Halloween

 

I'm sure they'll be more pics, this is just the first. Muahahahaha. (Insert other appropriate frightening sounds here.) We grabbed stencils for three of our pumpkins and my father, who was in town giving a few seminars, bemoaned the traditional triangle-themed pumpkin faces. So I carved this one for him. 

Delicate

 

I'm sure that most insects don't really think of the dragonfly as delicate, a more accurate assessment would be "Death from Above."

However, I think the sheer size allows humans to appreciate the complexity and delicate nature of this creature. I like this particular pose because it really emphasizes the streamlined body lines. It also shows off the racing stripes. 

Retro II: Hippies

 

I liked the Retro theme so much, I went for a second photo. I call this one "Hippies". Now I need to work on "Delicate", find a new photo contest and visit all my friends' blogs. Then there's kids, school, new third part-part time job started and two commissioned quilts to finish. But after tomorrow night, I should be chocolate-fueled to handle it all. Hurrah for Halloween! 

Queue

 

I've been meaning to bring my camera to campus for a few weeks now. I generally have only a few minutes from the time I get there till the time I have to be in class, so there's not much time to snap off a few.

Campus is downtown and downtown has its own warmer weather than the neighborhood of my suburbs. They still have flowers. 

Retro

 

I figured that this qualified for the PhotoFriday theme "Retro". It's a classic beetle.

In other news, I finished my midterm. Woohoo. I've been unaccountably stressed this semester. I can't figure out why. Hm. 

As the Cherry Tree Turns

 

The leaves turn red one branch at a time. 

Grass, Prickly Weed and Water

 

It rained again. Fall is here in earnest. Our maple is pretty much naked with just a few leaves left as some sort of sexy enticement for snow fairies. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. I'm a rotten gardener. The leaves fall and I spend hours photographing them and then go inside. I get friendly reminders from the downwind neighbors that I may want to rake them up. I see a weed like the one above, and what do I do? Photograph it. I go on little weeding rampages, but even then I leave a few decapitated dandelions to attract slugs in case we catch another garter snake. 

Aspen Leaf in Eldorado Creek

 

This is the easiest gold to pan for. 

Two Insects, One Petal

 

I have no idea the top little fellow, but I liked his shape and color. Hiding below, the ubiquitous aphid. 

Also Ran Wildflower

 

In each division they displayed the ones that had enough votes to be contenders (depending on the catagory it could be up to five other pictures). This one was displayed in the Flora division. 

Western Tanager

 

I like to call this one "End of a Bug's Life", a title a fellow at our local camera store gave it. This won First Prize and Staff Pick in the Fauna division. This was a lucky capture; he stopped to rearrange the grasshopper in its beak about fifteen feet from me. 

Spiderwort

 

This won an Honorable Mention in the Flora division (two votes shy of winning the catagory) of the 2005 Eldorado State Park Photo Contest. 

Wild Rose

 

This picture won "Staff Pick" at the 2005 Eldorado State Park Photo contest. 

I won, I won, I won!

There was a little dance that went with that title, but it's hard to write down.

Backing up a little, you may remember that I entered the Eldorado State Park Photo Contest. They did the judging way back at the end of September and I thought had I won, I would have heard something. I contented myself to be an "also ran." Anyway, this morning I got a call from the Eldorado State Park. It turns out that they have been trying to get a hold of me. My email bounced and they just got around to calling.

I won first in the Fauna catagory, second in the Flora (which equates to an honorable mention), and another of my pictures won "Staff Pick" in the Flora division. I was bouncing all over the place today. Happy, happy. Besides the fame, I also get a gift certificate to a microbrewery/restaurant (but I think I only care about the beer part) and a climbing lesson (Eldorado is known for its rock climbing).

Woohooo. Now I need to find some more contests I guess. :)

Autumn Leaf and Granite

 

Found a cool leaf and found a cool rock. 

Name This Invertebrate

 

This is a huge starfish. They're so obliging to my short macro lens, they plaster themselves against the glass. Sorry, I didn't catch the name. It may have been Pentaceraster Stelleroidea. 

Wafer Thin DOF

 


It seemed to be a shadowy day. I was really struggling with light. I was at f/3.2 or so and struggling to keep the camera steady (no tripods allowed, only monopods which I don't have). It turned out pretty neat though, IMHO. 

Marked

 

The Butterfly Pavilion staff mark their butterflies to get an idea of longevity in their butterflies. You can see the markings through the wings. Generally the dots of color are neon-ish. 

Tawny Owl Butterfly

 

I need to see if I can't come in sometime to catch the other inhabitants without a pane of glass between me and them. My macro lens really requires that -- not to mention the problems of glare and whatnot. 

Bit of Spring

 

Well, because of the colder weather, I have had massive insect withdrawl. So, we took the opportunity to go to the local butterfly house during my boys' week of Fall Break. (Fall Break... weird.) This is actually using my telephoto lens, but I liked how it came out. 

Mum leaves

 

I like the intersection of leaf and twig. 

Mummmm

 

All these colors really gives me the quilting bug again. Or as I called it in the interests section of my resume, "Tessellating the Plane in Textiles". I have three quilts in the queue right now: One to bind, one that is designed by my neighbor -- she brought over the fabrics Wednesday, and one I have yet to decide the style for my new daughter. Definitely a good winter and waiting hobby. 

Red grass, green seeds.

 

Color contrast.

You know, what I need is a blogger-post release program. I put in seven posts and the program sends it out on the specified day. Or even better, I just put things in the queue and the program posts whatever's in the queue at a certain time of the day. That would fully take advantage of my fits of energy, my sporadic time availability, and the nature of my intense but fickle attention span. I need to write a program because I'm so lazy. Actually, I'm so very lazy, that I bet if I do some research, I'l find this program is already written and it's on the net and available. This explains exactly why I am a math/computer geek. 

The Love Bug

 

Minty fresh; mint seeds anyway. I liked his little heart. 

Mint Leaf

 


When I went out this afternoon, the sun shone through the changing leaves. Stained glass windows in nature's cathedral. 

Conspicuous

 


We have an Autumn Blaze Maple Tree. Fall is conspicuously here.