DigiCaptures Photo Gallery

Busy Bee In Flight

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:14 -0700

I was out making images this morning of bugs and flowers over at Brown Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona, when this honey bee (most likely Africanized) started buzzing the camera, no doubt to let me know that he wanted access to the flower I was photographing. I couldn't believe my luck because I've been trying for a long time to capture a bee hovering before a flower, ideally with pollen-laden leg sacks, only to have them buzz off whenever I try to approach them.

So, I scramble to adjust the f-stop on the 105mm, to ensure I had a proper depth of field, and in my excitement I forgot to adjust the exposure. Fortunately the images came out but they were about 2 f-stops underexposed. Also, I was shooting at ISO 400 and in trying to compensate for the underexposure (yes, I shot RAW), pushing the images introduced an incredible amount of noise that even Nose Ninja couldn't remove. I did the best I could but lost a lot of detail on the bee in trying to clean up the mess.

I'll never offer this image for sale, but I'm proudly posting it here because I finally was able to get this shot!

Grasshopper On Tumble Weed

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:14 -0700

Mowing the lawn always seems to bring the bugs out, especially under the mesquites where the mower can't reach the tall grass. I try to go out the next morning to make images of whatever bugs I can find.

These grasshoppers (Melanoplus aridus) are common to this area. I like the colors on their legs, especially that long length of turquoise blue. Seeing as it was early morning they were still trying to warm up, meaning that you could rearrange grass blades and other obstructions without them hopping away from you.

I rather liked how the sunlight was hitting this one and thought the brilliant greens of the young Tumble Weed (Russian Thistle, either Salsola kali or Salsola tragus) helped balance the bright colors of the grasshopper.

Fingerleaf Gourd

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 10:05 -0700

I took this image of a Fingerleaf Gourd (Cucurbita digitata) flower at Brown Canyon, in Arizona's Huachuca Mountains. I had just started hiking into the canyon and was anxious to get to a particular spot while the light was good. I saw the vine this flower was growing from in a shady spot and figured I'd make some images of it on my return trip. Fortunately, I remembered that these flowers curl up when the sun hits them, so I took the time to make the images at that moment.

Sure enough, on my return trip the flower was out in the sun and all closed up, so I'm glad I took the time to make this image when I did.

Zorak Rocks!

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:37 -0700

I was out hanging up laundry when this little guy popped up from around the clothesline bag. He was hanging out on the clothesline pole waiting for a good meal and using the bag as cover. Whenever I'd reach for a clothespin, he'd scurry around the other side of the bag and then return to his original vantage point.

I'm not real sure what type of mantid this is, but I'm guessing it's either a Stagmomantis californica or a Stagmomantis carolina.

Oh! The title of the photo is a reference to an old cartoon show.

Sweet Four O'Clock

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:01 -0700

One of the flowers I found on my recent trip to Carr Canyon, in Arizona's scenic Huachuca Mountains, was the Sweet Four O'Clock (Mirabilis longiflora). The plants do not like sunlight, so you have to get there early in the morning or very late in the afternoon.

On this particular morning the fields and woods were covered in dew because of the heavy rains we had the previous day. Dew-covered flora makes for great photo-ops, but be sure to wear water-proof shoes and sturdy pants -- I was soaking wet, from my knees down to my boots, by the time I was done making photographs!

Wagon Wheel

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:36 -0700

I'm tired of posting flower and bug macro's and needed to show something different. For you flower and/or bug lovers, fear not, for they'll soon return!

I took this one while waiting for Lori to run the 24th Annual Tombstone Vigilante's Days 10-K Stampede. The wagon has been on this particular street corner ever since I can remember, and I've taken photos of it periodically over the years. This has been one of the better images I've made.

Two-tailed Swallowtail

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:12 -0700

I was taking photos of little itty-bitty flowers in the grass and got up to stretch my legs when I spied this beautiful Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudatus) butterfly sitting on a nearby Dwarf Poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) plant. I've tried to get photos of these gorgeous creatures in the past but they've always been too skittish, fluttering off at the nearest hint of my approach.

I hoped that this time might be different, considering it was slightly overcast and a bit chillier than normal. She tolerated one snap of the shutter and then skittered off to some other flower in the neighbors yard.

FWIW, this is the Arizona state butterfly.

Dewy Composite Flower

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:01 -0700

There's nothing special about this one. It's just some small dew-covered yellow composite flower that I found in Carr Canyon early one morning.

Radiating Sunflower

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:08 -0700

August is the month for capturing flowers that only appear after the monsoon rains. The common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is plentiful during this time of the year, growing along roadsides, in fields, or anywhere that the runoff water can congregate and saturate the ground a bit.

The sunflowers are difficult to capture properly because of their height. The taller the flower, the more surface area available to the wind, meaning the flower will bob to and fro in the slightest breeze as you're trying to capture it's image. Having an assistant you can use as a shield against breeze would be nice, providing the wind and light are not coming from the same direction. Alternatively, you can practice some Zen "waiting" and try to capture the flower during lulls when the breeze momentarily stops.

Seeing as my photo assistant, Hachi, isn't known for his standing still skills, and would probably trample the flower if he got too close to it, I invariably end up doing the Zen thing. Patience is a virtue, and all that. :-)

Net Winged Beetle

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:23 -0700

I was out hanging up the laundry when I noticed this "moth" on a blade of grass. I went into the house and got the D80/Nikkor 105mm gear, grabbed the tripod, and hurried back to the clothesline to make some images of the bug.

As I composed and captured, I slowly realized that it wasn't a moth, but some kind of beetle. Researching the bug online led to an identification of Net Winged Beetle (Lycus arizonensis) and that it is commonly mistook for a moth.