September 10, 2007

10. Dragonfly

20070910.jpg

Though we though bug season was over, we lucked out and found this guy not too long ago. This is the same dragonfly I posted here.

I really like this image. I think it is the background that I like the most.

Posted on September 10, 2007 10:34 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

September 4, 2007

04. Dragonfly

20070904.jpg

Posted on September 4, 2007 01:12 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 8, 2007

08. Skippers

20070808.jpg

Posted on August 8, 2007 02:41 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 7, 2007

07. Hairstreak

20070707.jpg

Posted on July 7, 2007 03:13 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 5, 2007

05. Dragonfly and Daisy

20070705.jpg

Posted on July 5, 2007 09:15 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

February 20, 2007

20. Skippers

20070220.jpg

Another Out of Bounds image. The photo is of two skippers I shot last year. I entered this into competition on Monday night and received a score of 14 out of a possible 15 for the photo. That is a Diamond award in the club.

Posted on February 20, 2007 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

January 31, 2007

31. Morning Mayfly

20070131.jpg

This photo of a mayfly was shot 18 months ago (July 31, 2005). I came across this photo while reviewing some of my older work which happened to be the subject of my latest tip.

You can read it here.

Posted on January 31, 2007 12:49 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

October 28, 2006

28. 12 Spot on Thistle

20061028.jpg

12 Spot on thistle. This is obviously not a new shot, but it was taken this summer.

Posted on October 28, 2006 11:59 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

October 11, 2006

11. Crab Spider

20061011.jpg

This is a different crab spider than the one I previously showed. They are both on the same flower, birdsfoot cingfoil though in a different location.

Posted on October 11, 2006 11:46 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

September 15, 2006

15. Crab Spider

20060915.jpg

Posted on September 15, 2006 12:24 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 27, 2006

27. Cabbage White on Clover

20060827.jpg

Posted on August 27, 2006 06:08 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 20, 2006

20. Eastern Tailed Blue

20060820.jpg

This is another Eastern Tailed Blue. These are very small butterflies, maybe the size of my thumbnail. They move their wings up and down a little and while they do, the tails resemble antenna so that if a predator takes a bite, the only get the wing, not the head.

Posted on August 20, 2006 11:39 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink

August 19, 2006

19. Jiminy

20060819.jpg

Well, he is really a grasshopper, not a cricket. But I don't know any grasshopper names.

Posted on August 19, 2006 07:06 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 18, 2006

18. Blues

20060818.jpg

A pair of Eastern Tailed Blues mating.

Posted on August 18, 2006 08:37 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 17, 2006

17. Mating Blues

20060817.jpg

Posted on August 17, 2006 08:57 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 6, 2006

06. Black Swallowtail

20060806.jpg

Found this guy in my garden after a rain storm the other night. Looked like he was feasting on my parsley. I believe it is (or will be) a black swallowtail butterfly. After taking some photos of him, I let him go.

Posted on August 6, 2006 06:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

August 4, 2006

04. Black and White Butterfly

20060804.jpg

Shot at the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory

Posted on August 4, 2006 06:32 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 3, 2006

03. Bee

20060803.jpg

Posted on August 3, 2006 11:56 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 1, 2006

01. Beetle on Butter and Eggs

20060801.jpg

This spotted ladybug was not my intended focal point for this photo, but once I got closer to the flowers, decided she should be in there.

Posted on August 1, 2006 08:30 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

July 22, 2006

22. Wings

20060722.jpg

Posted on July 22, 2006 09:19 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 21, 2006

21. Saddleback

20060721.jpg

I shot this saddleback last weekend. Like the Monarch, it was done later in the morning. Unlike the Monarch however, it flew to me, I did not have to chase this one.

I processed this image in the new Adobe Lightroom beta. The software looks nice, but I will need to do some more testing with it to see how the image quality is. It is a little slow though. Beta sofware...

Posted on July 21, 2006 01:38 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 17, 2006

17. Crab Spider and Fly

20060717.jpg

This shot of a crab spider and fly was taken a few weeks ago. I originally set up to shoot the bird-footed cingfoil (trefoil?) and after my first shot notice a blur in the photo. Zooming in to identify the blur I noticed the crab spider. I photographed the pair for a little while after that.

Posted on July 17, 2006 12:00 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink

July 15, 2006

15. Monarch

20060715.jpg

Monarch Butterfly. Stalked.

Our usual method of shooting these insects involves finding them in the morning when they are still fairly dormant from the overnight cold. This monarch was shot a little later in the morning and I had to stalk it, moving slowly. It was quite co-operative though and allowed me to get closer than I needed to be.

Posted on July 15, 2006 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 14, 2006

14. Orange Veins

20060714.jpg

This is a close up of a 12 Spotter Skimmer dragonfly. Scott originally pointed out the orange colour in the larger veins in the wings.

I am still fairly new at photographing these insects so I rely a lot on John and Scott for names and searching the Internet when I can. I identified this based on what I found at http://www.dragonflies.org

Posted on July 14, 2006 11:42 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 13, 2006

13. Skippers

20060713.jpg

Two skippers covered in morning dew.

Posted on July 13, 2006 09:20 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 3, 2006

03. On top of a Flower

20060703.jpg

Dragonfly perched atop a purple flowering grass.

Posted on July 3, 2006 11:32 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 2, 2006

02. Resting

20060702.jpg

This Cabbage White is resting calmly on clover, basking before flying for the first time in the morning.

Posted on July 2, 2006 09:13 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink

July 1, 2006

01. Smiling for the Camera

20060701.jpg

This dragonfly seems to be smiling for the camera.

Posted on July 1, 2006 11:32 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

June 26, 2006

26. Not Your Ordinary Portrait

20060626.jpg

Ha ha, this is definately not your normal portrait! This is the same dragonfly that I posted yesterday, only this time I shot the front of him. I definately like yesterday's shot of his back better than this one though.

Posted on June 26, 2006 11:50 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

June 25, 2006

25. Wings

20060625.jpg

Posted on June 25, 2006 10:06 PM | Comments (5) | Permalink

February 15, 2006

15. Moth

20060215.jpg

A large moth shot at the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory.

Posted on February 15, 2006 11:09 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

September 15, 2005

15. Sulphur

20050915.jpg

I started my class last night. I am not sure why I had the impression, but I didn't expect it to be so much like school used to be. But, it is class just as I remember them being (it's only been 5 years).

Tonight I am heading out with Dave to do some shooting. It'll be the last digital shooting I do for a while as I have to take the camera in for repairs tomorrow. Canon has told me it could be up to 6 weeks, even though this is a known issue. I am very unhappy about that. So, I'll be going back to film.

Posted on September 15, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

September 14, 2005

14. A Rainbow of Colours

20050914.jpg

This is another shot of the Sulphar I posted on Monday. I find it amazing just how much colour is really in these butterflies. When I first looked at it, it was a pale yellow, almost brown, but this image shows its true colours, yellows, greens, reds, blues plus some purple and brown.

Tonight I start a 12 week portraiture course. I have to say that it is my weakest photographic technique and I have always thought people are the hardest subjects to shoot.

Posted on September 14, 2005 10:30 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

September 13, 2005

13. Eastern Tailed Blue

20050913.jpg

This Eastern Tailed Blue was in excellent shape. Often they have nicks out of their wings from attempts from being eaten. The small tails are actually a diversion. They will move them up and down to mimic their antennae so a predator may only nip the back of the wing, rather than a more critical near the head nip!

Posted on September 13, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

September 12, 2005

12. Early Morning Sulpur

20050912.jpg

As I mentioned yesterday, the season is about over for the insects. This is one of two butterflies I shot yesterday. We were at the Wainfleet Bog on Erie Peat Road in Port Colborne where we have had some pretty good luck over the past few weeks. I have a couple different shots of this butterfly and one more of an Eastern Tailed Blue to post.

Posted on September 12, 2005 02:52 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

September 7, 2005

07. Dewy 12 Spot

20050907.jpg

Posted on September 7, 2005 06:46 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

September 6, 2005

06. Meadowhawk

20050906.jpg

This is one of the meadowhawk dragonflies I mentioned last week. As this is the first year I have started shooting insects, it was an exciting find. The first dragonfly I posted back in July I did not actually find, but as my eyes are becoming tuned to what to look for, these creatures that camouflage themselves so well now are appearing to me.

Posted on September 6, 2005 09:45 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

September 5, 2005

05. Eastern Tailed Blue

20050905.jpg

The Eastern Tailed Blue is only about the size of a nickel, so they are quite hard to find in the grasses.

Posted on September 5, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

September 4, 2005

04. Sulphur

20050904.jpg

This was shot later in the day. I had to hunt this one down, and then slowly move up on it to keep it from flying away.

Posted on September 4, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

September 3, 2005

03. Pearly Crescentspot #2

20050903.jpg

This is the same butterfly as yesterday, only with it's wings closed.

Posted on September 3, 2005 08:47 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

September 2, 2005

02. Pearly Crescentspot

20050902.jpg

A Pearly Crescentspot warming itself before it's first flight of the day.

I was out this morning, and while I didn't shoot any butterflies, I did get some shots of a couple of dragonflies, a green darner, meadowhawk and a saddlebag. I will have photos next week.

Posted on September 2, 2005 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 24, 2005

24. Golden Cabbage White

20050824.jpg

This Cabbage White appears to be seemingly made of gold. This little guy is seemingly enjoying basking in the sun, judging by the size of his smile!

Tonight is the Picture The Cure Exhibition and Auction for Breast Cancer and the Princess Margaret Hospital. The event is being held at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. I cannot be there tonight because of some work commitments, but I would have liked to have gone. My best to the photographers who are supporting this worth cause.

Posted on August 24, 2005 09:51 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

August 18, 2005

18. Bee on Black Eyed Susan

20050818.jpg

This is a photo I shot last year (I have been busy the week or so and haven't been out with my camera) that has done very well in competitions. I received a Diamond award for it in competition at the Niagara Falls Camera Club and and honour awards at the Rainbow Competition; a yearly competition between the Niagara Falls Camera Club (Niagara Falls, Ont) and Twin Cities Camera Club (Tonawanda, NY). It also received an honourable mention at this year's Niagara Frontier Regional Camera Clubs Annual Convention.

Remarkably, for this magnification, I was able to shoot this hand held.

Posted on August 18, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

August 16, 2005

16. Stained Glass?

20050816.jpg

Butterfly Wings... like stained glass.

NOTE: The service I have been using to send out daily email updates had a problem over the past few days. It looks like the problem was resolved this morning, but I have already written most of the code to send out the emails myself. I hope to have it working in a few days. I look forward to any feedback on the change when it happens.

Posted on August 16, 2005 09:34 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

August 12, 2005

12. Green butterfly

20050812.jpg

When Leanne and I were in Letchworth, there were butterflies everywhere. Overlooking the Mt. Morris dam is a field of wild flowers that was teeming with them, bright yellows and greens, red and orange, black and white. I was able to get this shot in (a sulphur maybe?) but would love to have an early morning there for some really nice ones, like this, or this.

Posted on August 12, 2005 06:38 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink

August 6, 2005

06. Skipper

20050806.jpg

I am not as happy with this shot as I am with the Lacewing from Thursday. I would have like to have bounced a little more light back into the body to illuminate the from wing a little more.

Posted on August 6, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

August 5, 2005

05. Morning Mayfly

20050805.jpg

I am really happy with this shot. I went out Sunday morning though I had thought about cancelling after having had a very long day at work the day before. Conditions were perfect and John has a very keen eye for finding these small critters.

Posted on August 5, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

August 4, 2005

04. Skipperling

20050804.jpg

Posted on August 4, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

August 1, 2005

01. Waiting to Harden

20050801.jpg

This butterfly had recently emerged from it's chrysalis. They emerge and sit for about an hour while they wings inwrap and harden before flying off. In the background you can see other chrysalis' from the hatchery at the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory.

On another note, yesterday was the last day of my sixth month of posting. So far, 182 days, and 182 photos. It's been tough to keep up with at times, but I am still enjoying it so I will continue. I am putting together a selection of my favourite images from the past 6 months. I have 22 selected now, I want to whiddle it down a bit before I post the link.

Other photos from the Butterfly Conservatory:
July 30, 2005
July 31, 2005

UPDATE: I have come up with my favourite 15 images from last month.

Posted on August 1, 2005 05:12 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink

July 31, 2005

31. Butterfly

20050731.jpg

Another butterfly from yesterday's shoot. With so many butterflies at the Conservatory, it is a very great experiance to be there first thing in the morning, but really lacks a lot of the thrill of the hunt of going out and finding them on your own like this shot of a Saddleback Dragonfly, or this one of damselflies mating.

Posted on July 31, 2005 11:04 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 30, 2005

30. Butterfly

20050730.jpg

One of many butterflies shot this morning at the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory.

Posted on July 30, 2005 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 27, 2005

27. Time for a Snack

20050727.jpg

While Dave and I were in the Niagara Gorge the other day, these cabbage whites were very abundant. Dave was able to get some nice shots in and I was able to get this female resting on this plant having a snack.

Posted on July 27, 2005 06:47 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 20, 2005

20. Caterpillar

20050720.jpg

I found this caterpillar last week having a snack while out with Scott and John. While not as exciting as the damselflies or dragonflies we were looking for, I still thought it might make a nice shot.

Posted on July 20, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 12, 2005

12. Mating

20050712.jpg

This pair of Damselfies are in a mating position. National Geographic has published an article which discusses the mating of can be found here.

Posted on July 12, 2005 01:00 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

July 11, 2005

11. Hiding

20050711.jpg

This was shot yesterday along with my first dragonfly. I am working on my technique. Each week is a little bit better.

Posted on July 11, 2005 11:25 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

July 10, 2005

10. Saddleback

20050710.jpg

Saddleback Dragonfly. This was posted late...busy day for me.

Posted on July 10, 2005 11:40 PM | Permalink

July 4, 2005

04. Blue Damselfly

20050704.jpg

This was the only salvageable shot from yesterday. Manual focus and a diopter adjustment our of whack do not play well together. I am very disappointed as the sunbursts coming off of the water drops on both the grass and the damselfly are amazing.

Posted on July 4, 2005 10:49 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink

May 29, 2005

29. Damselfly

20050529.jpg

I was out this morning with a couple of my friends bug hunting. This was my first trip out with them for this purpose though they are experienced at shooting them. The morning was pretty uneventful as this Damselfly was the only one that was found, and not by me. I really do not how they expect me to find an insect that blends in with it's environment, buried in grasses, when it is only 3/4 inch long!

We are out most Sunday's so I am sure I'll be posting more Damslefies and dragonflies, maybe some moths and butterflies as well. The detail has really been lost in the conversion to websize, but the full version is really quite remarkable.

Posted on May 29, 2005 08:55 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink

May 15, 2005

15. Grossius Insectus

20050515.jpg

I believe that Grossius Insectus is the official name for this. If it is not, it should be. The insect was about 2 inches long in body and close to 5 from tip to tip of his feelers. I trapped him in a glass and tried to get a few shots of him. Hard to see in the smaller version of the image, but the individual ommatidium are visible in the compound eye.

In case anyone hasn't figured it out, I don't particulary like bugs. Another view of the insect can be found here.

Posted on May 15, 2005 06:00 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink