The above photo was taken with my 40D but the close-up below was shot with my Canon S5 IS. I’m always amazed at its ability to capture action and detail!
Category Archives: arizona
buckeye
We finally made it to the Desert Botanical Garden’s Butterfly Pavilion yesterday. This is a shot of the common Buckeye butterfly. Photoshop helped tone down the harsh highlights.
infrared at sunset
When I saw this fallen tree and the fantastic clouds, I instantly knew I wanted to mirror the scene. Shot at last light with a Canon 5D (IR converted).
stay tuned…..
Technical issues (probably user error) have me starting from scratch.
Thankfully, my kitties are great support 🙂
Red Soldier Beetle
The best and most fun part of this Spring has been identifying flowers, plants and insects for my photo a day. This beetle turns out to be a common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva). Not so common to me but maybe they will be by this time next year. They apparently really like to eat New Mexico Thistles (shown) and find it a good location for a love connection 🙂
ocotillo in infrared
In search of blooming Ocotillo (Fouquieria spendens) yesterday, my friend Barry and I found lots of them but the lighting wasn’t great. Infrared turned out pretty well considering it was overcast.
Cloe
Cloe asked that I take a break and photograph her for a change 🙂
Paper Bag Bush
I spotted a Paper Bag Bush (Salazaria mexicana) on our hike yesterday morning. I’m always saying something is cool but this is the coolest! Each tiny little flower leaves behind a pod with a fruit (seed) inside. These pods puff up and look like blown up paper bags. Another common name for the bush is Bladder Sage but Paper Bag is the fun name 🙂
lizards
This is one of the lizards we see most often around here. I’m fairly sure it’s a Spotted Whiptail. We usually see this one in among the vegetation.
This lizard is probably the Lesser Earless Lizard and he’s usually sitting on a rock or running with his tail up in the air. Both these lizards have the most amazing feet.
Foothill Palo Verde
Foothill Palo Verde are blooming. Look closely at the flowers the next time you pass one. They’re really beautiful.
But don’t get too close or you might go home with some critters. I didn’t even notice these guys until I brought the photos up on my computer screen 🙂
