Bricks and toylet paper -- the yard next door! :)

OUCH! I think anyone who owns a car dreads this. I first want to start of by saying -- I DID NOT DO THIS -- and I do NOT know who did. I don't even know who owns the car. I asked the many small kids in the area who were walking around if they knew what happened but they were very tight lipped about it. I spotted this relatively new car totally TP'ed from my apartment yesterday. You don't see this everyday so I had to go take some shots before the cops showed up or it got cleaned up. I was loosing daylight quickly so I had to go back to my apartment to get batteries for my flash.

For kids of all ages out there--DON'T TRY THIS--you might end up in jail because this is vandalism. Joke or not it could be very dangerous.

Less then 15min later I came back with fresh batteries in my flash and noticed that there was even more toilet paper on the car! Someone had not only come along and done this while it was still light outside, they did it while I was walking back to get batteries! I could have caught them in the act on video had I known! As for the post-it notes, I looked carefully without touching the car. No message was written on the post-it notes. And incredibly, the cops never showed up as far as I know. The car was cleaned up by a couple hours later.

It was not just TP! Although no serious damage seemed done, there were rocks, grass and post-it notes all over the car. Someone obviously wanted to tell someone something but did not write it on the notes! Either that or it was a practical joke. Somehow, I think the message theory is more likely. What amazes me is that they were still doing this when I was down there and I did not even know it.

This was the scene when I first got there without my flash batteries. Most of it had been done. I was surprised to see that the car had not been scratched, no tires damaged and no obvious serious stuff luckily for the owner--whoever they are.

In the end my presence here with my semi-large sorta professional camera and flash became a bit too noticeable and I got out of there. Someone clearly came back and did more damage in the less then 15min it took me to get back down and take the flash photos!

TRACTOR PULL
CLICK on picture to see details-- use back arrow (<--) to return

After a nearby house burned down I thought it was a good idea that they tear down the houses next door. People were going in them and vandalizing them as well as using them to abuse drugs. But when they did, this excavator had an accident and I happened to catch it in one shot. I did a burst of pictures showing the situation. (below) The 60 year old home had a chimney which came down right on the windshield of the excavator! Here you can see the moment of impact almost exactly as well as the tempered glass shattering.

"Falling - - -"
The moment before the crash as gravity propelled the heavy brick chimney towards the windshield of the excavator. I was too shocked to do anything but keep shooting. I did not get this on video. However I took a very fast burst which captured each step of the fall. Don't worry, the guy driving this tractor was not hurt.

"Houses Revenge"
I have several other frames almost showing a movie of this crash but this is where it started. He must have moved something wrong and there was no time at all to move out of the way.

"Just another day on the job"
I was careful not to show his face here. You can clearly see the broken safety glass as well as a brick inside the cab! What a mess! What amazed me was not only was he not hurt, he simply cleaned out the mess quickly and got right back to work as if nothing had happened. This guy really is a hard worker and dedicated to the job!

Spider season

A small Jumping Spider (Salticidae) on a hedge near our apartment. Two of there eight eyes are stereoscopic like ours. They can judge distances and have the best vision of all spiders. They are harmless. Some species in tropical areas will bite if harassed but from personal experience the bite is not nearly as painful as a bee-sting. 99% of spiders are HARMLESS to humans and spider hysteria still grips the USA. Recently, a poor species of harmless louse spider was featured as a "brown recluse" on a news program. I was shocked but it was too late for me to say anything. They did not even have anyone on hand to identify a captured spider. The press showed it and the "bites" that the woman suffered were probably a skin condition aggravated by scratching. People get a condition or painful sore and often see a spider and that's it. It's not fair and ignorant. Without spiders, we would be knee deep in dangerous insect species, many of which carry truly deadly diseases. They way people treat spiders often reminds me of a witch hunt in the dark ages.

"Website"
Another benfifical species I have featured many times, Araneus diadematus the most common species of spider in much of North America and the first species of spider known to build webs in outer space. Several of them were taken up in the Space shuttle and to the amazement of scientists they built perfect webs without gravity. Adapting by learning they soon figured it out by trail and error in this strange environment. This cast doubt on the idea that fixed programming--instinct--is the only thing even invertebrates know. They clearly can learn.

This male of the same species has his legs set on a nearby female. He will pluck out a code specific to his species letting her know he's interested and keeping her from seeing him as a meal. For this species, the male is not eaten by the female and the usually part ways without incident after mating.

The same spider from another angle.

"Hot Spider"
This spider is of the same species as those featured above. She is VERY hot. An interesting observation I have made all over the world is that many very different species of orb web building spiders change how they sit in the web on very hot days. It was about 90 F when I took this picture. They seem to attempt to get there body out of the sunlight at least to some degree by changing there posture. I am surprised she has not chosen to go to a hiding place in the shade. Maybe there is not one, or maybe since she is in need of a good meal she wants to be ready for any insect that comes by.

HAPPY NEW YEARS PORTLAND!

For new years my wife and I spent the cold days here in Portland at a hotel near the Loyd Center Mall. I got up early despite the cold (about 20 degrees Fahrenheit) and snapped (or rather opened my shutter and lens cap) for a number of long exposures after I finally found a good spot overlooking a bridge. We can't afford a car so I was on foot the whole time and really got chilled for these shots. This was a 25sec expsosure. These shots are not easy to do, especially in the serious cold.


Here is another 25sec exposure done with the D90. I was a bit concerned about it being so cold. With windchill the camera was totally frozen by the time I took these shots but she did well and I did not have any problems. Luckily, it's the only camera I've got! I was truely having a good time despite mild hypothermia while I took these shots. The first time you can make an image you have been wanting to do for a long time is quite a high. I was lucky to find such a great spot to capture both city lights and the cars going in and out early in the morning on foot.

NEW YEARS IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
These were also semi-long exposures taken at high ISO. Most of them I keep under 3200 to avoid serious problems later. The D90 is really good at dealing with noise however all the way up to high iso levels. This was the scene at Pioneer Courthouse Square in down town Portland just moments after the new years countdown.

The group of people on the right were doing countdowns every several minutes or so. It seems not everyone's clock was set right. With cellphones today most people are aware of the exact time. My wife and I really wanted to be down here for the moment but at the exact moment according to the atomic clock in Colorado (Coordinated universal time) we were on the train. Everyone was actually nice and lots of cheering on the train was captured by me in HD video but it's too large to post here for now.
This is the kind of train we were on, a long exposure of it going by. I think this was about 10sec exposure or so. Making the train seem transparent as lights made an impression on the sensor before the train arrived to put it's own imprint there. This is the light rail system here in Portland. Usually a great way to get around the city as long as it's not crowded.

The same morning I shot those highway overpass long exposures I also shot this exposure also probably 20-25sec of the area. Simple lights turn night into day and darkness into light. When doing very long exposures (30sec+) one can almost turn night into day anywhere with a good digital SLR. Often the white balance will be a compromise to this making for off colors. You can compensate sometimes with lots of work but I usually just try to make pics as I actually see them as best as I can. To me this early in the morning cold and by myself for this walk--these artistic statues seemed a bit creepy!

Skipping back to downtown Portland Oregon--here you can see a funny but real situation that happened. I have to admit I did not see quite as much drinking as I thought I would, these guys however spilled a beer can out the back of there SUV and there was even a man riding inside it as well when they took off without latching there back door. A low profile cop car they had clearly not noticed beeped at them when they did this but there was too much traffic and stuff going on so I guess the cops let it go. I wish I'd got it on video but a series of stills showed what happened. Drinking and driving is serious no matter what time of year it is. They are really cracking down everywhere. In California it is now as 12,000 dollar fine for just your 1st offense. I am glad they are clamping down on it. The only way to beat the Breathalyzer test is to not drink and drive.


Here are some of the lights in Portland with my lens at 18mm wide angle. They were beautiful but it's a white balance nightmare sometimes. I generally try to make it look as much like what I actually saw when I was there as possible. Some photographers go to great lengths to balance everything to white for an unrealistic view of how the lights really look. Learn how to use your manual settings. White balance is actually not new to photography. Film cameras also have to deal with color variations caused by electrical and artificial lighting situations. I also shot some pics downtown with my Nikon FE 35mm SLR.


This was a 25sec long exposure I walked into and then stood still for so that I would get imprinted by lights behind me into the shot. This makes for a ghostly image that looks like a double exposure. That was a cold morning!

Another ghostly effect created by the lens and long exposure. People walking through blocking light in some places and just being in certain places for slightly longer times can make for interesting art. No modifications were done to this photo--it's straight off the camera and it's sensor. Take a closer look at the strange creations both on the left and in the middle by clicking on it. Use your browsers <--back arrow to return to my blog site.

Another 18mm wide shot of Portland streets. It would have been brighter and lower ISO (thus higher definition) had my tripod not been found to be broken when we arrived at the hotel! That was a big bummer holding back many of the night-shots I wanted to do for the 1st of 2011. I was lucky to find a good tripod that can handle a heavy camera for less then $30 at the local Ritz Kits Camera store at the Loyd Center Mall and thus able to take those overpass pictures. It's almost impossible to shoot exposures slower then about 1/8th sec. even if your in a meditation state of mind (and even with image stabilization in lens or camera) without a tripod. Essential gear for exposures lasting half seconds or longer. $25 or so can get you a solid good tripod for all kinds of shots. Beware of really cheapo stuff.


Another Portland shot downtown of the lights and light-rail (Max line) with people in the distance. It was cool that night but I took over 300 exposures. At the time I shot these I had no tripod so I improvised as much as I could and used an image stabilized lens. I got pics to turn out ok occasionally as low as 1/5th a sec but that's rare and after years of learning how to hold a camera very still.

It looks like most people did not like 2010 much. It was another year, lots of people suffering. This popular news paper was all over town.

I didn't want to upset this guy who was watching me take pictures so I only took 2. I had to take long exposures at this point because of low light and lots of people in the area so not enough time to get my settings perfect. If you have a DSLR with auto ISO this might be a good time to use it--I find that comes in very handy but only if you turn it on! This guy was trying to catch some sleep just a few moments after the new year started. Showing the reality of so many people's lives these days. There is a recently publicized conception that giving money to panhandlers is not a good idea--I disagree. These people have nothing and no control over there lives--I think if you can it's always a good idea to give to them. If you have lived a life without living like this you can't understand what it's like or what it means and the truth about why people end up like this you won't ever really see unless you do yourself.

I lacked a working tripod at this point so I put my camera on a news paper box and managed to catch a few shots of cars passing by on that new years night. It was nice, everyone was talking to strangers and the spirit in the air was good. Why can't we make every day that hospitable to strangers??

Another long exposure with a ghost image. Honestly, I'm not sure who this is. Me, or maybe someone walking by. Or maybe a ghost--who knows. I was not aware this would be in this photo which I shot to capture the subtle effects of passing cars and there lights as you can see in the background.


After we got there just about 3min after 1200midnight the countdowns continued and I just went into taking as many night exposures as possible without a tripod.

I lit up the whole area with my SB-600 Nikon flash. I actually could have done a brighter shot had I noticed that my flash was not stopped down to -2.7 as it was flashing on it's display. I did not notice until later that I forgot to get those settings right in all the stuff going on. A large flash and the right settings can light up a very big area of people.

They turned the tree off and my flash was not fully charged when I took this shot. They turned if off only about 5min or so after midnight. Maybe 10 at the most. One guys shirt reflected my flash so much he looks like he's got a glowing suit on. Once again my flash settings were low as I did fail to check them before shooting during these. On a complex camera there's a lot you have to get right and when lots of stuff is going on its' easy to do everything from leave the lens cap on to forget a simple setting change you made. I make it a point (usually) to set everything back to a sort of "neutral" state for "general photography" when I'm done shooting and backup my gear so that I am ready as I can be and nothing is stopped down or offset in a way I may not expect. It's always a good thing to do. Also--when shooting in cold temperatures bring your camera back inside in a plastic bag so that it warms up without serious condensation. Most of all do not ever remove the lens or change lenses when going from a cold or warm environment very quickly. The last thing you want is condensation on the sensor.


Yes payphones are still around, being used, and incredibly going strong. But what shocked me most about this was the entirely un-protected Trimet LCD HD TV screen! Sadly vandalism of such devices or attempted theft is very common. This TV was very vulnerable and not enclosed in anything. And since when did you need an LCD HD TV to show bus schedules??! Jese--my wife and I don't even have the money for one of those. And we have spent more then enough to buy one on tickets since we moved here yet we have not been checked once. Not even once. So we could have gotten away with riding without a ticket and actually bought one of these HD TVs! I just think there is something wrong with this whole situation. I get upset when they don't check after I spend what builds up to 100s and then 1000s of dollars slowly in bus passes and nobody checks when your riding the Max. Then this is what they spend it on?? Come on. This high end TV is just being used to show bus schedules-- it won't last a year like this with the kind of vandalism that goes on. Why spend that kind of money especially without an enclosure to protect it from jerks?? Every time we get on that light rail it costs about $5 because there's no way to buy ticket that will last long enough or cover all "zones" to get where we usually need to go. I hate to see technology and money wasted. This TV does not stand a chance out here.


This is one of the first shots I took when we got to our hotel. The Portland skyline. I love doing night-shots but shortly after I took this one and planned to do longer lens shots I realized my tripod was broken and just in time. Had I not figured out what was wrong the camera could have been damaged.


Another 25sec exposure I took when I got to the bridge showing traffic going into and out of Portland. I was hoping I'd get a place like this to take pictures and I got lucky just by getting up early enough and taking the time despite the cold to take the shots. Full resolution shots and prints are available of all these shots if anyone is interested. Just email me. I only post 640 res. on here.


And here was a shot I took with remote. This was 1 of 3 tries needed. I had to stand still without moving at all in the cold for 25sec or the exposure got blurred. Yes it was cold but it was well worth it!

Again full sized high resolution files and prints are available of these shots-- just email me if your interested. All in all we had a good trip and New-years day morning these shots made it well worth while for me when it comes to photography.


At different apertures I can control the brightness and other factors all the way up to nearly turning night into day. Long exposures are fun but require some knowledge of photography and gear. We had a great time and hope everyone enjoys looking at these pictures as much as I do! Happy new years to all and lets make it a better year! --G.Beasley

Happy Holidays everyone! --Shots fired close to home

Yeah that's right. It was snowing here but it only lasted long enough to setup my camera and shoot a few shots with both digital and 35mm. The only sunny day we had, incredibly, was the
day of the shooting.

Usually I would not post this kind of picture on my site. Then again, I post journalistic shots often. I am not going into detailed speculation about what happened. Only to say that a good friend of many people in this building and a man died at about 4am a few days ago. Darrel Dwayne Furgaican (forgive my spelling if that was wrong). Yes, that was the same apartment complex I live in. In fact, he had just moved in with his girlfriend to the unit right next to ours. Our door is on the left of this picture. I have respect for most cops. I have known a few and I think sometimes they get a bad wrap when they may not deserve it. Every cop I've met so far has treated me with respect and sometimes even let me off on a few things. All it takes though is one jerk. I have been lucky I guess. I do tend to side with the cops even though I know the system is a mess. In this situation I am not sure. My wife and I as well as the entire building were evacuated just a few moments after I was told to stay in my apartment. These shots are frames taken from a secret video I made as when we were finally allowed back into our apartment. We were taken to local Trimet buses to keep us warm and interviwed by the police there. I think this was a tragic situation. If you think it even could be the cops!-don't reach for a weapon of any kind! What puzzles me was how many shots were fired --20-- between two officers. There were five people in that small apartment. Bullets were found sprayed all over the place. One even hit the door jam. I was amazed at how inaccurate the firing was almost as if at random. Maybe he was running, we may never know the true story. All I know is I think police should examine a situation more careful and give a subject with a weapon a chance to give up before they simply open fire or pursue alternative means--especially taking steps to insure that not only does he have a real gun but that he really intends on harming someone. I don't want to get too political on this site but I will say what I want. Mainly I will say is that it was very sad and difficult for everyone involved and I feel terrible for his family. This is not that bad of an area. Things like this happen to much. Police should think sometimes a bit more before they chose to use deadly force. My wife and I knew him, he did not do so well when he was drinking but he was always as nice guy to us. Giving me the very table I put my computer on for free. He was not a potential cop killer or really violent man. But it is a fact that his very accurate replica BB gun had them fooled right up until the CSI investigation my wife and I actually heard through our door. He had used magic markers to make it look more real and possibly enlarged the barral. That is not a street smart idea. The cops shown here are CSI and security at the time. THEY ARE NOT the cops who were involved in the shooting.

My wife and I were woke up to rapid gunfire at arround 4 am exactly. I smelled gunpowder in the hallway and got a bad feeling. After hearing some well yell "he's bleeding, he needs paramedics " I looked out the door to see shell casings all over the place and a flashlight dropped on the floor. 9mm casings and a police issue flashlight. Quickly a man in serious black fatigues yelled at me to STAY IN MY APARTMENT SIR! So I closed the door. About 5 min later we were evacuated without hardly time to grab or prepare a camera. When we left our apartment there was two cops with a bullet shield, pump 12 gauge and a AR15 type assault rifle still aimed at the apartment. From this I can only asume they may have had trouble getting the rest of the 5 people out of there and been unsure of what or who was in there. We were on buses kept warm by idling engines for about 4 and a half hours. All in all, I think the CSI guys did a meticulous and professional job on the scene because I spent a great deal of time listening to them at my door and I heard allot of details not revealed to the public for a while.


This was a sad situation. AGAIN the POLICE IN THIS PICTURE ARE NOT the same police who fired the shots--I want to stress that. They are part of the CSI team or for security reasons. He had a BB gun that looked real and apparently showed it to the police or something. They claim he pulled the fake weapon, some say it was suicide by cop, others an tragic accident. No matter what it was--I feel sorry for everyone around and most of all for his family who were moved back into the apartment less then 24 hours after he died in it probably nearly instantly from 3 gunshot wounds. I have many more pictures of the buses and us in them as well as the close to 50 cop cars that showed up here and the media scene but I'm not sure if I will get around to posting it. The whole thing just was a waste that did not have to happen in my opinion.


I have a great many pics I wanted to get out before the holidays but family matters and other stuff has kinda kept me from working on too much. Here are a couple of shots I snapped recently. It snowed for a short while here in East Portland a few days ago only to melt. It was nice while it lasted. I have a backlog of pics I am working on that will be added soon. I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and and the best of New years. Everyone is settling in for this most difficult Christmas. I want to thank my mom for the chance to let my wife and I stay at a hotel in Portland for the weekend and get out of here for a while. We will almost surely be totally broke--but at least we get to stay in the motel room! If anyone is interested in macro shots or other photography please contact me at the email addresses on this site. We really need the money right now. Merry Christmas.

Harvestmen and the Lady!

My wife and I were walking back from the store as things got colder and colder this winter. My eyes met this incredible sight! It is rare to be able to get a number of usable shots of a scene with 2 species in the frame. Even more rare have it happen naturally! I got several dozen usable shots at F16-F32 ISO L1.0 (100) to 400 all with my Nikon. D90 DSLR. These two posed for me and even moved sometimes and as you will see it got even better!

Using a wireless external flashgun like the SB600 or better, or a macro flash ring (I can't afford one they are $400!) might be best but a wireless flash can be very good for macro shots. In this case I just shot with my flash on M 1/1 very high output so I can shoot at a distance at F22+. Just when I thought this shot could not get any better, a tiny yellow aphid joined the party! These kinds of shots nature photographers dream about getting! This day incredibly they did happen in real life naturally and she stayed put long enough for me to take dozens of shots with different light, angles and lenses. This shot is not a setup shot at all. I don't think I could set one up like this! 3 species in one shot is rare to naturally find. I got lucky and was tired from lots of shooting but had plenty of energy when I saw this harvestmen just laying here. The cold weather made them easy to photograph.


The ladybug is in no danger here. This is a deceptive shot. The "spider" you are looking at is not a spider at all! It is actually one of the 3 main species called a "daddy long legs" called a Harvestmen. Order: Opiliones

Harvestman do not spin silk, have only 2 eyes and only one main body section. They also do not mate in the same way spiders do. They are related to spiders but often scavenge on plant material and even already dead insects or other animals.

"Lady and the Harvestmen"
I dream about finding shots setup like this, usually don't!


They also tolerate each other and do not appear to be afraid of each other as they often can be found sunning in large groups and run into each other all the time. There two eyes are up on a turret at the top of there head, you can see them if you click on this shot to see it full screen. Harvestman are difficult to identify and there are few books seriously devoted to them but this is probably a Mitopus morio. At least Mitopus sp. In the Phalangiidae family. They have no silk glands so obviously spin no web and although they have similarities to spiders, they also lack venom and any kind of serious bite. Mild mannered with 1 body section and 2 eyes no silk ability I often jokingly call them the "humanoid spiders". They are truly harmless. The ladybug is in no danger of being eaten.

Here is a Harvestmen. NOT a Spider, but a close Arachnid relative. Opiliones and below is it's other daddy long legs counterpart which actually is a spider.

This IS a SPIDER
Here is your average other daddy long legs. This is the true spider version. Often said rumored falsely to be the most poisonous spider in the world. This is not at all true in fact they are harmless and helpful to humans and I have yet to see a study on there venom toxicology. Notice the two separate body sections of this female long bodied cellar spider or Pholcus phalangioides I shot down stairs in this building. They are very common in homes and the daddy long legs often seen shaking in the corner to avoid being seen.

In obvious contrast here is another picture I recently took of a Harvestmen. (Opiliones) Since there genitalia differ from spiders I am not certain if this is a male of the same species seen with the ladybug (top picture in this article) or if it is a different species. I need to do some more research on Harvestmen and really want to find some books on them.


I shot most of these with several extension tubes and a 50mm lens to take detail shots of these harvestmen hanging out on a fence. Here you can see other differences, this one is probably a younger member of the group.


This is NOT a SPIDER (read above captions)
Some Harvestmen get a lot bigger then this, they often have mouth parts similar to the Camel Spider which is also NOT truly a spider. This is my finger but it is in no danger as they are not aggressive at all.

A closeup showing the palps and chelicera which are different then those of spiders. (seen facing down in this shot) 2 eyes on a small turret on head can also be seen.

We also found some interesting and large mushrooms on this walk, some of these actually grew in just a few hours, larger then they were when we first found them!

"The mushrom Forest"
"Harvestmen bar stools"
"Mushroom flowers"
These are actually the same kind of mushrooms but the wind and time has damaged them interestingly.


I had to throw another spider in here somewhere. I recently have become interested in this common species the Araneus diadematus. I have made some observations about it and other species I will talk about in a future article.

"Lone mushroom"

This one popped up alone as well. It is very small not even standing an inch tall.


Of all the interesting things I have recently photographed--including a number of Harvestmen pictures most of which I have not posted and some other spider pics I promised but have not posted yet--this ranks very high as well. This tiny snail required an old 210mm 35mm manual lens to capture it. The heavy lens setup is over a foot long and can be cumbersome but really gets the detail when it comes to close shots.

With my flash mounted on my camera again using a laminated reflector that Velcros to my flash I was able to get these pictures at F22. This snail was only about 3-4mm long total. It was half the size of the eraser on a regular pencil! So small you could fit about 3-4 of them at least on my smallest fingernail!

The colors here were hard to match. For me it is rare to find a snail like this so small and still alive. Often you can find shells, but the living creature can be hard to find. Is it a baby or full grown? How old is it? What species? I do not know but the iridescent colors were amazing. I
am lucky I've figured out how to use my limited budget lenses to shoot so close and with such detail this kind of thing. On a serious note here--even tiny snails can be dangerous as they can carry salmonella, parasites and other diseases. Snails and slugs should never be handled for this reason. Be sure and click on this picture for a larger view--use the "back" arrow in your Internet browser (top left of your screen) to get back to my site.

WHAT KIND OF BATTERIES DO I USE?
A WORD ON GOOD BATTERIES--AA-NiMH 2500Mah--Being a photographer and a licensed Technician class radio operator I am qualified to talk a bit about this subject as well as experienced. Some people don't realize the power of NiMH--they almost always outlast ALL those other batteries. For years rechargeable AA batteries were not up to quality with Alkaline and Lithium. NiCD batteries lasted about half as long back in the old days. Now, in the past 10 years batteries have taken a quantum leap. They often seriously exceed them especially when used in high-power demand electronic devices. Don't waste money and the environment on buying AA batteries. Try the NiMH rechargeable batteries. With a small $20 inverter you can also recharge them in your car or even buy solar chargers. These are not the old NiCDs. I never know when I'm going to find something like this recent shot so if I can at all afford it make sure I have a backup camera battery and extra charged batteries for my SB600 flash. I nearly only use NiMH rechargeable AA batteries. You can get them up to 2500mah so they last far longer then even quality Alkaline/lithium batteries. 1700-2500mAh are great for flashes and even powering DSLRs with battery grips. I used to be able to run my Rebel XTI (Canon 400D) for 2 months or more--500 pics+ before I had to recharge! I got a battery grip that let me power the camera off of If I remember right, 6 or 8 AA NiMH batteries. My Canon XTi ran great for years like that and it was a high-energy 10mp DSLR. Sadly, it was destroyed in our house fire and like everything else not covered by insurance. The higher the mAh milliamp hour) number--the longer the batteries will last per cycle. They can even often exceed lithium non-rechargeable batteries (which get very expensive!) for camera and electronic gear. In my opinion and experience from compact cameras to pro-gear--flashes to just about any device like a long range 2 way radios--the AA NiMH battery is the best format for powering devices. AAA powered devices often do not nearly last as long as they are only 700Mah or so. Also--never buy a compact digital camera just powered by 2 AA batteries! You will spend more on batteries then anything else! However, I've had great experiences with every compact camera I ever used that used 4 AA batteries. I still use one that is 12 years old! Extra power goes a long ways. I point this out because people not only waste money by buying lots of AA batteries for stuff and not using rechargeable (cost pennies or less to recharge) they ruin the environment by doing so. Every year millions and millions of toxins go into the ground and air because of not using and recycling rechargeable batteries.

More pics coming soon-- Mother, eggs and babies--The life of a dedicated American mother spider and more Harvestmen shots!