Microcosm
In our busy lives, it is often easy to pass by the everyday tiny worlds within our own without seeing details and beauty surrounding us. This collection of macro photography focuses on the small landscapes that snails, leafhoppers, and butterflies explore.
"Perfection."
"Who am I?" One of the gifts of macro photography is the ability to see beyond the ordinary. Here, two forms are seen to emerge from an ice formation in the square of a single chain link on a fence.
"Sentinel on the wheat." Dragonflies are mighty predators with a prey capture rate of about 90%. They achieve this through their incredible abilities, flying backwards, forwards or side to side with speeds up to 30 miles an hour. Here, the soldier rests, likely digesting mosquitos.
"Autumn Approaching."
"Surfer." The candy stripped leafhopper is brightly colored insect belonging to the order Hemiptera. They can leap long distances thanks to their specialized hind legs and can be found on flowers and leaves in their native habitat of North and Central America.
"The hunter." Early in the spring, this garter snake emerged from hibernation to join the creatures of the marsh. Poised, he surveilled his territory, watching the movement below with keen intent. I suspect that he was hungry.
"Ambush bug(s)." Sometimes the wonder of macro is seeing unveiling the picture at home to see details that were invisible to the naked eye. In my excitement to photograph one of my favorite insects, the ambush bug, I failed to notice that my camera had captured two of them.
"Amaryllis."
"Trillium."
"Daddy Long-Legs."
"Home is where I am."
"Summer Waning." As the leaves start to turn and the nights get colder, Monarchs begin their migration from their northern breeding grounds to Mexico and California. This 3000 mile journey seems impossible for such a fragile being. Yet the mighty monarch lives up to 8-9 months in the winter, completing not just the journey south, but also the journey back north again in the spring.
"Death Cap for a Cutie."