Hanging out with the grownups. Several years ago I photographed one lone immature Milkweed Bug amongst several grown ups.  It’s rare to photograph a group of five insects in such a simple uncluttered environment.

Super close-up work with insects can be challenging.  Like most things that challenge us, the reward is usually big.  Dragonflies were my favorite common insects to work with up super close.  My depth of field was not unlimited here, so I was forced to be selective with my focus.  Hopefully you will find my decisions to have been correct.

I found this Widow Dragonfly one morning a few hours after sunrise. I had failed to find any dew soaked dragons earlier and I was disappointed because it was a dewy morning.  After photographing some flowers I spotted this fellow flying across the meadow.  After a careful approach and an even more careful job of placing my tripod at the perfect angle, I metered, focused (auto), composed and fired.  I was pleased to find a little dew still resting on the back of my subject.  Understanding photography and my subject, knowing the settings on my camera, along with a sure but careful approach, over the years did result my fair share of images like this.

I think this next image will be more in keeping with the current climate in most of North America.  It was made on a very cold day.

I am sure that those of you who live in my part of the world, and follow the bird posting networks, have discovered a Snowy Owl or two by now.  My first was in early December of 2005 at Bong State Rec. Area. She was dubbed Her Majesty by a friend of mine named Kristen. The Snowy you see below was a different owl also at Bong about four years later.  Her Majesty stayed for several weeks while the owl in the picture stayed about 20 minutes. Good luck to all of you.

I came across this image from Mathew Malkiewicz on Facebook and wanted to share it with my readers.   His website is aptly name the Lost Tracks of Time.  I love old trains. Of course I love old cars, planes, boats, motorcycles, bicycles, buildings and dogs.  I’m sensing a trend here. Often great pictures make you want to be there, and I would have loved to have been on this train as it roared through that woodland.

The steam/smoke is an important part of the drama of this image but the fact that the front of the train, and the tracks just ahead are well-lit, are equally important.

I enjoyed the pose and the composition on this Benoit Koenig photo. This is just a very pleasing image that satisfies most of our instinctual needs when we view pictures.  A delightful subject, with a nice unobtrusive background, and I think that tree limb, both in its curving shape, and its texture, adds a lot to the image.  I believe Benoit is a hobbyist and this image came from Facebook.

Looking closely at this exquisite flower picture from Denise Ippolito,  I may have to pretend that there has been no Photoshopping.  If there is, you can count on Denise to say so.  I really like the composition not only because it is a style that I myself love to use, but because it is absolutely perfect for this particular blossom. Denise tends to make a lot of those perfect choices.

I have been to five or six rodeos in my life and covered one in Denver with a camera.  I do think it was one of my favorite days of image making. The possibilities are amazing.  I only wish I would have worked many such events. I can see it now….wide angles of the entire arena in action, short telephotos of action, and super telephotos shots of the mud and the blood (sorry) on the competitors face.

The event you see below is bull riding and there are whole circuits devoted to this one rodeo event.  They are among my favorite television sports. This shot comes from Google Photos and it is a good one.  The helmet you see is a fairly new phenomenon.  Admittedly the helmets are a visual comedown from cowboy hats, but I guess I can’t blame the riders.  If you can find a bull rider who hasn’t had every bone in his body broken several times he is probably a rookie.  Photographing actions sports be they auto racing, hockey, skiing, bull riding or others is a rush that every photographer should experience.

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Thanks for stopping and have a great day,                                                                             Wayne