Our Secret Spot

I love shooting weddings, but man, staring at wedding photos for hours and hours on end can get a bit tedious to say the least.  Luckily I have a little secret spot right down the street from my house, and it's the perfect mid day escape for both me and our new little pup, Luna.  

Also, it's amazing what you can find with a 100mm macro lens and a flash.  There's a whole macro world out there! 

Bliss.

The Puss Caterpillar

I love my 100mm macro lens...I simply don't use it enough.  Paired with my 7D (which makes it even longer) it can make the most mundane thing seem larger than life.  The perfect example being this caterpillar, who wasn't even as big as a quarter.  After seeing these things everywhere and realizing they weren't moving cotton balls, I knew I had to photograph one.  So I picked one up and put it in a plastic cup.  Seemed harmless at the time.

It wasn't until after handling and photographing this seemingly harmless creature that I googled it and realized that it's actually the most poisonous caterpillar in the US.  The Megalopyge opercularis, or as it's known on the street, the Pussy moth (I'm not kidding), has venomous spines and actually spits acid at its victims.  I didn't experience any of this, but maybe he just liked me.  Anyway, check out more about the thing here.

It almost looks like a dog from above.

That's one hairy little dude.

From Reno with love

It's not everyday you get to see a scorpion up close in Louisiana.  This little bugger was hiding in a shipment from Patagonia.  Their warehouse is in Reno.  It was actually really small, but with a flash and 100mm marco he seems much bigger.  They don't look any nicer close up.

Gilbert the gecko

I found this little guy inside last night, and despite my best efforts to be lazy and leave the camera gear in the bag I knew I had to take pictures of him.  This dude was tiny, just a baby.  But no worries, the level of detail captured is amazing.  These small resolution photos don't do it justice (click a pic to enlarge).  I'm convinced there's not a better combo for close ups than my 7D and 100mm (which because of the crop ratio is essentially a 160mm).  I don't know how this isn't an L lens.  

Anyway, I'm glad I took the time to get a few shots.  These would look awesome blown up huge on a wall.  I might have to get a huge print made.  The lesson to be learned:  don't be lazy.

Translucent skin.

I'm pretty convinced that he wanted to become my friend after he figured out I wasn't trying to eat him.  After trying to release him back into the wild he clung on, not letting go.  We had bonded...or maybe it was because I had just blinded him, I don't know.  Anyway, I had to pry him off.  It was a little bit of a White Fang moment.  Who knows, maybe we'll meet again one day.

Kermit: Up Close

Found this little dude hoppin' around the yard last night so of course I had to get some close ups of him.  So. much. detail.  I love my macro lens. 

Hangin' on for dear life.

He's about had enough of the bright lights.

Life & Death

More Macro Please...

Testing out some new lighting equipment I just bought, I decided to take some marco shots of a cool flower growing in a neighbor's yard.  I don't know why I don't do more macro type stuff- the results are always amazing.  The level of detail is just unreal.  I need to get some bugs as models.  But for now, these will do.

It was a really simple setup with one light, an umbrella and a black background.  I used my trusty 7D and 100mm 2.8 lens, the sharpest I own.  Ok, enough with all that.  Here ya go.

These quarter shots remind me of an old middle school joke:  Yo mamma's so fat she sat on a quarter and squeezed a booger out of George Washington's nose.  Haven't heard that one in a while...

Give me liberty or give me death!

In God we trust.