Birds Eyes And Butterflies

The picture of these Flesh Flies mating was taken at Stuyvesant Cove Park on the East River in New York City. The picture was taken with the CANON EOS20D and the CANON 100 Macro lens.

The picture of this White-faced Meadowhawk Dragonfly (female) was taken in Shrewsbury Vermont. I took this picture with my CANON EOS 20D with the CANON 100mm Macro Lens. I used a CANON 580EXII fill flash.

I can only get a picture like this from a very cooperative dragonfly model. I am always grateful when a dragonfly such as this allows me to come close and spend time with her. I gradually move in closer and closer until I am actually a few inches from her face in order to get a capture like this. I found this White-faced Meadowhawk Dragonfly on an incredibly beautiful Vermont pond near the Maple Crest Farm Bed and Breakfast that we love to stay at in Shrewsbury Vermont.

The picture of this Weevil Wasp (cerceris fumipennis) was taken at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, NY. This picture was taken with the CANON EOS 20D with the CANON 100mm Macro lens. and the CANON EX580II flash.

A little about my work process. I shoot only in RAW and bring my pictures onto my computer with Adobe Lightroom and then finish the picture in Adobe Photoshop.

The picture of this Aerial Yellowjacket was taken at the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park, New York City. I took this picture with my CANON EOS20D with the CANON 100mm Macro lens.Yellowjackets have sometimes been mistakenly called bees but they are actually in the wasp family. Although they lack the pollen-carrying structures of bees, yellowjackets can be minor pollinators when visiting flowers.

The Shakespeare Garden in Central Park is a very beautiful well maintained garden. It was a delight for me to photograph insects with these beautiful unusual flowers giving me many options for composition.

The picture of ths Bumblebee on Sneezeweed Flower was taken at Stuyvesant Cove Park in New York City. This picture was taken with a Canon 100mm Macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D. I use the Canon 580EXII flash on the hotshoe of the camera as a fill flash.

I am finding the combination of the Canon EOS20D with the Canon 100mm Macro lens a winning combination for Macro shots. I can hand hold it and get in really close to the subject. Auto focusing is fast and accurate as long as the subject is not moving.

The picture of this Blue Dasher Dragonfly (male) was taken at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Westchester, NY. This wonderful dragonfly was a very cooperative subject. I spent about fifteen minutes with him while he “posed” in various positions on different perches.
I used the CANON EOS 20D with the CANON 100 f2.8mm Macro lens.

The picture of this Halloween Pennant Dragonfly was taken at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Westchester, NY.The Halloween Penannant forages from atop tall grasses, weeds and stems in open fields some distance from the water. It perches uniquely, with the forewings and hindwings in different planes. The forewings are held somewhat vertically and the hindwings horizontally.
I took this picture with my CANON EOS20D and the CANON 100mm f2.8 MACRO lens. I am finding this combination very rewarding for macro pictures.

The picture of these Ebony Jewel Damselflies in wheel position was taken at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Westchester, NY. I used the CANON EOS 7D with the CANON 100mm – 400 mm lens to make this capture.
This picture shows the dragonsflies mating. When drgaonflies mate, the male flies above her and lands on her back, bends his abdomen far forward and deposits sperm on the underside of his second abdominal segment, which is the site of his penis. Then, grasping the female behind the head with a pair of forceps-like structures at the end of his abdomen, he flies off with her in tandem. When she is ready to mate, she curls her abdomen down and forward to place its end under the male’s second abdominal segment, which has structures to hold it in place while the sperm are transferred to her reproductive tract.

The picture of this Honey Bee was taken at Stuyvesant Cove Park on the East River in New York City. This picture was taken with the CANON EOS 20D with the CANON 100MM, f2.8 Macro lens. I really like the combination of the CANON EOS20D with this Macro lens. I tried working with the CANON EOS7D and the CANON 100 Macro lens and found it really hard to focus correctly.
I have really been enjoying going regularly to Stuyvesant Cove park and taking my time getting pictures of the insects and fauna and flora that I find in my neighborhood.

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly