Yesterday my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer and I were photographing flowers in different parts of her garden when she excitedly called out to me that she had spotted a ladybug inside one of the irises. I rushed over and spotted a tiny Multi-colored Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) feverishly crawling around inside of a beautiful yellow bearded iris.
I had a mental picture of composing an image in which the viewer would looking from the outside into the interior of the flower. That meant that I could not get too close to the ladybug. It also meant that the ladybug had to cooperate by crawling into the right part of the frame. I watched and waited and eventually was able to capture the kind of artsy image that I had imagined.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What a delightful photograph. I love the way the bold colours of the ladybug and the shiny hardness of its carapace contrasts with the delicacy of the flower and the softness of its hues.
Thanks, Laura. I think that the contrast you described is further enhanced by the way that the ladybug is in sharp focus and the flower is mostly out of focus.
Yes. Your control of the focus is on point in that shot.
Beautiful. Stunning. And at the same time restful.
Kudos on your patience! The resulting image is really nice.
Very nice, Mike. When I was little I was told you can tell the age of the ladybug by the number of dots… I doubt it is true but I couldn’t help counting them! 😊
I love it!!
That’s a beautiful photo, Mike. You are more than making the best of these circumstances.
Thanks, Dan. These circumstances are challenging my creativity, which is a good thing. In more normal times, it’s easy for me to fall into a kind of rut, going to the same places and shooting the same subjects.
You’re a very good photographer, Mike. I think you could keep us engaged no matter what the circumstances.
Thanks, Dan. I like to think I am a decent enough writer that I could many folks engaged talking about some of my failures when trying to get shots. One of my goals with my posts is to keep viewers/engaged beyond the few seconds that it takes to view some pretty pictures. Sometimes it’s about sharing information, sometimes it’s about sharing experiences, and sometimes it’s almost motivational in nature.
You do well with all of those goals, Mike. It’s why I keep coming back.
Nice Mike! The ladybug really stands out!
I really like the image because it was all about contrasts, which is why I think the ladybug stands out so well.