stanmalcolm

Superb! That is the moth of a tomato hornworm (or at least a close relative). Easily mistaken for a hummingbird. All the hawk moths feed on nectar while hovering. Great demo of how insects use their wings to hover: they don't flap up and down. Instead they flap them back and forth (front to back); a bit like a swimmer treading water wearing flippers.

Nice light. Kudos for finding an unusual natural subject.

Thank you for your comments.

THank you for your comments.

Polarizing filter, but unretouched color. Thank you for your comments.

Thank you for your comments.

Thank you for your comments.

 

Took this and other photos at our local garden center: their flowers

well cared for, and they do all the work. (I do make a point of

buying something anytime I take pictures at a garden center. In this

case, I will also frame a print for them.)

Not a world-beater photo, I know, but I'm charmed by the expressions

and poses of these folks.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

 

- Stan

Handheld (though braced), shooting through glass at the San Antonio

Zoo. I like the dappled sun on the rock that blends with the jaguar's

cheek and paw.

 

Thanks for your comments.

I like the juxtaposition of pasture, walls, and tree with this

eccentric, ancient "folly." Other photos in this series at:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/member-photos?include=all&user_id=827670

 

Thank you for your comments.

While intent on photographing a beaver

(http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2272893), I was struck by

the reflected colors of overhanging brush on the water surface. The

resulting photo - with the beaver cropped out - reminds me a bit of

the complex reflections of Chihuly's glass sculptures.

 

If you like this, please view my Surfaces folder for others:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=389648

 

Thanks for you feedback. - Stan

Thank you for your comments.

Thank you for your comments.

Looks familiar. :-) See: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=2125509

Apparently, we have the same or a similar species of mushroom here in America. See: http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1883014

 

Regards, - Stan

FYI, it's a wasp-mimetic fly; family Syrphidae. Nice picture.

Would enjoy seeing this in higher resolution. (Suggest submitting a version about 480 pixels wide.) Still, nicely framed - not an easy thing to do with columbines.

Marla, your analogy to sports and portrait photography makes good sense. ("Great action shots require someone else to win a race or steal a ball or score a point. Studio portraits are much better with good model.") Thanks. It helps me realize that one of the ways I've grown over the past two years shooting pictures of the same short section of nature trail is in my ability to anticipate: to know when there's likely to be a special sunrise, or when/where a certain flower or animal is likely to appear. Following your analogy, it would seem that in addition to the technical aspects of taking the picture, a sports photographer must know when and where the best action shots might occur, and the portraitist must know what makes a successful model. Does that seem right? So, anticipation is a key. I understood that in still life, but it hadn't occurred to me in nature photography. - Stan

Thank you for your comments.

 

I have a question for nature/scenery photographers. I struggle with

how much credit I can take for photos: While I'll take some credit for

composition, and getting up early every morning to look for shots like

this; it seems to me that nature provides so much more - the colors,

the patterns, etc. Most of the time, I feel like a lucky recorder.

Do others feel this way? If so, how do you resolve it? - Stan Malcolm

Thanks for your comments and ratings! More at:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/member-photos?include=all&user_id=827670

 

- Stan

This photo http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1973706 provides the architectural context for the light fixture. (Look up high and you'll see a row of them.) Thanks for the comments and ratings! - Stan

Thank you for your comments.