I’m fascinated with the architecture of the Arabian library and continue to try to capture vignettes of it.
All posts by Marianne Skov Jensen
flower fly
Fellow steward Jennifer W, spotted this guy/gal at the end of yesterday’s hike. We both felt sure it wasn’t a bee but didn’t know how to tell. I did some research and found it is commonly called a flower fly and the way to tell it from a bee is: huge eyes, short and stubby antenna with a bristle half-way down, there is nowhere to carry pollen and finally, there is only one pair of wings. It is always great to learn something new!
I then submitted images to BugGuide.net and within a couple of hours had an answer. It is of the family Copestylum. They couldn’t be specific with species but I’m thrilled with just that information. Thanks Bug Guys!
prickly pear bandage
This morning’s MSC hike featured Alice Demetra giving expert insight into medicines the ancient peoples made from desert plants. A brave hiker volunteered to wear a Prickly Pear bandage to see how long it would stay in place. It worked really well. (Thanks, Christian!)
quartz trail view
Views are the reward after a steep climb to the Quartz Outcropping in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
chihuly abstracts
A shot created by moving my camera during exposure.
If you squint, you might be able to make out Chihuly’s work 🙂
These “scorpion tails” are all over the garden but I have yet
to get a shot I’m happy with so I usually end up experimenting
with filters. Here I played with Framing Pear’s Mr. Contrast.
hedgehog cactus
Same Hedgehog Cactus as the other day. You can tell when I’m busy 🙂
chihuly boat
Trying to capture Chihuly’s glass creations in the outdoors is really tough
but with a little help from the digital darkroom, I get the shot I want.
Gateway Trailhead
The Gateway Trailhead for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is on schedule with an opening promised
at the beginning of May. Most impressive about the Gateway area is
how little impact construction has had on the environment. If a plant or
rock had to be moved, it was replaced nearby.
stormy weather
Another tone mapped image but this time only one shot and with a little grunge look.
prevent image theft
Couldn’t resist sharing a little photography humor from WhatTheDuck today 🙂