September 2. The biggest butterfly I have ever seen! I saw a pair of these giant swallowtails yesterday. I was so busy I didn't have time to stop and get the camera. I did enjoy watching them flutter about though :-) Today I saw this one and had the camera handy. S/he was in the shade on a flowering bush. I didn't crop this image - the butterfly filled the frame. I think it's wingspan is about the size of my outstretched hand! With the shade I wasn't able to get the settings on my camera the way I wanted them. I hope I can catch them in better light tomorrow as they do come around the roses. I only got one other decent shot: http://stardogs.smugmug.com/Insects-and-Etc/Butterflies/12704926_buJdQ#992750203_73ZNc
August 30. Handsome! I did another session this morning. I keep learning that I need larger DOF - but I love the lower ISO of 200 because of that creamy texture and fine grain. Tomorrow I am back to a higher ISO. I deleted some amazing shots because they were not in perfect focus - DOF would have fixed that with the way I am shooting in flight. I LOVE the morning light on these birds. And they are letting me get so close to them! A few more from this morning: http://stardogs.smugmug.com/Birds/Hummingbirds-200/10300562_g5r6S#988527063_oJnd3
August 25. Hot August Night. It was 111 degrees today in Elderwood. I cancelled classes - everyone was glad! I got brave about 8:30 and went out to try photographing the full moon again. It had cooled down to 90. ICK!! I didn't have much luck - it was so bright and the sky so dark. So I played around with some processing in Nik, Photoshop and Lightroom. It reminds me of a painting my grandmother had in her living room; just one of those vague childhood memory things.
