TASTE OF NEW PICTURES TO COME-MUCH MORE IN A WHILE

Tulips, just a small example of my sequence I am going to post on them soon. I need more time and a break. I've been working to fix my computer and rebuild my very large photo-database system. I'm burned out with computers! I have many pictures, I have few yet processed for my site. I have a backlog 100s of pictures long so hang lose and I will get to it. I have Lots of homework to do. No matter if you are a hobbyist or professional or in-between--if you want to keep your love and your sanity for life and your passion (like photography) you have to give yourself breaks every now and then no matter what.


I have not done much Photoshop work yet for these and many new shots I‘ve not even posted at all yet-like two field trips I went on! There‘s so much I have to do. I enjoy taking too many pictures and viewing them, but the home work can get hard with so many shots. Posting is a lot of work. Even limiting my DSLR to CFII 512mb only cards--I still don‘t slow down! --I have work I'm doing for other stuff too. This picture is another insect called a Bee Fly because it mimics a bee in color and action but has no bite or sting. Sadly, these pictures were made possible only because it's wing is somehow mangled. I have no idea how this happened. It could have been a defect when it hatched next to the Tulips or an attack from a insect/spider. It is now immortalized in my several dozen high-res pictures of it taken with my new digital SLR. I'm just getting comfortable with that camera--it's got so many functions it's easy to get lost in subtle details in-camera abilities alone--so sometimes when I get over-loaded I just go back to old manual mode and shoot like it was an old 60s classic SLR. Thankfully my DSLR does that mode very well but I bought too many 512 cards so they still fill up many times faster then I can process them for my website! There is much to be seen so PLEASE keep coming back. Think about buying a CD from me? Just leaving me a comment is worth it and I want to thank everyone who has.

This is some kind of gal wasp. A very close up view of the living wasp. Showing it's five eyes and even the peaces of pollen or fungi which may grow on it's body. This head was smaller then that of a pushpin or push needle. About 2mm across. So this is an almost microscopic shot made possible by my new camera and the lenses I built and added to it. This picture was taken with grate care and PAIN naturally! No--it's not held down and or chilled in a fridge. It's very good that natural live pictures are done and I am very pleased to hear people are doing things that way now days and not just killing them. The advent of high-resolution digital cameras has taken away most of the need to have a private collection of rotten dead bugs falling part by part off of there needles or plundered by ants (as most of my collections were!). I had many a bug collection--a high-macro high res camera beats it now. It is clear that even pictures in the field can be good enough to identify virtually any species just with a good series of macro shots.

I really take pride in my nature shots where I can just photograph naturally and leave. I still use jars and stuff sometimes.

BACK TO THE BEEFLY-->

Here is another shot of the same Bee fly from the side. I'm just getting down the program I setup for insect high-macro special mode I set my camera to go into with one button. (At the time I wrote this I was using a Olympus Evolt E-500. 8mp digital SLR.)

A rare shot--the underside of a female very fast and shy grass spider. This one is above one of my bug lights. I've been bit by more then one of these spiders. Usually for me it's tingling and a little pain for a while then it goes away. But you can have reactions so I always say treat every spider with much respect as you do not know how it will effect you.

Again recent highlights here, my yard had an unexpected explosion of flowers from old bulbs. These huge red tulips turned up all over my yard. And then there were Daffodils, and a few other kinds. I have been told these bulbs may have been moved by rodents. I don't know a thing about flowers but I am very proud of the work I did yesterday. I spent all day yesterday nearly--taking shots of these incredible flowers and the bees and insects that came to the area. I have some shots I want to enter into contests and will not be put on my site, but I will make sure that some nice ones do make it here. This was a great opportunity with my new digital SLR which did not let me down in shooting over 250 pictures of these incredible flowers that popped up out of nowhere in patterns.


What I first saw before the buds opened--recent rain made water 'lenses' and with my macro setup I was able to capture many of these really cool globs that show surface tension and the optical properties of water. This reminds me of an old trick, it is actually been done. You can start a fire with water! That is, if the water is in the shape of a lens so that it focuses the same way you would to burn a leaf in your back yard with a magnified glass. The same can be done with ice if you keep the ice in mild motion while it is freezing.


The Bee Fly again, it really put on a show. I have set this post up how I did these pictures. From one thing to another. I have recently really understood the value of having a second camera to use. If you can use your old camera as a back up or a second system so you don't have to change lenses so often it can really help you get pictures as long as your old camera is not really low-res. I was able to get very close to this beefy.

The Daffodils popped up as well. Incredibly, I was told that moles and other rodents can move bulbs and thus move flowers that will grow up to YEARS later. Apparently the bulbs in my yard are at least five years old and since I moved here I have only seen about two or three tulips. Now they have gone crazy and I'm getting lots of nice flowers and insects-it's great because I'm selling some shots. My back yard has changed too--the dandy lions are largely gone for some reason and replaced with new kinds of plants that I hope will flower to attract more insects and spiders.

Of all the pictures that I got of water, I thought this one was definitely worth showing. Look at the tolerances and the way it acts optically as if it is made of glass. I could take 2000 shots of these droplets in high-res because they are so interesting. For several reasons however I cannot post very high-res pictures on my site so I'm sorry you can't see these details without BUYING a CD from me.