I have been keeping up with my weekly photo project but I've done a dismal job blogging about it this spring. Time to catch up!
So....getting right to it.....I'm limiting it to three images per post so as not to overwhelm. More to follow shortly.
Week #13: 'M is for Moth'.
But not just any kind of moth! This is a Hummingbird Moth, aka Sphinx Moth, and these suckers are not only beautiful and quite large, they are FAST. It was a humbling task to capture just one good shot. I couldn't get too close because they are a bit elusive, so I had to use a long lens—my 70-200mm, which is heavy. The additional challenge was that I only saw them at dusk, so there was not a ton of light to offset the fast shutter speeds that were required to photograph them. Fast critter + long/heavy lens + low light (even with high ISO) = a lot of missed shots.
Here is more information about this one in particular: the White-lined Sphinx.
Week #14: 'N is for Nest'.
Never fear, this is a 100% staged setup; no live eggs were used for this image, nor were any birds disturbed. The nest itself belonged to a Golden-cheeked Warbler in the past (those are Ashe Juniper strips constructing it), and the eggs are rather old, store-bought quail eggs. My son held it with a piece of white foam board as the background, and I think the resulting image is sweet; it's a solid springtime shot.
Week #15: 'O is for Opal'.
As an October baby, the opal is my birthstone. I have a few opals, and I purchased this one in Australia, the country for which opals are known. As fragile as they are, this gemstone would do well to be set in a necklace rather than a ring. I've had it for nearly twelve years, though, so it may just stay in its box and remain an objet trouvé. In reality it is a white opal with a lot of fire, but I decided to play with the lighting and exposure to make it look like a black opal. I left it in its box of black velvet and used a simple flashlight to skim light across it at the left, with something white (a plate? I can't remember what I used!) to bounce some light back in from the right. As you may safely assume, I employed my macro lens for this image.
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