Zooming – September 2016

I already did a zooming post earlier this month focused totally on insects --- but there have been so many other good shots that I couldn’t resist another for this month with more than insects in the mix. I am getting a new camera soon so this might be the last set of images with the 30x in optics and digital up to 120x. Let’s start with some plants: crabapples against a clear blue sky. Most of the leaves have already fallen from the tree but I looked around to find some fruit with a leaf nearby.

A flower with its petals still in tubes. Soon they would flatten into more normal looking petals.

A cloud of pink flowers.

Lots of pollen.

Milkweed seeds on the verge of blowing away.

The long central stalk of the hibiscus flower.

And a mushroom that was greenish underneath.

Back to some animals…..this chipmunk had very full cheek pouches. It was probably collecting food to be stored away for winter.

A skipper sunning itself among the dew drops on a large flower.

A bee so focused on the flower that it doesn’t notice my son-in-law’s camera trying to get a close shot (upper left corner). I prefer using the zoom!

A molting bird…maybe a grackle?

A dragonfly.

Zooming – August 2016

Like last month – I selected images this month where I used the zoom on my camera past the 30x that the lenses do. The digital zoom goes to 120x. I’m often surprised by what I am able to ‘see’ via the camera.

For example – the green eye of this Cabbage White Butterfly on blooming mint. It misses being a great picture because of the errant piece of grass and the other mint plants in the foreground…but it works for identification. Speed is important when trying to photograph anything that can move (like insects) so I opt to get some kind of picture rather than a perfect one!

Black eyed susans from early in August. These three seemed to go together – further back in the garden so zooming was the only way to photograph them without stepping on other flowers. I like the curly petals of the one in the foreground.

Early in August the trees looked like we were going to have an early fall. This is a zoomed shot of the tulip poplar from my office window – across our backyard. Now most of the leaves that were yellow have fallen and there don’t seem to be many new ones – yet.

The sycamore keeps getting new leaves all through the season while the other leaves keep getting larger and larger. This is a new leaf that I took from my office window. I like the blurred background behind the leaf that comes with the lens focusing on the leaf.

Sometimes I like to use the zoom to get my shadow out of the picture. This is a mature seed pod on a sweet bay magnolia (at the Howard County Conservancy’s Mt. Pleasant Farm).

In the Honors Garden at Mt. Pleasant Farm, the algae mat at the edge of the water feature was attractive to bees.

It also was a good place to look for small plants. I like the red edges of these small leaves. I was able to stand comfortably on the walkway to take my pictures rather than leaning over the small pond.

Birds are easier to photograph if I can stand further away. This male goldfinch was tearing a zinna flower growing on my deck apart with a vengeance.

Sometimes the flowers themselves are my topic. I liked the curves of the petals and the black background in this zoomed image.

The butterfly has not clue I was even around. Using the zoom on the camera is a great way to see insects better than you can with just your eyes.

What about this fly on a milkweed leaf? I was surprised by the red eyes.

 Took two pictures of an insect pollinating a chicory flower. The color on the head and thorax seemed to glitter in the sunlight! But the pictures are not quite good enough to key out what it is.

That’s enough….I may have gone overboard for the zooming post this month but I had so many images to choose from!

Zooming – July 2016

Instead of making collages from clips of images – I’m doing Zooming past the 30x my camera will do with its lens. It will do up to 120x although it is essentially in-camera cropping because it is utilizing the resolution of the sensor rather than the lens. At 120x the images sometimes begin to look like an impressionist painting with a softer focus – but they can also show a lot more detail than the eye can see. It is easier to get good results with a monopod (I dislike the bulk of a tripod although I might try it more frequently. I picked 8 of my favorite zoomed images from the past few weeks.

I like to be well back from insects so that my camera does not influence their behavior. I once had a praying mantis jump on my camera! So using the zoom to capture the milkweed tussock moth caterpillars was my preference. They are about only about a half inch long.

Reaching back into the overgrowth along a path if often not a good idea: too many plants with thorns (like these wine berries) and poison ivy. Standing back and using the zoom to get the picture is the way to go!

I didn’t want to chance getting the web these caterpillars were creating on the front of my camera by getting close…and zooming worked very well.

I’m sure this bug would have flown away if I’d tries to get close. I also like that the background is still there but out of focus. The flower is chicory; it was about the same diameter as a quarter.

Aphids! The white ones are an earlier stage than the yellow ones. They do move around so zooming rather than getting close is my preference.

This seed stalk of a pokeweed was back in the waste high brush – glad I didn’t have to push my way thought it to get this image. I liked the pink and green. Later the seeds will be a deep purple.

This tiger swallowtail is enjoying a nectar snack! He would have flown away had I been close at all.

This is a max zoom photograph of a swallowtail wings. There is a fine line between nature photography and abstract art!

Tohono Chul

Tohono Chul was another destination while we were in Tucson in January. We had been there before – in March 2013 and December 2011. The dust and gravel paths through the gardens are pleasant during this time of year when the weather is cooler that in the heat of summer. Some of the paths and courtyards are shady from overhead growth. I enjoy the occasional metal sculptures (the deer in the image below) in some of the more formal areas.

The eye is drawn to unusually looking saguaro. I’ve photographed two of them on previous visits and named them for what they remind me of: Gumby and elephant.

There were two others that I noticed this time. One had no arms but an unusual configuration at the top with a proliferation of pleats and then, seemingly, a bunch of small arms growing straight up.

There was also a saguaro that has fallen over on the ground; the outer part had dried and split apart to reveal the ribs underneath. It provides some protection to the small cactus growing close beside it.

I noticed a new looking wall with cactus growing on it; there are ‘holes’ built into the wall to provide some soil for the cactus.

There was also a wall with accompanying signage that showed the geology of Arizona…the state has a lot of geologic variety!

There were birds about too: the black bird with a crest and red eye is a phainopepla (this one is a male)

And goldfinches feeding at a mesh bag full of seeds.

The most surprising cactus I saw was one that looked like something had eaten the top! What kind of animal would have a tough enough mouth to do that? On the plus side - it does provide a view of what the inside of the cactus looks like.

There were architectural elements to enjoy too: a purple wall in a meditation garden with vines growing on it

And stairs to a roof with pots and lush vine spilling from above.

I spotted several butterflies in the garden. This one seemed very intent on foraging – even with a very battered wing.

I used the zoom on my camera to document some Century Plant seed pods – some already split open and some still ripening.

All in all – there is always something to notice anew at Tohono Chul.