27 Aug 12. Not having a lot of time to get out as I'd like, I've been making short visits to one of the local nurseries to grab a few botanical shots either on the way to our second home (Home Depot) or on the return trip. While there last week on a couple of visits there were a number of willing insect subjects who paused in their daily activities to pose for me for short periods of time. Today's submission is one of those shots.Other than some slight increase in the micro contrast features and a simple vignette, there has been no other editing to the image. Nikon D300s; Aperture Priority; 18-200; ISO 200; 1/500 sec @ f /7.1
28 Aug 12. Challenged by a question about the insect that was Monday's image, I did some sleuthing on the web and decided that it was a type of Hover Fly, and in particular, a Sun Fly, Heliophilus pendulas. Sorta out of place here, but the web page also said it was one of the rarer Hover Flies native to Great Britain, so I guess if it likes the weather there it should feel right at home here. Today we have another fly taken at the same nursery and based solely on the images on the Hover Fly page I found, I believe it to be another member of that group. This one is sitting on the edge of a squash flower, and I was caught by the similarity in color of the insect and the petals of the flower although it doesn't show as strongly here as it did in person. Couldn't get this critter to pose the way I wanted, so I had to settle for the position in which you see it. I've increased the micro structure a wee bit, but played around a lot with the framing of the shot just for effect. With so many different programs now providing a myriad of these "framing" borders, I thought I'd play with just one tiny option. Not sure I'm even the slightest bit sold on this technique, but with images with this kind of border showing up everywhere I figured I'd try one or two of my own. I'll be interested in any comments about the border. Nikon D300s; Aperture Priority; 18 - 200; ISO 200; 1/400 sec @ f / 6.3.
29 Aug 12. A bit late for today but I was incapable of any fine motor control last night after having spent 8 hour on a rotary sander removing mildew and mold off 300 sq ft of the deck in preparation for sealing it. It was covered with tarps that was supposed to protect it from weather but it turned out they held water underneath creating a massive problem. Another 450 feet remain to be done before Friday, so the images for the next couple of days may also be morning editions. On my 6th birthday one of my Grandfather's cows gave birth, and my Grandfather "gave" it to me as a birthday present. At 6, and basically being a city kid even though we had infrequent visits to Grandma & Grandpa's farm, I didn't quite comprehend what the gift really was. A year later when the "gift" was on our dinner plate, I recall not being all that happy about what had happened. Fortunately there weren't all that may trips to the farm in between those two events, so I never really had an opportunity to make a pet out of the calf. It leads me to ponder however just how many folks now days truly don't know from where their food originates, and I'd be willing to venture that there are millions who actually think the food comes from the stores and not from farms. This year's calf will eventually be on someones plate, but for now provides lots of entertainment any time I find to go and visit my cousin's farm. Jan took the cherubs there last week to feed them some left over watermelon and they had to trek to the "back forty" to get to the herd. The older cherub found the walk through the somewhat "messy" fields a delight, while the younger one wanted nothing to do with the "messy" stuff on the ground. But they both delighted in attempting to feed the cows even though only one had a hankering for watermelon. I guess northern cows aren't accustomed to such delights. Nikon D300s; Aperture Priority; 18 - 200; ISO 200; 1/320 sec @ f /8.
