metrocity

29mm f3.5 1/15s ISO3200

watching the world go by.  about to step onto the track.

...and they march on.

28mm f2.8 1/8s ISO200

Most figures march huddled together with their heads hung low, few stretch up to see around.  Some strong, most weak.  Bundled and twisted they huddle. They march.

bovine benign

28mm f2.8 1/100s ISO100

just to see a cow differently every once in a while

bovine design

500mm f4.2 1/60s ISO200

bovine divine

500mm f4.2 1/20s ISO200

headwater

28mm f5.6 1/5s ISO100

There are dozens of streams that trickle out of the ground from the peaks that are Grandfather Mountain.  On the Southeast face springs the beginnings of Wilson Creek.  These headwaters flow crisp and clean into the valley below growing in width and depth as they merge with others.  Eventually it becomes the Wilson Creek and that feeds the gorge of class rapids that get kayaked all Summer long.  It all starts with this little spring. I had a fabulous Saturday exploring these waters and this valley.

giant

28mm f4.0 1/125s ISO100

a common ant caught in an uncommon view

fiddlehead(s)

28mm f2.8 1/80s ISO100

milkweed butterfly

28mm f2.8 1/20s ISO200

monarch butterfly \mon"arch but"ter*fly\, n. (Zool.) A very large red and black butterfly (Danais Plexippus) having striking orange-brown wings with black veins in a reticulated pattern; -- called also milkweed butterfly andmonarch. Its larvae feed on the leaves of the milkweed.

cabbage white

28mm f2.9 1/20s ISO200

Julia Heliconian

28mm f2.8 1/50s ISO100

Dryas iulia (incorrectly spelled julia), commonly called the Julia Butterfly or Julia Heliconian, is a species of brush-footed butterfly. The sole representative of its genus Dryas, it is native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida, and in summer can sometimes be found as far north as easternNebraska. Over 15 subspecies have been described.

Its wingspan ranges from 82 to 92 mm, and it is colored orange (brighter in male specimens) with black markings; this species is somewhat unpalatable to birds and belongs to the "orange" Batesian mimic complex^[1].

This butterfly is a fast flier and frequents clearings, paths, and margins of forests and woodlands. It feeds on the nectar of flowers, such as lantanas(Lantana) and Shepherd's-needle (Scandix pecten-veneris). Its caterpillars feeds on leaves of passion vines including Passiflora affinis and Yellow Passionflower (P. lutea) in Texas.

The species is popular in butterfly houses because it is long-lived and active throughout the day.

(thank you wikipedia)

8 eyes

28mm f3.6 1/100s ISO100

Act II. Scene II.

28mm f2.8 1/60s ISO100

...that which we call a rose

by any other name would smell as sweet.

I'm coming back in this late hour to add the colored version of this rose. I do like the color in it and find it softer and delicate.  But I liked the crisp edge the anther and stamen when the color was removed.  It draws the eye right into that.

dew violeta

28mm f8.0 1/320s ISO100

flow

28mm f2.8 1/30s ISO100

This is fresh water flow in the Wilson Creek Gorge coming off the backside of Grandfather Mountain.  I was walking the rocky stream chasing elusive wild native brook trout.  From time to time I had to give way to capturing an image that caught my eye.  indeed, I caught several brookies also.