The Eyes Have It

From 2010 Blog

- This little dragonfly was patiently sitting on the tip of a day lily bud while I took his picture. It shows the compound or multifaceted eyes very well. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/13.0, ISO 400, 100 mm macro lens using image stabilization.

Doodlebug

From 2010 Blog

I caught this little beetle scrounging around in the center of one of the blooms of the Siloam Doodlebug daylily. I spot all kinds of insects in the daylily blooms. Canon 7D, 1/125 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 1600, 100mm macro.

Dragon Fly

From 2010 Blog

- Got this close up photo of a dragon fly at the beach today. His face has a kind of carton like appeal. Swedish folklore holds that the devil uses dragonflies to weigh people's souls - pretty heavy stuff. I think they are just valuable mosquito eaters. Canon 7D, 1/1250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens.

238 - Mountain Mint

From 365 Project

This small patch of Mountain Mint was attracting a lot of activity. There were at least 20 bees, wasps and moths working on the newly opening blooms. You could smell the mint in the air. Got to get some of these for my garden. Canon 40D, 1/250sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 200mm focal length (I wasn't getting too close to all of those stingers).

235 - Butterfly to Be?

From 365 Project

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly. ~Richard Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller Shooting macro photos has opened my eyes to so much. I was getting ready to pull this stringy vine that had grown up through my camellia bush, when I noticed it had these delicate blossoms. As I was photographing those I saw this little caterpillar on on the leaves. He turns out to be the photo of the day. Canon Rebel XTi (400D), 1/250 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 800, 2X macro, manual off-camera flash at 1/64 power.

229 - Beetle

From 365 Project

Back in June I chased a little beetle around with the macro lens for about an hour and never got a tack sharp image. This little guy didn't move at all so it was pretty easy to get a nice clear macro shot. The macro lens has an extremely short depth of field so capturing the sharpness at the point of interest can be challenging. Canon 40D, 1/400 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 50mm macro lens.

227 - Buckeye Butterfly

From 365 Project

Caught this Buckeye Butterfly in the butterfly garden at Virginia Tech's Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, a.k.a. HRAREC, in Virginia Beach. The Center has some amazing gardens, thanks to Duane and Les for suggesting this as a place for photos. Canon 40D, 1/1600 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, 200mm focal length.

220 - Busy Bee

From 365 Project

The bumble bees were very busy working these blooms. I'm not sure what type of plant this is, but I've seen them around a lot this year. Canon G10, 1/200 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 400, 28mm equivalent focal length in macro mode. Update 8-13-09: Janet, the Queen of Seaford, pointed out the plant the bees are so busy with is Lantana. Thanks Janet!

170 - I wouldn't hurt a fly.

From 365 Project

With all of the news about the fate of one fly this week, I couldn't resist this little guy for today's post. These tiny green flies sit nice and still while having their portrait made. A super macro shot hand held with with the Canon MP-E 65mm lens. The depth of field with this lens is measured in millimeters but the results are worth the effort. Canon 40D, 1/50 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800.