These shots were taken early this morning at the 2006 Tigard Festival of Balloons. Bryson was especially impressed with them!
Tigard Festival of Balloons 2006
These shots were taken early this morning at the 2006 Tigard Festival of Balloons. Bryson was especially impressed with them!
My Birthday Beach Trip
Heres a shot of todays sunset at Cannon Beach. Cassandra, Bryson and I all hopped in the car earlier in the day and spent the day here to celebrate my birthday. Look for more photos in the coming days.
Bugspotting
Heres a shot of Bryson with his grandpa last saturday at a local plant nursery. Bryson is pointing out a bumble bee while sharing cookies with his grandpa. I have been getting tired of the macro photos lately, so I figured it was time for a family photo.Praying Mantis
Heres a shot of one of my new garden predators. I've released about 400 of these little guys into my garden, hopefully they'll provide a balance to all the other nasty critters in my garden. This photo is of a newly hatched mantis that is only about 8 hours old. Look closely and note the detail of the lenses in his eyes. This hatchling is about 1/2" long.Sheetweb Spider on Euphorba Blossom
Caught a picture of this little fella crawling around my euphorba in the backyard.
Garden Fly
A couple of shots of a garden fly that I found in my backyard this past Sunday. Its really difficult to get a decent depth of field when doing macro shots. I had to stop my lens down to f11 for the fly on the pin shot, which initially made it really dark. Fortunately, I shot the image in RAW format so I was able to brighten the image by 2 stops. I then did my sharpening and contrast/brightness adjustments in Photoshop. Finally I ran the image through a program called Imagenomic Noiseware that really helped clean up the noise in the image.
Carpenter Ant
A shot of a carpenter ant from my backyard. Check out the eyes! I'm beginning to get really hooked on this 'reverse mount' technique for macrophotography.Experimentations with Macro-Photography
Heres a shot that I took today using a reversed lens on my camera. This method of photography is very difficult to master but it can be very rewarding as well. I had to take about a dozen shots of this spider before I finally got a shot that I liked.
Squirrel Raid!
Ah, spring is finally here! I was staring out into my backyard this morning while drinking my coffee and observed this squirrel raiding one of my bird feeders for breakfast. I'm going to have to keep that feeder filled more often, as watching a squirrel trying to get food out of a hanging bird feeder is good entertainment!
Fooling around in Photoshop
Haven't been very productive lately. I've been to busy to go out and get photos. So heres a rework of a self-portrait that I'm thinking of using in my profile instead of the photgraph. What do you think?
Multnomah Falls Today
Heres a real quick, rather unedited shot from my drive in the gorge today. I had been whining all winter about how hard it was to get a shot of the falls with the sun on it. Well today, I finally got my chance. I'll probably clean this one up a little more.
Red Tailed Hawk
Here are some shots of a local Red-Tailed Hawk that has been hanging out in the area near the old rail trestle that crosses McLoughlin Boulevard at the end of River road. Theres a Bald Eagle that has just moved into the area and I plan on getting some shots in of him soon as well.
Portland Skyline, Portland Spirit and the Hawthorne Bridge
Yes, another shot of the Portland skyline from my favorite vantage point near OMSI. In this photo you see the Portland Spirit as it approaches a raised Hawthorne Bridge. I wish that I had the presence of mind to make my exposure as the boat passed under the bridge, but maybe I'll get that one next time.
The Spider and the Fly
The Spider and the FlyMary Howitt
"Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,
"Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy:
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've a many curious things to show when you are there."
"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again"
"I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly.
"There are pretty curtains drawn around; the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I'l snugly tuck you in!"
"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "for I've often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!"
Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, "Dear friend what can I do,
To prove the warm affection I've always felt for you?
I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;
I'm sure you're very welcome -- will you please to take a slice?"
"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "kind Sir, that cannot be,
I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!"
"Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise,
How handsome are you gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,
If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."
"I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say,
And bidding you good morning now, I'll call another day."
The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
"Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your roves are green and purple -- there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"
Alas, alas! How very soon this silly little Fly,
hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue --
Thinking only of her crested head -- poor foolish thing! At last,
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour -- but she ne'er came out again!
And now dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly flattering words, I pray you ne'er give heed:
Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly.
The Spider and the Fly
Authored by, Mary Howitt
Published: 1829
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