I shot this photo today while at the Minnesota Zoo outside in a patch of flowers. This gorgeous insect was feeding while I photographed it for a few minutes before it fluttered away. I intentionally blurred the background intensely to direct all of the focus onto the beautiful butterfly and the flower that it was resting on.
Showing posts with label Insect. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insect. Show all posts
8/2/15
2/21/15
A Colorful, Flowering World
We are blessed with the beauty of flowers and all that they do for wildlife, the environment, and the enjoyment that they bring us people. From smell to visual appeal they truly make our world a more beautiful and interesting place. These photographs are of some various species of flowering plants, all taken in different areas of California. Which one is your favorite?
P.S. I cannot wait for it to be warm outside soon! The frigid temperatures of a Minnesota winter are starting to take its toll...
1/10/13
The Babysitter that always gets murdered
This Sphinx Moth caterpillar obviously has quite the burden on its shoulders - unwanted baby wasps. This gruesome tale all starts when a female parasitic wasp (from the wasp family "Braconidae") uses a syringe-like tool to lay her eggs beneath the surface of a caterpillar's skin. The eggs will eventually hatch and the baby wasps will eat their way out of the caterpillar's body. Once they have emerged from the caterpillar's innards they form white cocoons (shown in the picture above) where they will stay until they finish developing into little wasps. When ready, they will break open the tops of the cocoons and fly away. Bad news for the victim caterpillars however, as they perish in the process.
I found this guy munching on some leaves a couple of summers ago and was intrigued to photograph something so unique. Though it may seem sad from the Sphinx Moth's point of view, it is almost impossible to not be fascinated by the wasps and their strange way of hatching and growing.
I found this guy munching on some leaves a couple of summers ago and was intrigued to photograph something so unique. Though it may seem sad from the Sphinx Moth's point of view, it is almost impossible to not be fascinated by the wasps and their strange way of hatching and growing.
10/21/10
Monarchs and Swallowtails
I love photographing butterflies. Fortunately there are many different species where I live and my personal favorites (the Monarch and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) are shown here.
The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) which is shown above has a wingspan of up to 5 1/2 inches and usually is yellow with black markings. However, some females are black like this one.
The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a slightly smaller insect that the Swallowtail, with a wingspan of 4 inches or less. These creatures are usually orange with black marking but some individuals in Hawaii are known to be silver in coloration. Monarchs are famously known for their long annual migrations from the United States to Mexico.
7/31/10
Some Insects...
Photographing insects can be very fun and challenging...especially the ones that have quick escape routes (such as those that can fly, hop, etc.). Nonetheless, I love macro photography so I love shooting these little guys.
9/21/09
Flowers
"April showers, bring May flowers!" In many cases, that saying isn't true. Here are some flowers that didn't bloom for me until very recently, with Fall right around the corner.
9/1/09
Out of the Garden
With summer coming to a close, I decided to do a post of some shots I got this year, right out of my own backyard. Wether its insects or flowers, please enjoy!










2/28/09
Sylvan Lake
Sylvan Lake (which is known as the "crown jewel" of Custer State Park) in South Dakota is an amazing place. Its unique rock formations and endless pine forests creat a wonderful landscape...which is great for photography!
Some of the amazing rock formations around the Lake.
A female Mallard Duck swimming on the Lake.
Some more rock formations.
A waterfall that has carved itself into the face of one of the countless, truely massive, rock formations that encircle the Lake.
A Butterfly resting near the shore.
A photograph of how crooked the trail that travels around the Lake can get. For some visitors, this part of their journey makes them quite uneasy!
Some of the amazing rock formations around the Lake.
A female Mallard Duck swimming on the Lake.
Some more rock formations.
A waterfall that has carved itself into the face of one of the countless, truely massive, rock formations that encircle the Lake.
A Butterfly resting near the shore.
A photograph of how crooked the trail that travels around the Lake can get. For some visitors, this part of their journey makes them quite uneasy!Fun fact about Sylvan Lake: The Lake was featured in the 2007 film "National Treasure: Book of Secrets". In the movie it was supposedly right behind Mount Rushmore. In reality however, it is 5 miles from the monument.
10/27/08
Santa Monica Beach
Alrighty, I havn't done a post in a while (due to laziness...sorry) so this one will be kind of long. All of these images were taken on the Santa Monica Beach in California. Enjoy!
A sailboat with a wave crashing against the shore.
A "Sandpiper" on the Beach.
Some water rushing along the shore...fast shutter speeds allow images like this to be taken without much being being blurred.
A bee...these little insects are everywhere on the beach - apperantly washing up on the shore - and are usually covered by sand, resulting in people stepping on them. I did this and it wasn't much fun...at first I thought that I had been stung by some extremely venomous sea urchin or something - but it was only a bee. =)
Just some bubbles on the sand.
The Santa Monica Pier in the afternoon.

A gull wading in the water.
Some more bubbles...though this may sound weird, bubbles are actually very fun to photograph. They are constantly changing, forming, and dissapearing...becoming a very unique subject.
A Sea Gull feeding on who knows what in that pile of washed up sea weed, taken at an angle.
A wave. Once again, a fast shutter speed allowed this shot, freezing the water droplets in the air.
A gull and it's reflection.
Some water rushing up onto the shore.
The Santa Monica Pier at dusk.
Some water leaving the shore.
Gull foot prints in the sand.
A Sea Gull most likely feeding on a crab.
A rather bad picture of the ferris wheel on the Pier. The lights on this ride would do some amazing things...the most incredible one that I saw was the shape of a dolphin jumping over the center of the ferris wheel.
The Santa Monica Pier in the afternoon.
A gull wading in the water.
Some more bubbles...though this may sound weird, bubbles are actually very fun to photograph. They are constantly changing, forming, and dissapearing...becoming a very unique subject.
A Sea Gull feeding on who knows what in that pile of washed up sea weed, taken at an angle.
A wave. Once again, a fast shutter speed allowed this shot, freezing the water droplets in the air.
A gull and it's reflection.
Some water rushing up onto the shore.
The Santa Monica Pier at dusk.
Some water leaving the shore.
Gull foot prints in the sand.
A Sea Gull most likely feeding on a crab.
A rather bad picture of the ferris wheel on the Pier. The lights on this ride would do some amazing things...the most incredible one that I saw was the shape of a dolphin jumping over the center of the ferris wheel.10/19/08
Some Macro Photos
Here are some macro shots - also known as "close up" shots. These were all taken this past summer in various places in Minnesota.
A Bumble Bee.
The center of a flower.
A water droplet on a leaf.
Rose petals. Very pink!
A Damesel Fly.
The center of a flower.
A Monarch Butterfly wing.
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