Monthly Archives: September 2014

Dragonfly Activity

Cherry-faced meadowhawks, Sympterum internum, were flying in tandem over the mud of a small drainage ditch yesterday.  There were four or five pairs in this small area and a couple of solitary males. The same species is very common this … Continue reading

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Phototherapy

My life has been full of stress lately.  My wife has been sick, and I have spent more time driving around on errands than I ever care to again.  The other day I had a few minutes, and I was … Continue reading

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Why does the Monarch Hide its Eyes?

I have been taking photographs of butterflies for a long time, and I have some photos that I consider pretty good.  However, I have had a hard time getting photos that I really like of monarchs.  I think I figured … Continue reading

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Late Season Butterflies

Monarchs are back! They are showing up in pretty good numbers, also.  Concerns about the status of the monarch are well founded, but they are having a really good year this year. The other late season butterflies are having a … Continue reading

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When to use flash, and when to not use flash

Butterfly photography requires a certain amount of stealth.  I use a single-focal length macro lens–105 mm, and slowly get as close to the butterfly as I can.  In bright sun, I use an aperture of f/16 and a shutter speed … Continue reading

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Blowing in the Wind

The biggest problem I had with taking this photo of a pearl crescent, Phyciodes theros, was the wind.  The wind moved the subject into and out of focus.  So I held the flower by the stem, and focused by moving … Continue reading

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Here’s Looking at You, Kid

I ran across this fellow on our log pile.  This is a very small jumping spider–unidentified as of yet.   Taken with a macro lens and extension tubes–if you put it on a penny, it would not cover Lincoln’s head.

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