also took the shot mid morning so that the low sun would illuminate the garden and bird.
15/07/12 Filed in: Summer
Before and After: Peony Bud and Bloom
We have a few peony plants in our garden. We notice that ants seem to love the bud heads in early spring.
After doing some reading the peony and ant seem to have a symbiotic relationship. The peony bud produces nectar to attract ants. The ants are protective of food sources which in turn will keep other pests away. The end result is well feed ants and beautiful and huge peony blooms.
10/06/12 Filed in: Spring
Ladybug on Lupin (Bottoms Up): ISO 800, 35mm, f/5.0, 1/30
Angela pointed this opportunity out to me on on of her afternoon backyard garden walks.
Just like the previous image, I have used my Tokina 35mm 2.8 Macro lens to capture this close up of a Ladybug head first in a branch of Lupin leaves.
This year we seem to have an over abundance of ladybugs in our backyard. I will have more images to share.
26/11/10 Filed in: Summer
Tiny Spider on Bee Balm Leaf: ISO 200, 90mm, f/8, 1/750
A friend of mine in Australia posted an image of a white spider on her blog this week. I found it some what similar to this spider which I found in our garden this past July.
We live on opposite sides of the earth and have different climates and habitats, yet there are still some things we have in common.
28/08/10 Filed in: Summer
Zinnia and Mosquito Bokeh: ISO 400, 90mm, f/5.6, 1/500
Click on Image (Or Here) to see larger size.
Zinnia and Spider: ISO 400, 90mm, f/5.6, 1/125
Zinnia Close Up: ISO 400, 90mm, f/6.3, 1/100
Three shots of Zinnias. Took these during the golden hours just before sunset in our backyard.
I just want to make a point about backgrounds. The first two images are using natural backgrounds.
The Zinnia and Mosquito was shooting into the shadows of our potato and sunflower plants. The background is very undistacting and does not take away from the main subject.
The second one has our worn out picnic table as a background. The white background takes away from the flower by providing no real contrast. Then there is the edge where it cuts across the stem of the flower. The black along the bottom does provide nice contrast for the leaves of the plant. I could have easily moved the picnic table to get rid of the background but sometimes backgrounds can't be moved (ie: a House). I could have moved to the other side of the flower but I would have our deck as the background(Which can't be moved).
The last picture is the same flower as the Zinnia and Spider. I brought out my black Foam Board/ Foamcore to use as a backdrop. Like the first image, the background in undistracting and does not take away from the main subject.
Better Late than Never
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