Category: Freeverse

Hot Humid and Yellow

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Lantana is not a banana
Nor a canna
But for this swallowtail
Pure manna

After multiple years at Mission Trails attempting to nail a swallowtail in flight, I did manage a couple. MTRP boasts many of these butterflies, especially in August.
Last year, we planted multiple plant types in one specific area to attempt to brighten it up. Mexican heather, lavender, *sweet pea, and two types of lantana (multi-color and yellow). We covered an area of about 100 square feet. Between the oppressive summer heat, rabbits and squirrels, 70% were consumed. The *butterfly bush and yellow lantana were the only survivors. The lantana works so well, we added two more.
Luckily for us, hummingbirds and butterflies love the lantana flowers. One afternoon, I had some time to follow a swallowtail as it hopped from plant to plant.

DOF is at 1/2″ +-. The day was hot and some monsoon rain created a very muggy, slow feel to the day and it seemed to affect the swallowtail as well.

Here is one from the trails:
Multiple exposures and some nuanced texture added in post.

Field Notes 2

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Catching Light
Subtle paper texture
Landscape dots

Bindweed. Convolvulus arvensis. Introduced into California in 1884. This plant is considered a nuisance weed. Its root system dives deep and pushes out crops.
Still, it is quite lovely.

Along with another invasive (mustard).

It is interesting to consider the landscaping that was installed onto the property in 1987. Most of the plants are not indigenous. Chinese elm, acacia, iris, eucalyptus, grass from africa.

Note to self: Make sure you save the draft before scheduling. Otherwise, WP freezes up and you lose the post. Wow.

Rust Season

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Summer sun
Bakes the hillsides
Bees are fed

Like clockwork our hills are spotted with buckwheat in transition. Some are red, some light peach, others are still white.
The beauty of it is that honey bees feed from these plants. Sustained during the harsh summer heat. It’s connected, beautifully connected.

Let’s Get Cookin’

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It is enough
To see the flower
To be the flower

A couple of months ago, I dedicated my youtube channel for photography education.
It has been a pleasure to extol the virtues of thinking outside the box and to search out a personal “voice.”
Along the way, I had to challenge myself to get back into the arduous dreamscape impression way of making images. Challenges and prompts are creative killers for me. The process needs to happen organically based on available information.
Stationing myself at the back of our property, I forced some of what I used to do. It was clunky and uncomfortable. As time rolled, I released the challenge and my body/mind remembered it’s little used muscle memory.
Wait. I had to wait for some things.
Find color, tones, structure.
Create impressions with negative space compositions.
Now armed with these arrows in my quiver, now, I could go to work.
I say it is arduous. It is, only because one needs to release all forethought, expectation, stress and become part of all that is visible.

Here is the only product for my efforts. Double exposure. One long, one short. By nature of the process, no textures need to be added.

My YT channel now contains the basics of camera handling and how settings will affect the final output. There are two main sections “Basics” and “Basics In Depth”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0YuAdyEdjABbVeHvK4kIzQ

Harmony

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The natural world
Surrounds us
Like a warm blanket

A warm, itchy, sometimes uncomfortable, too hot, suffocating, beautiful, sweet, funny, heart-warming, worrisome…
blanket

Cover photo is a candid of visiting quail on the property. About one month later than last year. The brood has about one dozen chicks. I was amazed to see them when we got here. Still am amazed. If you stay still, they go about their business.

On other notes: My lovely wife nearly stepped on this speckled rattler in the driveway. It ended up under the truck, then her car, then was “relocated” by a guy who does that.

About two months ago, we had to pony up upwards of $400 to fix the car because a rat had chewed through a sensor.

Then this happened under the hood of the truck:

Under the manifold cover:

We were lucky. Damage was minimal. I had to put on my “exterminator” hat, and I hate doing that. They persisted, but I think our efforts are gaining. Our trail cam has not seen them for three nights now.

Things like this happen all the time and adjusting from an antiseptic city approach is fine. Typically, a city will have their own rodent-pest control.

Don’t get me started on squirrels. Garden raiding on steroids. We planted a new peach tree. Covered the few peaches on it with protective plastic. Gone. Limbs broken off. Wait a year for the dahlia to bloom. Chewed off.
Mouse trap paddles have helped, but it’s constant. (non-lethal)

A papa doing his job protecting his brood: