Tag: Nikon

Lens-Artists Challenge #252 What’s Buggin’ You?

This week, Donna of Wind Kisses is hosting the Lens-Artist Challenge with a focus on, What’s Bugging You? She thinks that the true challenge here is that encounters are rarely purposeful, and bugs are never willing participants. Some will flitter around and finally land on a leaf. Some pollen collectors will ignore the photographer and some will look straight at you.

Plenty of things are buggin’ me, but this post is strictly about the ones found in nature. I captured most of these images in California. The arachnids I discovered on The Big Island and in Kauai. All except the first one were found outside of a dwelling. Unfortunately, last night as I sat down to watch television, my Moxie kept looking at the lampshade. And there I discovered a VERY unwanted intruder. I captured it in a jar and took a photograph.

Who is this uninvited intruder?

Now I get to the real purpose of this particular blog. Insects I come across in nature. They are usually found around flowers, and I do appreciate their reason for being. The only one that I did not capture, and I have found no reason for being is the mosquito. In some seasons I appeal to them more often. Other times, I can go a long time before their nasty bite comes along. I am not a fan of putting on insect repellant either.

Busy Bees

Photography leads to learning about my images. I did not know the difference between honey bees and bumble bees.

This is the first photograph I sold. It was taken at Effie Yeaw.

Abandoned
I believe this is a honey bee
Honey Bee
Carpenter Bee stay away from my house.
Carpenter Bee
Bees ready to pollinate the sunflower fields

Wasps – Don’t get in their way!

Wasps have black and yellow rings around their body
A wasp

The Fly – Not the dance by Chubby Checker

A solitary fly

Damsels and Dragons in distress?

Golden flecks on this one
Found this one at the Sacramento Zoo landing freely on this plant
Once a dragonfly lands it returns to the same spot. This one wanted to pose.
Landing on a zinnia bud
Balancing on a lotus flower bud
This damsel/dragonfly casts a shadow on the lotus leaf

Beetles – Not the Sixties group

I see a face, do you?
On a cactus in Sedona, Arizona
On a California Poppy in Carmel, Ca.
A pair of ladybugs or ladybird beetles
Another beetle. There are so many kinds.

Butterflies and Moths

Monarch lands on a Coneflower
Sun captures this moth
Lands on a Zinnia
Swallowtail Butterfly
Don’t know where this very hungry caterpillar will find any food!
Will become Swallowtail Butterflies one day

The religious kind – Praying Mantis

Posing on a hydrangea
I’m looking at you
Just hangin’ around

Arachnids: Spiders and their webs

A local arachnid found in a local Sacramento garden
Front and back
Aloha from Kauai
Locally grown in Sacramento
Found on a California Poppy
Beautiful web design catches the morning sun.
Beautiful web design with dew drops in the morning sun

Water bug

Just doing the backstroke at the Empire Mine water lily pond

On Friday I find out what kind of visitor I have invading my domain. I hope the resolution will be painless for all concerned.

Just some of the little creatures I captured along the way as I explore the world around me. Do you have any favorite bugs?

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 222 The Mountains are Calling!

This week Amy (The World is a Book) has challenged me to go to the mountains, and so I shall. 
Traveling has been limited to Sacramento lately. Not exactly sure why. But these photo challenges gives me a good reason to check out my library. The highest mountain I ever visited was the Himalayas when I visited Nepal in 1965. At the time Kathmandu had traveler restrictions, and two small hotels. The Royal Nepal Airline had 3 planes, not a modern jet plane. We traveled between the peaks. A pretty scary ride. But alas I don’t have any photographs.
Sacramento is located two hours from the Sierras and Lake Tahoe. Heading east Donner Lake is a beautiful, quiet stop.

Donner Lake in the fall
Donner Lake in the winter
Yosemite in the Sierras
Yosemite
A weather change as I leave Yosemite
Flying over the Sierras
Outside Bodie located in the eastern Sierras. Do you see what I see?
Bodie California – the Sierras in the distance

Heading east the Sutter Buttes make for a rural landscape.

Cow posing.
Mount Diablo

Northern California’s Coast range provides many photo opportunities just as long as there is a place to pull over. Otherwise commuter traffic makes this prohibitive.

Stopping on this winding road between Livermore and San Jose.
Anne will always remember this drive!
Coastal Range taken near Big Basin Redwoods State Park

My first trip with my dslr Nikon D70 was to Seattle, Washington.

Mount Rainier National Park
On a clear day I see Mt Rainier from my Seattle hotel room

So this ends my tour of my Western United States mountains that call to me. Any image catch your attention?

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #213 Here Comes the Sun

Amy provides my new challenge this week. This week, our theme is “Here Comes the Sun”. I will explore the sunlight and things under the sun, whether it’s in the morning, middle of the day, and/or before the sun goes down.

Any reason to shop!

I’m not a super early riser, but if I want to capture exceptional images in Sedona, Arizona I made it a reason to set my alarm. I arranged a family reunion in Sedona. The family met in Sun City West where my parents lived and carpooled up to Sedona, It was August 2005, and it was my mother’s 80th birthday. My brother and I shared a room, and with my new dslr Nikon D70 camera, we headed out each morning at 4:30 a.m. It’s true, “The early bird catches the views”. Peaceful, quiet, and no crowds!

It is going to be a hot day (4:54:16) 8/21
Just starting to peek through (4:57 am) 8/22
A sleepy little town below (4:57:37) 8/21
The effects of the sun are starting to wash over the mountains (5:00.58) 8/21
Heading out, and looking for more views (5:00 am) 8/21
Ready to head back to the hotel and catch some zzzzs (5:30) /21

When the sun is out I am always on the lookout for backlit images.

Swim practice

Sunsets are amazing.

Late afternoon sun on a farm on Mt. Diablo
Mt. Diablo sunset
Yosemite’s El Capitan
El Capitan after the sun went down.
Golden Gate Bridge
Long Beach, Ca
Sunset reflection

Again, thanks for letting me share my take on, “Here comes the sun!” Does any special image catch your attention?

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge # 194 Bokeh

Sofia challenges me to primarily think of out-of-focus areas in your photos. Are they an important component of your shot? What is bokeh for you and how do you achieve it? I’ll be looking forward to seeing how your beautifully blurred areas also have a story to tell.

Using a large aperture setting would be how I would describe my style of photography.

While visiting Donner Summit, I borrowed a reflecting ball. The shallow depth of field places the photo in a forest setting and the reflection is in focus.

By using a shallow depth of field here my photo leads the eye in a line.

A line of pigs
Colorful crayons

The story I tell with my flower photographs often is about one particular flower standing apart from the rest.

The bee settles on a flower in the field of flowers
Paws, please!
When my Moxie was a young pup!

While capturing images with people the depth of field helps to tell the story.

Racing fans gather during the Amgen finale in Sacramento

This last photograph was taken in 2004 while visiting my In-Laws in Florida. This is an example of why I recommend not discarding all your old mistakes. This was my first DSLR the Nikon D70. I was not familiar with white balance and forgot to change from the indoor lighting setting to the outdoor one. My images were quite blue. But today, I saw potential in this image. I changed it to black and white. What do you think?

I hope you enjoyed my look at bokeh and how it helps to set the stage for my images. Please comment and let me know.