A Bee's Journey Tuesday, May 01, 2007 | |

A bee's journey
Originally uploaded by
Polar Bear in a Snowstorm.

I ventured over to the Mercer Arboretum last Friday to work on some of my photography skills. The arboretum is quite a neat place and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves nature and the outdoors.

When I first got there, it was a little after they opened at 8:00 am and the first thing I walked by were these beautiful California Poppies. Quite a few of them were still wrapped tightly and covered with morning dew. I took some photos and then continued on my way.

As I was leaving, they were filled with bees, busy at work. I couldn't resist the urge to stop and take some more photos. Unknowingly, my ISO setting was still on 1600 as I just came out of a really shady area where I was not using a flash. This actually was probably my savior as it allowed the camera to have a fast shutter speed (1/2000 of a second) which made it possible to freeze the wings in flight.

This picture is a composite of four shots that I took while stopping on the way out. I hope you enjoy them.

Hanging Out Monday, April 23, 2007 | |

Hanging Out
Originally uploaded by Polar Bear in a Snowstorm.

I hate - o.k., hate is too strong a word - flying, stinging insects. They freak me out. Period. So, what do in this case? I pull out my 300mm macro lens and get as close as I can to this paper wasp munching on a bottle brush flower. I was about 18 inches from this fella when my finger clicked the shutter.

Truth be told, he probably saw me - I mean, how can he not with those eyes - but didn't really care about me and my camera. As long as I didn't mess with his desire to feed, he couldn't have cared less.

A Fungus Among Us Thursday, April 19, 2007 | |

T
Originally uploaded by Polar Bear in a Snowstorm.

I was out in the backyard last night looking at the hibiscus I planted last year when I spotted a little piece of mulch with a wee little mushroom growing on it. The little sucker was just begging to be photographed, so I picked up the twig and set it down on the arm of one of our Adirondack chairs and clicked away.

This is one of the pictures that captured. The sun came out from behind a cloud and really lit up the fungus, showing off it's golden hue. The tiny little mushroom is about half the diameter of a dime and sits maybe ½ inch high on a twig about 3 inches long.