Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

I was photographing insects the other morning when I noticed the GB Heron.  I quickly setup the other camera and stalked off toward them.

Great Blue Heron

Many probably know that this is an auto focus nightmare unless you set it to function on the very center point of the auto focus grid.  I shot nearly 100 captures and kept maybe 8.  I mounted my Sigma 50-500mm lens on a monopod for these shots.

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Frogs

American Bullfrog Male

The frogs are busy, currently.

American Bullfrog Male

I like to keep an eye out for them as I wait for insects.  They make lots of noise when thy jump for their prey.

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Amber-winged Spreadwing

Amber-winged Spreadwing

I have never seen a spreadwing at the front pond before.  I came upon this one recently.

Amber-winged Spreadwing

I have no zoom on the Sigma 180mm Macro lens.  I don't have a closeup filter for it either.  I would have had those options available with last year's setup.

Amber-winged Spreadwing

When I am too close to frame the entire insect, I sometimes shot a sort of panorama of it for assembly later.

Amber-winged Spreadwing

This was done in PS5.  With such a clear view of the 9th segment, I was able to know this to be a male.  The insect was remarkably patient with me.  I have seen several of these since but without a good opportunity to photograph them.

This spreadwing is not listed in the DOW Booklet:  Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of Ohio, in which I looked for it.  I think that it must be an omission.  I am unable to know whether it is listed as in Richland County.

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With and Without Flash

Pickerel Weed

This bud was beginning to open.  I thought it a good way to display part of the process.

Pickerel Weed

I decided to try adding flash to mitigate the severity of the shadow.  I liked the result.  I did a little touch up on the leaf, as you might notice, with a view to printing later.

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Carol & Larry to Catawba/Marblehead

Carol & Larry

We decided to conclude our July 4th weekend with a visit to the "Lakes".  We stayed at Holiday Inn Express.  With our room, we had the option to purchase, for $25, a gift card for Lunch or Dinner at Mon Ami.  The shot above was snapped by our friendly and helpful waitress.  We purchased our meal, tip and bottle of wine with the $50 gift card and a 10% discount.  What a deal!

Headed to Catawba on Rt. 2

Carol and I both have a history, as do many people, of visiting the "Lakes" in the summer.  We were able to combine our trip to the "Lakes" with hearing The Gatlin Show.  We have enjoyed hearing them many times in the past.

Darryl and Andrea Gatlin

They played at Cleats Marblehead on Sunday Afternoon.  We don't get out much at night any more so we found the time just right for us.  We loved hearing them again.  I found that my hearing is getting worse with age and I would wear ear plugs next time.  In honor of our Nation's Birthday they sang patriotic songs.  This is part of one.

Since it was almost Carol's birthday, Darryl came over and sang to her.

Carol with Darryl

I knew that Carol would enjoy a little attention from Darryl and he delivered.  She almost danced with him.

I captured all images and video with my Samsung Galaxy S4.

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More Pickerel Weed

Pickerel Weed

I just realized that the pickerel weed reminds me of the Peace Lily.  Perhaps they are even related.  I love the way the bud and later the flower rises in front of the the leaf.  I wonder if it might also be called a "boy flower" as the peace lily is.

dufourea novaeangliae Bee on Pickerel Weed

The setup for insects is more easily mounted on a tripod than last year's setup.  I made this shot with it mounted thusly.  This is a single capture which was preceded by a Deep DOF series in an effort to capture the leaf behind in focus as well.  That idea did not turn out the way I had hoped but I was able to eliminate the leaf-in-focus shot and capture the bud (see below).  I was thinking ahead to printing this next winter.

 dufourea novaeangliae Bee on Deep DOF Pickerel Weed

I was pleased with the outcome except that the bee was there for only the final shot.  I decided to process the series without the bee and the leaf.  Afterwards I placed the bee into the image with a mask.

I think, now, that if I decided to print this one I would work on the color slightly.  I like the color of the green in the image above, not so much, this one .

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Dragonfly Perch

Slaty Skimmer

Someone, not me, stuck a branch down into the water of the pond for a reason unknown to me.  I have found it useful in photographing the dragonflies.

Dragonfly Perch

I installed a perch elsewhere for the purpose of photographing dragonflies.  It was purely accident that there were out-of-focus highlights in the background, circles-of-confusion.  I became excited about the "bokeh" of my Sigma 180mm macro lens.

Eastern Pondhawk

I thought that it added to the beauty of my shots.

Dot-tailed Whiteface

Since that time, I have been trying to figure out what unique light, time and conditions created that bokeh.  That is currently a work in progress.

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Speaking of Water Lilies

Water Lily Bloom

I noticed this bloom the other day while shooting insects.  I was unsure about the composition so I shot another as I often do.

Water Lily Bloom

Later, I picked the one at the top because of the lean of the flower.  It was leaning into the empty space.

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