meanderings . . . : August 2015

suggs creek: a few more butterflies

because there can never be too many butterflies . . .

suggs creek: monarch

so, now that i've photographed my first one, i am seeing tennessee monarchs all over the place. it turns out that i just needed to learn where and when to look. next year's goal, of course, will be to see them in my own yard. that should get me busy gardening next spring! and on a side note, aren't the colors in this photo amazing?!

also amazing is composing a shot of one friend and discovering another in the frame.

isn't he the cutest? he was surely a hungry little guy!

and then to zoom out a little and realize there are more little friends than you realized.

i think i counted seven in this one spot. thrilling!!!

and you know this means summer isn't quite over. :)

suggs creek: swallowtail

i need to do a little more research on these guys. i saw a sign at a state park one time that listed them as just a color morph of the female tiger swallowtail. i also seen separate listings for black swallowtails under different species names. i think this will be a good research project for the winter months when they're not flying about outside begging to be photographed. and actually, unlike the yellow tiger swallowtail, these are not that easy to photograph. they're so flighty!

these were all taken with the 70-300 zoom lens. not technically perfect, but very cool shots.

suggs creek: cardinal flower

i was very excited to see these cardinal flowers down in the culvert, although at the time i didn't know their name. i briefly debated going down in the culvert to photograph them, then i saw the hummingbird. i blinked and almost didn't believe my eyes. the debate was over in an instant. i trucked it back to my car to get the zoom lens that i should have brought to begin with and made my way down into paradise.

i stalked this little guy for quite some time. it was such a thrill to hear the whir each time and know he had come back for another round. hummingbird is the perfect moniker for these guys. actually, they are quite loud!

those first two shots are the only sort of clear photos that i got. i definitely have to learn more about my zoom lenses. i have two 70-300 lenses. they are both hand me downs, as is my camera. neither lens works in autofocus, so i have to try to manually focus and the little bird is so fast! also, i think i have lighting issues and my shutter speed is probably not fast enough considering the age of the lenses and camera. still. these blurred shots have an artistic quality to them i think.

and the lighting on these cardinal flowers is just dreamy.

nature is fascinating.

and then there is my recent foray into selfies with the iphone. i don't know where this urge has come from. i am not nearly as photogenic as the little hummingbird, but it is fun to experiment with angles and lighting on myself. also note the bulging pockets in that first shot. packing three lenses is not easy. i should wear my cargo pants! that would probably have prevented the massive thorn injury as well. those things we're in full on beast mode!

and now for the butterflies . . .

suggs creek: paradise in a ditch

i took these pictures down in a ditch on the side of the road. actually, it was a little creek with a really, really big culvert. actually, it was paradise except for the roadside trash. i'll abstain from a rant, but only barely. but seriously. is noting sacred from our apparent apathy? anyway. i really need to wear rubber boots next time. i kept hearing a really big frog, but wasn't about to wade through the muck in my chucks. also, i probably should wear pants next time. ouch! i'll tell you about that later. but now. now let's get to the beautiful part. oh my. this is my happy place. nature's canvas is incomparable. and i wonder what these things are. i saw them and knew i had missed something glorious and knew i had something to look forward to finding next year.

the butterflies . . .

the flowers . . .

there are four tiny beauties in this one.

stunning. and look at that nose!

the bees drew me to these blossoms. they were on vines growing up into these little trees.

"more than anything, i must have flowers always, always . . . " - claude monet

i was especially tickled to see this one. i had seen one on a hike last fall, but it only had one striking red petal left on the whole stalk. i knew it had to be something special, and it is. the cardinal flower.

i also loved that i could see so many colors mixed together here.

hello, mr. grasshopper!

enjoy your bath!

you've picked a gorgeous place for it!

my first dragonfly capture in a good long while. nice having a zoom lens to play with.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh . . . !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

are you kidding me?! a hummingbird. i heard it buzz in. i was giddy. elated. entranced. so very happy.

more butterflies . . .

more flowers . . .

i was playing with the telephoto with these. i think i need to try this again. it's pretty, but i haven't quite mastered the shot. i love photography. there's always something new to learn, something new to see.