Obsessed with red milkweed beetles

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Obsessed with red milkweed beetles

July 11, 2012 by Mike Powell

Do you find yourself being drawn back inexorably to photographing the same subjects over and over again?

Last month my friend and mentor Cindy D. “outed” me in a wonderful posting on her blog. She confessed that “we’ve become a little obsessed with photographing Red milkweed beetles (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus).” (She also published some interesting facts about the beetles in another blog posting.) She’s right, of course, in her assessment of me, but I might quibble with her on one point. Is it possible to be only a “little” obsessed?

What are the symptoms of my obsession? After work today, in between thunder and rain storms, I rushed to Green Spring Gardens to take some photos. I shot a few flowers but I couldn’t resist the pull of the milkweed plants. I know exactly where they are located in the gardens and I know if I look hard enough on the milkweed plants I will find the cute little beetles.

By the time I found my beloved beetles the light was starting to fade. How bad was the light? Despite shooting at ISO 800, I needed exposures around 1/5 of a second at F11. Fortunately the beetles were willing to pose and I had my tripod with me. I managed to get a few nice shots with beautiful color saturation in the late day, overcast light. Here is one photo (out of many) of the object of my obsession—a red milkweed beetle.

Is there a twelve-step program for people with this problem?

Posted in Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Photography | Tagged beetles, canon 18-55mm lens, Canon Rebel XT, gardening, green spring gardens, insect photography, macro photography, milkweed, nature, nature photography, photography, red, red milkweed beetles | 9 Comments

9 Responses

on July 11, 2012 at 4:02 am | Reply Lady Deidre

Great photo! I must confess, this is the first time I’ve seen one, so thank you for that! 🙂
God Bless You!
on July 11, 2012 at 5:07 am | Reply cindydyer

Really, really beautiful shot, Michael! And if there is a 12-step program, then you’ll have good company with me! 🙂
on September 17, 2012 at 12:05 pm | Reply sqlmonpotibe1982

Reblogged this on Shawn Driskell Diary.
- on September 17, 2012 at 12:46 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I am delighted you chose to reblog my posting on milkweed beetles. I am shooting mostly for myself and it’s really nice when others like the images too.
on April 17, 2013 at 5:22 am | Reply Red Spring Beetle | Mike Powell

[…] segmented antennae. (I have a self-identified obsession with this insect that I discussed in a blog posting last year.) However, there were a few problems with that identification. This beetle seemed […]
on June 25, 2013 at 5:26 am | Reply Red Milkweed Beetle—he’s back | Mike Powell

[…] I confessed to being obsessed with Red Milkweed Beetles (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus) in one of my postings and initial signs this summer suggest that the fascination remains […]
on July 7, 2013 at 8:55 pm | Reply One year later | Mike Powell

[…] Obsessed with Red Milkweed Beetles […]
on July 23, 2014 at 6:40 am | Reply Red Milkweed Beetle | Mike Powell

[…] years ago in a posting, I confessed to being obsessed with photographing Red milkweed beetles (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus). […]
on July 6, 2015 at 6:43 am | Reply Red Milkweed Beetle in July | Mike Powell

[…] three years ago I did a posting in which I acknowledged that I had become obsessed with shooting Red Milkweed Beetles. This weekend […]

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Mike Powell

My journey through photography