Last two days of July 2011 ...

[R.J.]

Took the camera for a walk ...

The back yard can present some cool photo opportunities as shown with this Cercopia moth picture I posted a few weeks ago ...



Well I got a few more backyard shots today ...

Red Spotted Purple Butterfly



A Cicada emerging from it's exoskeleton ...







Driving to visit relatives early morning , I spotted these two fishermen on either side of the river bridge .... the sun was a challenge for those pictures .





Then a walk along the swamp path shows how dry everything has become in the small inlets , but still lots of small critters to get pictures of ...













The usual shore brids ...





Back home a young buck passing thru our beans ...



And this brother / sister team , can be seen most evenings , passing my favorite climber tree at the back of my property ....



Tomorrow is the first day of August ... I know the local farmers are hoping for some more rain ... but for me , the dry spell has meant a welcome break from grass cutting !

[M.J.M.]

Great pics! What camera are you using?
Thanks for sharing. M.J.M.

[roly]

Great shots as always RJ

[OkXbowHunter]

R.J., you always have the most awesome shots! Thanks for sharing. And like M.J.M., I'd like to know what your setup is. I plan on taking classes either this fall or next spring and I'm still trying to figure out which camera to start with.

Keep 'em coming!

[novacam]

Great shots!! The fishermen pics are fantastic, my favs. You have a great eye for the lens

[EQUINOXHNTERVA]

As always good pictures!

[denisdendenis]

great pics ...very cool..thanks for sharing them . kepp them coming
Denis

[gerald strine]

Great pictures nice composition.
The butterfly in the picture is called a red spotted purple they are having a up swing in their cycle this year near my house I have seen quite a few this year

[vixenmaster]

Some fine pics you took thanks fer sharing

[j.krug]

Some more great pics Rick.
Thanks for sharing them with us.

[R.J.]

Thanks all ...

Most of the small critter pictures ( insects etc. ) were taken with my Panasonic DMCZS1 Lumix ... it is a decent pocket camera ( I got it from work for 20 year service award a few years ago )

I've never had any training , and shoot most pictures in " auto mode " The key to good pictures in my opinion is " take lots " !

For every one good shot that turned out , I could show you 10 that didn't ( blurry etc. )

The long shots are from my Pentax K100D with after market Sigma 300mm lens ... I'm not real happy with the clarity of that lens set up , so if you are shopping around , you could probably find a better package deal on a Nikon or Canon ( Pentax was affordable at the time )

I try to keep a camera with me when I walk or drive , in case I see a cool photo oportunity ..

Like the one fisherman shot ... it was taken from the bridge at Glenn Morris ... the sun was coming up and I was shooting into the sun which usually is not good for pictures ... But the guy in shadow and the sun catching the fishing line was cool .

At the same time there was a guy on the opposite side of the bridge ... the sun was way too bright over my shoulder for that zoom lens set up , but was a cool shot to take to show comparison from one side of the bridge to other ...

Again ... carry a camera , take lots of pictures and you are bound to get one that turns out !

PS : Gerald ... thanks for the butterfly ID , I didn't have my field guide book with me , and didn't find it on the web until you sent the right name ( I updated the thread )