Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, cowlick, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow on May 24, 2013| 13 Comments »
When I was a boy, I had hair that would stand up in a cowlick and refuse to lie flat, and that’s what I immediately thought of when I saw this Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) with frizzy feathers.
My Mom’s solution to my hair problem was a little saliva on her fingers that she would apply to my hair and smooth it down.
I thought of doing the same to this little bird, but I am not sure that it would appreciate my efforts.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, green springs garden, insect, king of the mountain, macro photography on May 23, 2013| 3 Comments »
It took some time for this tiny insect to ascend to the top of this leaf, which may have looked like a mountain to him, and once there he seemed relax and pose for me, as though he was really proud of his accomplishment.
I don’t have any idea what kind of insect he is and would welcome any additional information (or even guesses) from fellow bloggers. To aid you in identification, I have loaded a higher resolution view that you can access by clicking on the photo.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, green spring gardens, orange poppy, peonies, pink peonies, poppy on May 23, 2013| 2 Comments »
Vibrant colors surrounded me this past weekend, when I visited a local garden, and this morning I felt like highlighting the beautiful pink and yellow of a pair of peonies and the contrasting orange and green in a close-up shot of an orange poppy.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, Clematis, green spring gardens on May 22, 2013| 7 Comments »
I don’t know much about the Clematis flower, but I found these purple ones to be amazingly beautiful this past weekend at Green Spring Gardens, a county-run horticultural center. I can’t decide if I like them better in a group, as in the first photo, or individually, as in the second photo.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, green spring gardens, macro photography, spider on May 22, 2013| 8 Comments »
This weekend I learned how difficult it is to get good shots of a tiny spider when it is in the middle of a cluster of plants and is surrounded by an untidy mess of web material, rather than a nice web. Auto-focus was utterly useless and the camera refused to focus on the spider—it wanted to focus either on the plants in the background or on the web material. Manual focusing was required and it was tough to tell which parts of the spider were in focus at any given moment.
I used my tripod, which helped a little, and even used the pop-up flash to give me little extra light (you can see the shadows it caused in the second photo). I especially like the way that the colors in the images turned out, giving the photos kind of an out-of-this-world, sci-fi look.
The second shot is an action shot in which the spider has captured some kind of flying insect, which I can’t really identify. I didn’t have a great angle, but find the shot to be interesting.
As I shoot more insects and spiders, I am experimenting and finding out what works for me (and admiring even more the photographers who are able to get the amazing shots that I see on other blogs and elsewhere on the internet).
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Amphibians, Humor, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged bullfrog, Canon Rebel XT, frog, green frog, Hollywood Frog, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 21, 2013| 11 Comments »
Spotting the camera around my neck, an attractive young lady excitedly pointed out this frog to me, calling it a “Hollywood Frog,” because it reminded her of the ones in the movies.
I couldn’t resist asking her if she was going to kiss the frog to see if it would turn out to be a prince. She smiled a little, shook her head, and responded, “No, I’ve already kissed my fair share of frogs.”
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Dolomedes triton, fishing spider, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, Six-spotted Fishing Spider, spider on May 21, 2013| 12 Comments »
Six-spotted Fishing Spiders (Dolomedes triton) are a particularly fascinating kind of spiders and I was really excited to see one yesterday at my local marsh.
Fishing spiders don’t build a web, but use the surface of the water in the same way that other spiders use a web. They extend some of their legs onto the surface of the water and when they feel the vibrations of a prey, they run across the surface of the water to snatch it. According to Wikipedia, the very sensitive hairs on their legs and feet help them to interpret the vibrations they sense and determine distance and direction. Their eyes play a secondary role in hunting, particularly because they do much of their hunting at night.
This spider was a couple of feet below the level of the boardwalk and several feet away and I was able to use my tripod to help steady the shot. In fact, the spider was cooperative enough that I made attempts with my 135-400mm zoom, my 55-250mm zoom, and my 100mm macro lens. Of the images that I am posting, the first image was shot with the longer zoom and the second with the macro lens. The macro lens let me hang over the edge of the boardwalk a little, which let me get a little closer, but made it tough to brace myself.
If you want to see a few more images of these interesting spiders, check out my previous postings Fishing spider waiting for prey and Fishing in the swamp.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, frog, green frog, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Green Frog, Rana clamitans melanota, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 20, 2013| 7 Comments »
I love taking photos of frogs (I can blame the Muppets and Kermit the Frog) and captured this image of a Northern Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota) this morning at my local marshland park. I am not sure what was floating on the surface of the water, but it provides a nice contrast to the color of the frog.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Barn Swallow, Canon Rebel XT, Hirundo rustica, Huntley Meadows Park, nest building, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 20, 2013| 4 Comments »
I captured this close-up image of a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) as it rested on a perch a short distance from the location of its nest, underneath a raised portion of the boardwalk at my local marshland park.
I have posted a number of close-up shots of Barn Swallows in the last few weeks (including one that I entitled Too Close), but this one is distinctive for a couple of reasons. The swallow is in the midst of working on its nest, and the mud and twigs in its bill show clearly its primary building materials. Most of my other photos have showed a swallow posing as it took a break from chasing insects.
The other notable feature of this image that I really like is its narrow depth of field. Although I included the sparrow’s entire body in the shot, only a small part of it is in sharp focus, essentially the forward half of its head, including the one visible eye. I think that the limited area of sharp focus really helps to draw attention to the eye and to the muddy bill.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, daddy longlegs, green spring gardens, harvestman, opiliones on May 19, 2013| 10 Comments »
It was raining a little yesterday when I encountered my first harvestman (order Opiliones) of the spring, which explains the drops of water that you may notice on some on its legs.
Growing up, I was accustomed to calling them daddy longlegs and thought they were a kind of spider. Last year, I learned that harvestman in fact are not spiders, even though they do belong to the class of arachnids—harvestmen are in the order Opiliones and spiders are in the order Araneae.
I shot this image with my 55-250mm telephoto zoom, which meant that I couldn’t get in super close to the harvestman. However, I did manage to get at least part of all of his legs in the shot, which was not the case last year when I photographed one with my macro lens—there is an unavoidable tendency to want to get close whenever I put the macro lens on my camera.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Colaptes auratus, green spring gardens, Northern Flicker, woodpecker on May 19, 2013| 6 Comments »
I observed this female Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) for quite some time yesterday, but had a difficult time getting a clear shot as she dug about in the undergrowth.
The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology notes that this type of woodpecker is unusual in that it spends a lot of its time on the ground, digging in the dirt for ants and beetles. I love the coloration of the Northern Flicker and you can tell that this one is a female, because she is lacking the mustache stripe under her eye.
I didn’t manage to capture her entire body in the shot, but I like the way that she seems to emerge from the colorful underbrush.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, green spring gardens, poppy, red poppy on May 19, 2013| 9 Comments »
Despite the intermittent rain yesterday afternoon, I went with my camera in one hand and my umbrella in the other to a local garden and captured this image of a beautiful red poppy. I am not very good with flower identifications, but I think that it is a kind of oriental poppy. I really like the combinations of shapes, colors, and textures that make up this flower and the visible raindrops on the petals was a bonus.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, nesting box, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow on May 18, 2013| 9 Comments »
Although I never saw the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) enter the nesting box, she poked her head inside of it and was checking it out as a prospective home.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged butterfly, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-spotted Purple butterfly, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 18, 2013| 13 Comments »
I was thrilled yesterday when I spotted this Red-spotted Purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis astyanax), which brought to mind the two things that bothered me about this butterfly last year when I first encountered it.
The first thing is that the name makes no sense at all—there is not purple at all in the Red-spotted Purple butterfly. Secondly, I recalled that it was almost impossible to get a photogenic background with this butterfly. Bugguide notes that adult butterflies of this type take moisture from mud puddles, rotten fruit and animal feces and last year I always found them in the latter situation. I guess I should be happy that the background for these photos was a concrete path!
I took these shots with my telephoto zoom at close to 400mm and realize the limitations of the lens for this type of shot. Most significantly, I couldn’t get close enough to be able to frame this better and the size of the lens limited my agility, the more so because I had it on a tripod. Still, I am happy to capture colors like this that always help to brighten my day.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Arachnids, Bugs, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, eyes, fuzzy legs, spider on May 17, 2013| 22 Comments »
As I was looking in my neighbors’ garden for flowers to photograph, I came across this cool-looking little spider, which I have not yet been able to identify.
The spider was really small, maybe a half-inch (a little over 1 cm) in size and didn’t sit still too much, so it was quite a challenge to photograph him. I really like his eyes and his hairy legs, which look almost like they are transparent.
One of the things that I especially like about spring is that insects reappear and give me photo opportunities like this one.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Calidris minutilla, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, Least Sandpiper, sandpiper, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 17, 2013| 7 Comments »
This tiny shorebird cooperated for me by posing on the boardwalk, allowing me to determine that it is a Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla), the smallest shorebird in the world.
Shorebirds are notoriously hard to identify, because so many of them are similar in coloration and relative size is a tough measure when a bird is not in a group. For small sandpipers, the color of the legs is one of the key distinguishing characteristics. In this case, the yellow legs help to identify it as a Least Sandpiper and not a Western or Semipalmated Sandpiper, which have black legs. I am definitely no expert on this subject (and have no clue what Semipalmated means), but the articles on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website are full of fascinating information about birds.
Eventually the sandpiper jumped into the water, but remained close to the shore, as if it knew that I wanted to get a few shots before it flew away. I can’t overemphasize how small this bird is at about 6 inches (15 cm), especially compared to something like a Greater Yellowlegs at 14 inches (36 cm), so I was glad it was not immediately spooked by my presence.
As someone who pays a lot of attention to grammar, I must confess that I find the name of this bird a little troubling. There seems to be be a missing adjective to go with the superlative “least.” However, I have given up trying to understand the reasoning behind the names of birds—the names are a hodgepodge of approaches, certainly not a scientific method.
The correctness of the name is the least of my worries when trying to photograph these small birds.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Barn Swallow, Canon Rebel XT, Hirundo rustica, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, swallow on May 16, 2013| 10 Comments »
Although it is usually best not to take head-on shots of birds, I can’t help but post this image of a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) looking at me with angry eyes. I don’t know if the swallow qualifies as an Angry Bird, but there is no denying the intensity of the stare.
I grew up with the music of Loggins and Messina and one of their popular songs entitled “Angry Eyes” opens with these words:
Time, time and again
I see you staring down at me
Now, then and again
I wonder what it is that you see
With those angry eyes
Well, I bet you wish you could cut me down
With those angry eyes
(Lyrics from www.elyrics.net)
What does go on in the minds of barn swallows when they encounter us?
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged ballet, Canon Rebel XT, Greater Yellowlegs, Huntley Meadows Park, Lesser Yellowlegs, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, Tringa flavipes, Tringa melanoleuca, yellowlegs on May 16, 2013| 4 Comments »
Swans have Swan Lake, so why shouldn’t shorebirds have Shorebird Ballet?
It looked like these Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) were practicing their dance moves in the water one day recently. As you can see, it requires great balance and, as the second photo shows, attention to the foot position—you have to keep the toes pointed. (One or more of these might be Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), but my identification skills are not honed enough to be able to distinguish between the two with any great certainty.)
You can’t turn on the television these days without seeing commercials for dance competition programs like Dancing With the Stars or So You Think You Can Dance. These birds could be at the leading edge of a new dance craze, Dancing With the Birds.
They already have a leg up on their competition.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged alone, Canon Rebel XT, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 15, 2013| 10 Comments »
All alone, this Hooded Merganser duckling sought refuge on a floating log, separated from his family. I don’t know for sure what happened to the rest of the ducklings and the mother, but I had heard some reports of dwindling numbers of ducklings.
The duckling seemed to feel safe on the log and appeared to relax a little, but kept looking forlornly out into the distance. Eventually he was joined by a turtle on the log. For a brief moment, perhaps, he felt a little less alone. Deep inside, though, he felt a desire to grow stronger, so he stretched out his wings, fervently believing that someday he would be able to fly.
Where are the others?
Feeling a little more comfortable
Someday I’ll be able to fly
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Bald Eagle, Canon Rebel XT, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, red-winged blackbird, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 15, 2013| 4 Comments »
After doing an initial posting earlier this week on an encounter between a young Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and group of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), I reviewed my photos and came up with a few more to share.
These shots show various moments in the assault of the blackbirds, which seemed determined to harass the much larger eagle. I naturally paid the most attention to the juvenile eagle and tried to capture his attitude of alertness and wariness. After a few minutes of the off-an-on attacks, the eagle finally took off, seemingly in pursuit of the blackbirds.
It was amazing to watch this action and I am glad I managed to get some photos to document the encounter.
Buzzing the eagle (click on photo for higher resolution view)
Circling around for the next attack
Ever vigilant
Alert for the next attack
Relaxed but wary
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Barn Swallow, Canon Rebel XT, Hirundo rustica, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, swallow on May 14, 2013| 17 Comments »
I hadn’t intended to do a head-and-shoulders portrait of this Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), but my telephoto zoom was near the far end when I carefully placed my tripod on the boardwalk and focused on the swallow.
Sensing that the bird was not going to remain perched for very long, I quickly snapped off a few exposures. My left hand was adjusting the ballhead of my tripod and my right hand was pressing the shutter, so zooming out was not really an option at that moment. The image that you see is as much of the bird as I was able to capture.
I did manage to get some good detail in the eye (and I recommend clicking on the photo for a higher resolution view) and I am happy with the background, which once again looks like a studio setting—it may not be very exciting, but it sure is uncluttered.
I suppose that the lesson for me is to have my camera fully adjusted as I am sneaking up on birds, but sometimes “mistakes” turn out pretty well too.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, bugs, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, ladybug, macro on May 14, 2013| 7 Comments »
This ladybug was not in a very good position for me to get a shot, but I usually try to photograph every ladybug that I see, so I took the shot, totally oblivious to the fact that she was not the only bug in the frame.
Occasionally, when I am photographing a flower or an insect, there is an additional insect in the photo that I notice only when reviewing the images, what my friend Cindy Dyer calls a “bonus bug.” How did I miss almost a dozen bugs in my viewfinder?
Can anyone identify the little bugs?
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, flower, kaleidoscope on May 14, 2013| 1 Comment »
Looking at this plant from the side, all you notice are the tall, straw-like spikes that radiate from the center, but from above, it’s like looking into a kaleidoscope. I love the repetition of the colors and patterns in a wide circle around the center blossom.
I don’t have any idea what kind of flower this is, so I’ll make up my own name for it and call it the Kaleidoscope flower.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Bald Eagle, Canon Rebel XT, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, red-winged blackbird, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 13, 2013| 6 Comments »
I was checking out a location this morning where I had previously seen an eagle, when suddenly a juvenile Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) landed on the tree at which I was staring. He seemed a little flustered and I soon found out why—he was being harassed by a group of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). They may have been crows, but one of my shots seems to show a flash of red on one of the black birds.
I have a few more shots that I am working on, but thought I’d give you an idea of the scene that I witnessed. I am pretty sure that this is a juvenile Bald Eagle, but would welcome a correction if I am wrong. In any case, it was pretty exciting for me.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, ladybug, macro on May 12, 2013| 6 Comments »
I really enjoy the challenge of trying to photograph insects and this ladybug was a relatively cooperative subject. She sat still for quite a while, which allowed me to experiment a little with techniques. The first show was taken after she started to move a little.
The light was fading a little, so I decided to see what would happen if I used my pop-up flash. It’s obvious to me that I risk having a hot spot, which is most visible in the second shot, but it seems that the additional light helped to bring out some additional details. I have seen the fancy setups advertised that use dual external flashes, but don’t think that I am ready to make that kind of financial commitment. Perhaps I will experiment with a cheaper, LED light or possibly a ring light and see how well they work.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, iris, marsh on May 12, 2013| 8 Comments »
I was pleasantly surprised to come across a group of irises in one of the marshy areas of Huntley Meadows Park, the nature center where I do a lot of my shooting.
It probably reveals my ignorance about flowers, but I had no idea that irises could grow in such moist conditions. Although the irises were smaller and less showy than many of the cultivated ones that I see, they were no less beautiful.
It had been raining intermittently the morning that I took this photo and you can see drops of water on some of the petals. I tried very carefully to frame this image and am pretty happy with the way that it turned out, with the blurry image of a second iris in the background repeating the shape and color of the iris in the foreground.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, mating insects, mating moths, moths, Orange Mint moths, Pyrausta orphisalis on May 12, 2013| 9 Comments »
Do you prefer to take photos alone or with others?
Normally I prefer to shoot alone, to move at my own pace and shoot whatever catches my eye at a given moment. However, there are advantages to working side-by-side with another photographer. The other person can serve as a spotter and point out opportunities and subject that you might have otherwise missed. It’s also interesting and instructive after a shoot is done to compare images and see the same scene through another set of eyes.
Friday late in the afternoon, I noticed that my neighbor, friend, and photography mentor, Cindy Dyer, was out in her garden taking photos of her beautiful flowers. Cindy, a noted photographer, has been a constant influence on my photography this past year, encouraging me and inspiring me. She loves this time of the year, when nature explodes with color, and her blog is full of beautiful images of flowers of all varieties (and lots of other cool photos too).
When I started shooting with Cindy, I was shooting a lot of flowers and a few insects, but gradually moved to shooting more insects than flowers. Somehow my eyes are attracted to insects. Shortly after joining Cindy in her garden with my camera and tripod, I spotted what I thought was an interesting looking insect. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be a pair of mating moths, that together were about one inch long (2.5 centimeters). They were positioned in such a way that the only way to capture them was to shoot from directly overhead. I had real problems with depth of field as I got my macro lens as close as it would let me get.
I challenged Cindy (in a friendly way) to photograph this couple and she took up the challenge and posted an image in her blog. It was an interesting challenge pitting Nikon against Canon and teacher against student as we explored the limits of our macro lenses and photography skills.
This little incident helped to remind me of the benefits of shooting with someone else, especially someone who gently pushes me forward. It usually works best for me when we travel somewhere and shoot side-by-side part of the time and wander on our own the rest of the time—the best of both worlds.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Art, Birds, Music, Nature, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Common Yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas, Huntley Meadows Park, warbler on May 11, 2013| 9 Comments »
I have been hearing the calls of this little warbler for several weeks, but today was the first day that I got some clear shots of the male Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas).
I was fortunate that the foliage was not too dense when I initially spotted the bird and even when he moved to a second spot in the same tree, I had a relatively unobstructed view. Birders at my local marshland tell me that the male comes north before the female and that soon the females, which are not so brightly colored, will arrive.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Common Whitetail dragonfly, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Plathemis lydia on May 11, 2013| 8 Comments »
Yesterday was warm and humid, which felt almost like summer here and brought out more dragonflies.
The sun was a little harsh just before noon, but I couldn’t help chasing after the dragonflies and got this shot of a male Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia).
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT, green spring gardens, lily of the valley on May 11, 2013| 8 Comments »
I have been taking photos of a lot of flowers in a lot of different places and thought I would post a few of my favorites.
The first one is of a plant called Lily of the Valley that was growing in the back yard of one of my neighbors. It was pretty small and close to the ground, so I have to create a makeshift bean bag to support my camera, using cushions for lawn furniture
I really don’t know what the second flower is called, but I really liked the shape of its petals and the slight pinkish-purple tinge of color .
The final shot is a small plant that was growing in the rock garden of a county-run historical garden that I love to visit. From a distance, the flower looked like it was in the shape of a cube.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Baby bird
Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, baby bird, Canon 100mm macro lens, Canon Rebel XT on May 24, 2013| 4 Comments »
What do you do when you find a baby bird on the ground? That was the dilemma I faced a couple of nights ago, when I found this tiny baby bird on the lawn of a neighbor’s townhouse.
Earlier in the week another neighbor had alerted me that there were baby birds in a tree a few doors down from my townhouse. I live in a suburban townhouse community and each of us has a postage-stamp size front lawn and a mandatory tree, mostly small crab apple trees. The baby birds were in a cavity of one such tree, a mere two feet (60 cm) above the ground and there seemed to be three or four babies.
When I returned home from work, I checked on the babies and suddenly heard a squawk. I looked down at my feet and saw one of the babies in the grass. There are all kinds of views about the advisability of putting baby birds back in a nest, but I was genuinely concerned that this tiny bird was in an incredibly vulnerable spot (among other things, we have some cats in the neighborhood).
A little fearful of doing it myself, I called my friend (and fellow blogger) Cindy Dyer, who was both willing and able to place the small bird back with its siblings in the cavity of the tree. Yesterday evening, I made a quick check of them and they seem to be ok.
I was mostly focused on dealing with the situation, but did manage to get a few quick shots of the little bird, which I can’t yet identify.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
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