Continuing to capture images of the creatures that live around me. It seems sometimes as if they are posing and the images they let me take seem like great gifts. This one of a male quail and his child is a case in point. They usually flit away when people come anywhere near but he sat there for a couple of minutes while I took a number of pictures. The little one came out after I had already taken several. There was only the one chick for this adult pair, sometimes there are 5, 6 or more. Naturally I call this image "Baby Sitting".
This cricket was on my living room floor one night, it had only one rear leg so couldn't move very fast, a situation that allowed me to capture a number of very close images. I had forgotten to turn the flash off which was lucky because it created really interesting and intense metallic like reflections on its external body armor. I put it outside after the portrait session. That's a styrofoam cup on which it rests.
Yellow, yellow, yellow, in bright sun on the deck outside of where I sleep.
This dragonfly was captured with the camera in extreme telephoto mode and from about 6 feet away. They are normally fairly skittish so I can't usually get close to them. It's the first time I've seen one of this color in my yard. I've been starting to draw dragonflies and have just completed making one as a pendant out of silver and gold.
This one was by a small pond at a friends place in Ft. Bragg, on a rosemary plant. It was unusual in that it allowed me to get up close, only about a foot away and stayed still for several shots. It then flew away and around but returned to the very same spot for a couple more shots.
