14 September 2009

RAAAAWR!!!!


I've been wanting to do a macro of a spider's face for a long time, and this guy was kinda hanging out, just waiting for me

03 September 2009

A REALLY BIG spider that lives outside above Keith's kitchen window.



I tried putting up a quarter to give it scale, but the quarter was on the inside of the window and it just didn't focus well lol.



The body of this thing is the size of a half dollar, no joke.



On deviantart, someone told me that this is an orb spider. They don't usually bite.


Still freaky.

21 August 2009

Granted, this is not the greatest quality.


But I am super excited that I caught the spider shooting out its web :)


I am also a huge nerd and love being able to see what the spider looks like up close. Nature works in weird ways, that's for sure...




(This was after I ran into its web, noticed it crawling in my red hair a few minutes later out of the corner of my eye, and threw it on the bricks.)

09 August 2009

(Click for full view)


Daddy long legs on our corn :)

04 August 2009

It took me twice as long to get this shot with my new camera! It's been hard for me to get used to. I harassed this poor little bee forever.

30 July 2009

(Click for full view)



A male Pacific Forktail damselfly (Ischnura cervula) hanging out on the fence by our garden.



I didn't try fiddling with my ISO settings today (I can't use image stabilization when I do that, and I needed to take a quick shot). I definitely notice more noise here.

29 July 2009

(Click for full view)


Playing with my ISO again, as well as my (limited) aperture settings. I'm still learning what these things are and what they do.



I'm pleased with it as a start; there is less noise, and I have a nice bokeh effect going on.



I also had a very cooperative wasp (Vespula vulgaris?) helping me out. It was enjoying the cool of dusk and our sprinkler, cleaning itself on our raspberry bush without caring how close I got to it.

24 July 2009

Not the greatest shot, but I have never seen one of these before! It's a ten-lined june bug and it was walking by my car. I love its antennae!


I wanted to pick it up and put it in the grass for a better shot, but I'm really glad that I decided not to. Apparently they hiss. Which would have made me scream like a girl and throw it like a football.

22 July 2009

(Click for full view)



These are six black-margined loosestrife beetles devouring a patch of invasive purple loosestrife plants. I found them while I was doing observations for my Animal Field Behavior class on the school's wetland reservation. Using beetles to get rid of the plants is a greener way to exterminate the plants, as long as they don't let the beetles become pests too.


From far away purple loosestrife looks almost like fireweed, but up close you can see the difference (fireweed is on the left).



Edit: Ugh. This layout doesn't automatically resize large photos. I'll work on this, probably tomorrow. You can only see four the beetles now.

14 June 2009

I'm very happy with this one... I took something like seven shots, and this is the only one in which the bee is in focus.