One of my all-time favorite subjects for close-up work are leaves. Especially autumn leaves.

Late summer the Foxtail Barley Grass begins to change to more of a rust color than it had been.

Photographically I loved the naturally artistic way the grasses would seem to flow.

Oh them eyes. I love frogs and other such critters and I especially enjoyed it when they would brazenly look me straight in my eyes.

Slow but not creepy or suspicious movement on my part, afforded me many opportunities with these guys.

The same proved true with Salamanders. It is amazing how often wild critters will tolerate us when we send out the natural and honest vibes that we are friends, and mean no harm.

When your depth of field does not carry over an entire subject like this, shoot for the eyes.

You too can speak to the animals.

I’ve shared images of this Water Snake many times before. I have not shared before ( I think ) the fact that I did some close-up work of the scales on its side.

Much like the swan in my previous blog post, this young, fledgling Great-Horned Owl Gave me some nice up close images, be they with a 500mm lens.

Behavior, such as a caterpillar eating, is a part of the job of a natural history photographer.

My trusty Nikon 105 Micro lens came in handy one more time.

Sometimes images that are macros, but not ever so tight and detail laden, can make even better overall photographs. I believe this is a Bee Fly.

Life is grand in the world of miniatures.

At the right times of year, depending on the location, the supply of potential “little critters” such as this caterpillar, is seemingly infinite.

Dew covered beetle with early morning light.

What a web we weave.

I love photographing wildflowers, but I’ve spent countless hours in gardens of planted flowers as well.

It can be a small world, make good use of it.

The haunting and somewhat scary lyrics from The Eagle’s song Hotel California can be found below.The Eagles were one of the first country/rock band combos.

Sometimes we need to listen carefully to undertand what is dificult to interpret.

Many say the lyrics below are drug induced. That might be, but I believe Glenn Frye said they were traveling through the desert late at night after finishing a show and found this extremely old hotel along the way. The mood and atmosphere were such that he became inspired to write down the words below..

Hotel California
Song by Eagles

On a dark desert highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
“This could be heaven or this could be hell”
Then she lit up a candle
She showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
Thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place), such a lovely face
There’s plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here
Her mind is twisted
She got the Mercedes Benz, uh
She got a lot of pretty boys
Who she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard
Sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget
So I called up the captain
Please bring me my wine, he said
“We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969”
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place), such a lovely face
We’re living it up at the Hotel California
Oh, what a nice surprise, bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling
With pink champagne on ice, and she said
“We are all just prisoners here of our own device”
And in the master’s chambers
They gathered for the feast
Stabed it with their steely knives
But they just can’t kill the beast
Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
Had to find the passage back to the place I was before
“Relax”, said the night man
“We are programmed to receive”
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave

As interesting as the words are and the mood is in this song, there is evil in it.

God Bless,
Wayne