I was out communing with the insects at Silver Falls State Park this last weekend. I snapped a picture of this Alderfly hanging out by the pool. He/she is about 3/4 inch long. Of course, I had to have a little fun with the color scheme.
The Pacific Tree Frog is Washington’s State Amphibian. I have one to many thousands of them singing or chorusing near my house on many an evening, even in winter. I love it! This little guy is barely more than an inch long. I photographed him inside a 5 gallon bucket, but I thought a path at the Chinese Garden was better frog shui.
Shot this through my living room window yesterday morning.
Coincidentally, I learned while watching Antique Roadshow last night that in many cultures this wasp is a symbol of “new beginnings.” I was down with the flu all of last week, so I am ready for a new beginning!
Audubon announced the winners of their 2015 Photography Awards today. I did not win, but I now have a finer tuned appreciation of what they are looking for, so,….Next Year!
This is the photo of mine that was chosen as a semi-finalist in the “Fine Art” category–a new category for them this year:
Most of the the other images I submitted were new creations. This one I composed in 2011.
Here is a link to the Winners
You will have to scroll sideways (or down) to the fourth image to view the “Fine Art” winner. It is a Black & White of silhouetted gulls, cormorants, and terns. Very nice!
Here is a link to the Top 100 . All of them are awesomely spectacular bird photos. None of them come from the “Fine Art” category. It would be nice to see the other semi-finalists in the Fine Art category, but I can’t find a link to them.
This is #10 and the last of the images I submitted to the 2015 Audubon Photo Contest. I think this one is my favorite because it contains five elements that float my boat: the desert, rocks, ancient history, birds, and a sense of spirituality. Floating one’s boat in the desert is always surprisingly satisfying.
This is a “puddle shot” composition from 2011—it is still one of my favorites. For me, it brings to mind an old English tapestry.
Do ducks have dry dreams?
In 2005, when I bought a 4 mega pixal Cannon A520—purely for keeping a personal journal—I took the background shot in this photo at Jackson Bottom Wetlands. Looking at it in my trial version of Photoshop Elements, I liked it better upside down and thought all it really needed was a duck flying through right side up. I did not have any decent pictures of ducks, but I stuck one in there anyway.
That got me started searching out what I began to call “puddle shots”—reflections I could flip to reveal a different world. Many hundreds of puddle shots later, this one is still one of my favorites. All it needed was some decent waterfowl (White-fronted Geese) flying through it right side up.
I’m sure all of you have looked at clouds from both sides by now and often seen in them fluffy animations of bears, poodles, Albert Einstein, etc, etc. When I put this cloud photo together with itself foursquare, all kinds of creatures emerged. It soon became obvious I was seeing two Sandhill Cranes auditioning for a Mother Goose rhyme. Yep.
I found a photo of my sister Virginia that projected the attitude I was looking for.
I persuaded Katie to costume up for for MG’s body.
For the little dog, I found a picture of my childhood pet, Tasha—a very silly, but beloved pooch.
I’m in there too, if you can find me.
I spent a lot of time on this one, but still somehow I really don’t know clouds at all.
Thanks, Joni.
Mother Goose detail