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.

hang em high

480mm f8.0 1/1000s ISO100

Everybody has fun at the beach one way or another.  What is your favorite thing to do when you are near the ocean?  Leave a comment and let us know.

Grandfather Mountain

500mm f8.0 1/500s ISO100

This shot was taken from 1700ft elevation on Crowder Mountain, NC yesterday afternoon.  The distant ridge line is Grandfather Mountain with three identifiable points.  The high peak near dead center is Calloway Peak with Attic Window and MacRae's peaks to the left.  Making some line of sight calculations puts this at about 67 miles away.  Just another photograph of my afternoon.  I sure do love seeing Grandfather Mountain.

Charlotte Skyline

500mm f8.0 1/500s ISO100

We took a hike up Crowder Mountain this afternoon.  The air was clean, fresh and made a beautiful day.  I had a clear view of the Charlotte skyline from atop the 1700ft mound.  I did some line of sight calculations and figured that distance from my shooting point to central Charlotte was roughly 23 miles.  The photograph is plain and regular.  This one is no art and all documentary.  It is a photo that captured a moment just the same.

drive me to mars

28mm f5.0 1/250s ISO100

System Crash

28mm f2.8 1/15s ISO100

I am tired of seeing the recurrence of the system crash displayed as the oft called "blue screen of death" or BSOD.  I remember this being the new system crash display with the unveiling on Windows NT some many years ago.  It has passed on to the descendant OS platforms coming out of Redmond.  My flailing laptop has had re-constructive surgery twice over in the last two months.  Somehow that isn't enough and it's acting up once again showing me several BSOD's in the last two weeks.  Here is a "fun with edits" image.  I took a photograph on my BSOD and then processed a series of filters over it.  It's not problematic anymore... it's art.

well worn

4.6mm f2.8 1/80s ISO100

Taken while I was sitting around.  These are my painting jeans. Levi Signature Blue and Behr Parisian Taupe prove to be the canvas that caught my eye.

curtains

80mm f4.2 1/125s ISO100

Liberty Reservoir, Baltimore County, Maryland

The late afternoon sun was lighting up the far bank, in turn casting a brilliant reflection across the waters surface. These colors are untouched as the fresh Spring green leaves come to life.  The fallen tree here adds only perspective.  With out it in the image the colors don't look natural.

buttercupbench

500mm f4.2 1/160s ISO100

Rawlings Conservatory

28mm f7.1 1/400s ISO100

The Howard Peter Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore, a lovely architectural relic from the Victorian era, still blooms in Baltimore today.  Its original structures, The Palm House (the distinctive arched structure) and Orchid Room (hidden behind the palm house), were built in 1888.  Later additions include the three greenhouses that each mimic desert, tropic and Mediterranean habitats.  Conservatory grounds (1½ acres) feature 35 well developed and groomed flowerbeds (currently tulips).

I took this photograph yesterday afternoon and had this processing in mind when I did so.  I wanted to see and feel the history of this wonderful structure and find a way to convey that out to a viewer.  Creating what seems like a vintage postcard may have been just the way to achieve my goal.

chub eye

28mm f3.2 1/100s ISO100

What a bizarre looking, but very common fish.  This "creek chub" is one of the larger fishes to be classified as a minnow.  They typically grow 6-8 inches and can grow up to 12 inches.  They eat smaller minnows, tadpoles, frogs, insects and crayfish.  The male chub builds a nest for eggs in the spring by hollowing out a lenghty hole on the riverbed.  After the eggs are laid he guards then until they hatch.  Mature males grow these "tubercles" on it's nose.  I caught this chub yesterday on a hard crayfish crank-bait.My daughter caught this chub yesterday using a small sonic minnow spinnerbait.  It was indeed beautiful, gold and rosy, and her first catch of the day. Yay Madibo.