Hunter-Hunted

Another great set of pictures by my son Joel.  Here he captures the age old saga of the hunter and the hunted.  In reality, it was much more cute than cruel.  There's no way our cat would have caught this very agile chipper!  I think the chipper knew it as he sat up in the tree teasing the cat.  Our cat (Pita) is actually quite a timid thing - hence the harness and rope - she actually wants it on to feel more safe and secure outside.

So, there you have it - the timid hunter and the teasing hunted.

Together

Loons are amazingly beautiful creatures.  I like photographing them almost as much as mushrooms!  

It is rare that you can get pictures of two loons together.  I managed to get this pictured because my son Joel and I were together out in the boat.  He drove; I sat at the front of the boat snapping pictures like crazy (172 to be exact!).  I would not have been able to do this without Joel.  He carefully and gently piloted the boat in such a way that the loons felt safe with us so close.

Cool things happen when you do stuff together.

Whatzat(2)?

You tell me.

What does it look like to you?  Now, don't cheat and look at the picture below.  After I took the picture I showed it to Heather on the camera's little screen.  She said it was a "Freeman Paterson" type picture (see sidebar on right...).  That greatly encouraged me.  Pictures like this one allow the viewer to interpret it how they like which is kinda fun!

OK, here's the 'big picture'

I just stuck the camera in the hole in the tree, pointed upwards and pressed the shutter.  No composition, no fiddling with settings, no idea if it would look like anything.  Yet another example of something fun and interesting that happens when you react to an opportunity/situation before you.

Whatzat?

I'm glad you asked - it's the inside of the flower of a zucchini plant!  One of the things I love about macro photography is that it can capture a view or perspective on something that you normally can't see.  This zucchini plant is quite large and these fragile looking flowers get hidden behind the leaves.  Even if you can see the flowers, you won't be able to see the strange and delicate inside of the bloom.  I love the little hairs and the swirls on the stigma (wasn't sure what it was called - hope I Googled it correctly!).

Conflict

Another couple Hummingbird shots.  I love these little guys!  Female (top), male (bottom).  They look so cute, so delicate.  What you don't see (and what I could never capture with the camera) is how violently the male defends the feeder.  He looks like he could skewer the female when she tries to get a drink!  Not sure how she does it, but she manages to get to the feeder often.

Why does he try to drive her away?  It seems so senseless, so unnecessary.

Good thing we never act that way...

Bazinga!

(Yes, Big Bang Theory reference)

Blur

Another photo taken by one of my kids.  This time our MC (middle child).  No idea how he did it but it sure is cool.  It's a Trillium.  I took maybe 20 photos of Trilliums the same weekend - but I think I like this one best.  The Trillium is a delicate, fleeting flower and this photo captures its 'aura' wonderfully.  

Why

Yes, its a louse - a head louse.  Won't say from whose head.  

Here's the question:  Why does this thing even exist?  What larger purpose does it serve?  I do wonder if creatures like this are an aberration, an unfortunate outcome, if you will.  (I wonder the same thing about mosquitoes...)

The bottom line is we don't know.  OK - some may claim to know the larger purpose of such things - but I sure don't.  All I know is they are a pain - literally and figuratively.

Perhaps they do have a larger purpose in this big thing we call life but I (we) just can't see it.

Painful things are often like that, aren't they?

Macro

Nothing terribly profound to say here.  This picture represents my first attempt with a new toy - A Raynox closeup adapter.   This adapter clips on to the front of a zoom lens and enables incredibly close focus.  This bee was very cooperative because he was very doppey.  It was early in the morning and he was just 'waking up'.  Good thing as it took a while to figure out how to focus this thing and get the lighting right.