We sneer at your pathetic DEET!
Oct. 14th, 2008 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tigertoyI went to Homer Lake today, armed with my trusty 75-300 lens and a plan to hike around the lake. If I had stopped to listen before I left the house, I probably would have been able to hear the whine of the mosquito hordes from 10 miles away. Luckily for you, dear viewers, I neglected that step, and more surprisingly, I was able to drag my shriveled blood drained carcass out of the Salt Fork bottomlands to bring you these pictures.
We may have our first frost this weekend. Even if we don't, it will freeze soon, and the butterflies will be gone until next year, so today's post is dedicated to the insects I love. Not so much to those that love me. (Mmm, tastes like chicken!)
Some sort of fritillary.
This is one of the little butterflies I can't classify at all.
More thistle fluff.
Birdie! Seems to be a warbler; I can't say what kind. I thought the background was kind of pretty.
I loved the texture of this stump.
I managed to catch a pair of sulfurs in their mating dance. Maybe not really well, but catching flying butterflies is hard.
Some more fall colors. I hope you're not bored.
This squirrel disappeared into a hole in a tree beside the path. As I passed the tree, I could see him peeking out.
A painted lady. They're planted flowers (at the driveway to the ranger's residence), not wild, but it's a wild butterfly.
Much of the experience of walking through the woods in the fall is when a strikingly colorful tree is partly visible through the intervening trees. It's difficult to capture in a photograph, but here's an attempt.
There were several great blue herons about. Without either a bigger lens or the patience to lie in wait for a long time, I would need to be luckier than I was to get a good close shot, but I think they're beautiful birds even when I can't fill the frame with them.
The color contrast between the red and green leaves in this white oak drew me.
Here's another great blue heron, resting in a dead tree instead of hunting.
Another great blue heron in a fairly pretty lake view.
There were some turtles in the north end of the lake. I didn't get any good closeups, but they anchored this nice reflection
... and I tried to capture the sun sparkle to balance the turtles' silhouettes.
The angle of the light made these dandelions glow.
Here's a view of the lake and the colors from the end of my hike by the north boat ramp.
We may have our first frost this weekend. Even if we don't, it will freeze soon, and the butterflies will be gone until next year, so today's post is dedicated to the insects I love. Not so much to those that love me. (Mmm, tastes like chicken!)
Some sort of fritillary.
This is one of the little butterflies I can't classify at all.
More thistle fluff.
Birdie! Seems to be a warbler; I can't say what kind. I thought the background was kind of pretty.
I loved the texture of this stump.
I managed to catch a pair of sulfurs in their mating dance. Maybe not really well, but catching flying butterflies is hard.
Some more fall colors. I hope you're not bored.
This squirrel disappeared into a hole in a tree beside the path. As I passed the tree, I could see him peeking out.
A painted lady. They're planted flowers (at the driveway to the ranger's residence), not wild, but it's a wild butterfly.
Much of the experience of walking through the woods in the fall is when a strikingly colorful tree is partly visible through the intervening trees. It's difficult to capture in a photograph, but here's an attempt.
There were several great blue herons about. Without either a bigger lens or the patience to lie in wait for a long time, I would need to be luckier than I was to get a good close shot, but I think they're beautiful birds even when I can't fill the frame with them.
The color contrast between the red and green leaves in this white oak drew me.
Here's another great blue heron, resting in a dead tree instead of hunting.
Another great blue heron in a fairly pretty lake view.
There were some turtles in the north end of the lake. I didn't get any good closeups, but they anchored this nice reflection
... and I tried to capture the sun sparkle to balance the turtles' silhouettes.
The angle of the light made these dandelions glow.
Here's a view of the lake and the colors from the end of my hike by the north boat ramp.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-15 01:10 am (UTC)I laughed out loud at the look in that squirrel's eye . . .
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-15 02:08 am (UTC)I wish I could go on a photo walk with you sometime and learn how you do it.
I love the squirrel.
I love the way you took something common and made me look at it differently with the dandelions.
The great blue heron pictures are classics, especially the one in the lake.
And I liked the 2 sulfur butterflies dancing around the clover blossom. Just enough blurring of the wings to show they're flying.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-15 03:22 pm (UTC)I'm not sure how well I could teach it, but I'd love to walk with you sometime.
I love the way you took something common and made me look at it differently with the dandelions.
I figure there's a heck of a lot of photographers in the world, and a fair number of them are way better than I am technically. Rather than trying to do a better job taking the same shots they are, I try to find beauty or interest that most people don't see.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-15 03:25 am (UTC)thanks for sharing these!
(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-17 12:25 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-10-17 08:24 am (UTC)some of these i like a lot: the dandelions, the turtles with sparkly water, the white oak leaves, the coloured tree among the green, the squirrel.