This damselfly was patrolling a small, sunny patch of ivy when I encountered it in late August, near Richmond, VA. Â It seems like a common species but I haven’t been able to identify it.
Eastern Carpenter Bee Landing On Thin-Leaved Sunflower
During a photo outing to shoot wildflowers I decided to take a few backlit shots.  In the process I began tracking a few Eastern Carpenter Bees as they passed by.  I was lucky enough to capture this one as it prepared to land on a thin-leaved sunflower.
I like the way backlit flowers almost glow but that’s pretty easy to predict, setup and shoot.  After all, except for the wind, the flowers aren’t really moving.  I was really pleased with the lighting of the bee in this photo.
Like most of the photos on my blog, you can click the image to open a larger version of the photo. Â Check out all the pollen covering this bee. Â This clearly wasn’t its first flower of the day.
Before The Nap
After a busy morning decorating the house for the holidays Stella decided it was time for an afternoon nap.
Statue in Piazza del Campidoglio
My friends and I were pass through Piazza del Campidoglio in the late evening when I captured this image of one of the statues in the piazza. Â We walked by it earlier that day but the statue was in the shade so the lighting was very cool and flat. Â The evening sun cast its warm, hard light on the statue in a way that made for a much better photo. Â I considered converting this image to black and white or even just desaturating the colors. Â Eventually I decided I liked the warmth and intensity of the colors just the way they were recorded by my camera.
On The Prowl
This black bear slowly wandered through a meadow while we watched it from a safe distance. Â I wish the lighting had been better but that’s one of the challenges of wildlife photography.
Western Tanager
While hiking in Yellowstone National Park I noticed flashes of yellow in the pine branches overhanging the trail. Â I stopped to check it out and saw a small group of Western Tanagers flying through the pines. Â They didn’t remain in sight for very long so this was the only worthwhile photo I was able to capture.
Cluster of Roses
This group of roses was one of those small scenes I just couldn’t resist photographing. Â The composition probably breaks all the rules but I like it just the way it is. Â To me the three roses in the background on the left seem balanced by the larger, fully blooming rose in the foreground and the opening bud in the upper right.
The dark green leaves of the rose bush are riddled with insect damage. Â Some photographers might be temped to “repair” them during processing but I like the imperfection of the scene. Â It reminds me that, upon close inspection, even the beautiful things in life are not perfect.
Rose Buds
Sun, rain, plant, earth, and gardener all played a part in producing these magnificent buds. Â How many hours of sunlight, drops of rain, atoms of nitrogen, and beads of sweat have gone into them?
Three Amigos
These painted turtles remind me of three friends posing for a portrait. Â They were basking in the sun, soaking up some solar energy in the Great Dismal Swamp when I took this photo.
Tiny Forest
The moss and saplings growing from this semi-submerged log make up a tiny little forest of their own. Â A microcosm of the world around them.