Saturday, October 1, 2005
Zebra on a Flower

I like this shot because the shallow depth of field makes it look like his wings are fluttering.

This guy is the official state butterfly of Florida.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Euphorbia Bee

I took this in Balboa Park in San Diego, while visiting La Jolla for a very enjoyable Christmas vacation a couple of years ago. Been workin' pretty much all the time lately, so I thought I would take this opportunity to day dream about another nice trip. :-)

Friday, September 16, 2005
Backlit Monarch

This flower seems to be a favorite of the Monarchs, and this was almost a tree. So, it made it easy to get a great backlit shot.

Thursday, September 15, 2005
Abstract Julia

The filters I use to take my close-ups are a combination of several lenses. This particular combination gives me an extremely low aperture, so there is only a very specific distance that is in focus. In this case only a couple of millimeters.

The effect ends up looking like a painting, especially when enlarged.

Friday, September 9, 2005
White Peacock

Another shot from Wednesday's trip to the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. While we were there we signed up for a year membership that includes the sea center on Stearns Wharf. So that should give me plenty of photo opportunities.

Thursday, September 8, 2005
Julia Heliconian

Yesterday I went back to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. It is almost the end of the butterfly season there. Each year for the past few years they have had a live butterfly exhibit called "Butterflies Alive". Something that is done other places too, but from what I have seen their exhibit is particularly nice.

In addition to getting some shots I am very happy with, I was finally able to identify this guy. He is from Texas or Northern Mexico. And, I found out that it was not that they are not documented well online, it is just that I did not recognize the images on the butterfly sites. Most of the images are taken with the wings stretched out making them look more of a classic butterfly shape. But, with the exception of a few basking in the sun, they seem to rarely hold their wings that way. They have a more stealth appearance in real life.

Monday, September 5, 2005
Hawthorne Bee

I wonder what Hawthorne honey tastes like?

Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Basking Butterfly

At one point I knew what kind of butterfly this was. But it's name escapes me at the moment. And, if you have ever searched the Internet for butterflies you know there are about a million different kinds which makes identification a bit difficult.

Saturday, August 27, 2005
Posing Butterfly

This guy was posing so nicely. I particularly like the color of the leaves he is perched on. They go nice with his wings.

Saturday, August 20, 2005
Web of Dew

This was a great rainy morning. The drops of dew made a great subject to experiment with depth of field. An interesting subject in other ways too, an earlier image of the day gave me the opportunity to learn more about these amazing structures.

Thursday, July 14, 2005
Natural History on the Wing

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has a wonderful exhibit right now called "Butterflies Alive". It is basically a giant tent with thousands of live butterflies in it that you can actually walk through. It's really a great experience!

Thursday, May 19, 2005
Now That's a Stinger!

I like to chase bees, as I mentioned before. So far I have been fortunate and none of my subjects have stung me. I suppose it is only a matter of time, but when I get the image I am looking for... I kind of think the feeling could make up for the pain of a sting.

Monday, February 28, 2005
Rosemary Honey

I love to chase bees. My best friend thinks I'm crazy, and she's probably right.

Saturday, February 19, 2005
Dragon

Proof that dragons once roamed the earth! (or at least the skies)

Don't believe me? Well imagine this guy's great-great-great-gran'daddy with a wingspan of well over half a meter. Making them among the largest flying insects ever known, and the largest thing in the sky at the time. Of course that was millions of years ago. In fact, these insects were around long before the dinosaurs.

• Living fossils
  Other interesting plants and animals that have remained virtually unchanged since pre-historic times.
• The Wollemi Pine
  Perhaps that giant dragon flew over these trees. The trees were thought to be extinct until 1994 when a small grove of them was found near Sydney Australia. You will soon be able to help preserve the tree by purchasing one of them (cultivated in captivity) for your garden.

Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Monarch Motel

This looks like something you would only see on Animal Planet. But Santa Barbara has one of the largest Southern California overwintering spots for the Monarch Butterfly.

Until about a month ago this spot was in serious danger of being turned into multi-million dollar condos. The Friends of the Ellwood Mesa had two years to raise $20.4 million to purchase the 137 acres and turn it into a preserve. An anonymous donation of $307,000 in the last week of the campaign sealed the deal.

The truly amazing thing about these butterflies is none of them have ever been here before. During the summer breeding season Monarchs only live for two to six weeks. So the Butterflies that migrated north last year are long gone (and I bet it was the trip that killed them!) These guys are in a hibernation-like state brought on by the changing weather in the fall. They are lucky, they can live for up to eight months (or unlucky if you think about the 1000+ mile flight they have to make to be safe in the winter.)

The fall generation of Monarchs make the migration from the north, and settle in Eucalyptus groves on the coast of California and in Mexico. They live through the winter before coming out of the hibernation state, called "reproductive diapause", at which time they are ready to usher in the new generation of Monarchs.

Saturday, January 15, 2005
Lavender Honey

Lotusland is a wonderful place. Kind of a botanic gardens gone wild. The last time I was there I became a member, so I can go back and take a few (hundred) more rolls of film.

Sunday, January 9, 2005
Just Hangin' Out

Every year the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has a live butterfly exhibit called Butterflies Alive.