It's summer! Post your summer pics here

[◄ Jess ►]

Happy solstice all! Here are a few pics to start the new thread out with.

Deer running nearby as I pulled up to the meadow:


Pretty flower:


Angry swallow:


The swallows seem to have decided the entire meadow is theirs, so they dive-bomb me every time I walk around. It took all my willpower not to duck as they dove within a foot of my face!

[Coral Moore]

Wow! That swallow does look angry.

[John Hamilton]

Nothing says summer like giant Minnesota mosquitos!

A frame from "Proboscis", my indie film (soon to be out on DVD!) Shot from a float plane, with me hanging out the door (securely tethered, of course). It was hard to train the giant mutant mosquito to fly next to the chase plane, but we successfully baited him with bags of blood from a local clinic. 


Proboscis by johnchamilton, on Flickr

[◄ Jess ►]

It's been way too hot outside lately, but it finally cooled down a bit, so I went out and took some pictures. Found a damselfly:



And a hummingbird clearwing moth, which I've been wanting to see for a long time!

[unitbit]

Nothing says summer like giant Minnesota mosquitos!

A frame from "Proboscis", my indie film (soon to be out on DVD!) Shot from a float plane, with me hanging out the door (securely tethered, of course). It was hard to train the giant mutant mosquito to fly next to the chase plane, but we successfully baited him with bags of blood from a local clinic. 


Proboscis by johnchamilton, on Flickr

Ah that is awesome! haha nice work.

[loveangel]

wowwwwww lovely

[terryspear]

Sunflowers next to cornfields and hungry critters that weren't supposed to be in the picture!

[AnnieRayburn]

Sunflowers next to cornfields and hungry critters that weren't supposed to be in the picture!

I'm assuming this is before the drought? Pics I've been seeing down your way show the sunflowers all brown and shriveled. Or are they exaggerating?

[John Dorian]

Oh wow! There are some cool pictures in here!

I especially like the hummingbird moth and swallow pics, i've never seen those before! 

[terryspear]

Yeah, it was way before the drought, Annie. It's been terrible, water restrictions, scorched and cracked earth. 110 degrees all week this week.

[◄ Jess ►]

The bugs were out today (unfortunately, that included mosquitoes!)

Wandering Glider Dragonfly:


Sweetflag Spreadwing Damselfly:


Forktail Damselfly:


Beetle on some flowers:

[tom st. laurent]

I love the action shots. The little swallow looks like it turned into an Alfred Hitchcock bird.

[John Dorian]

Yeah, it was way before the drought, Annie. It's been terrible, water restrictions, scorched and cracked earth. 110 degrees all week this week.

That sounds awful. Those poor sunflowers. 

[hakimast]

Lots of creepy crawlies in here... 

[brian70]

Below are two recent pics from hiking trips around New Hampshire this summer. The first is from Mt. Kearsarge, the second is just north of Franconia Notch.

[◄ Jess ►]

How pretty! I've never been to New Hampshire before, but it looks very green.

[tom st. laurent]

I'm from New Hampshire! Brian--great shots! I go to Echo Lake in Franconia Notch a few times every summer, and it is, indeed, a beautiful place. It's the White Mountains!

[brian70]

Thanks Jessica. Tom, since you mentioned Echo Lake...

[tom st. laurent]

Thanks Jessica. Tom, since you mentioned Echo Lake...

Wow! That's it. Thanks, Brian.
Jessica, that's the Cannon Mountain ski slopes on the right of the picture--swim in the lake and dream about snow. Come on down, or up, or over, whatever it is. We've got some great bugs, too.

[◄ Jess ►]

Gorgeous! This is from way back in 2006, but those pictures remind me of Olallie Lake, in Oregon (one of my favorite places).

[brian70]

Great pics, Jessica.

[tom st. laurent]

Olallie Lake olovely. Thank you.

[◄ Jess ►]

It's a beautiful day out today and I'll probably go out again later, but here's a daily dose of some bugs.

A big old bumblebee. I'm not sure why he wasn't flying away, but his wings might have been too tattered.


Grasshopper hiding in the rocks. He was very patient as I took pictures too.


Monarch butterfly.


I think this is a ruby meadowhawk dragonfly.

[hakimast]

How big was that bee? It was probably a little beat up, they don't normally rest on leaves all that much

[◄ Jess ►]

He was pretty big. I wasn't sure if he was just too cold, wet, or beat up, but I'm guessing beat up. As soon as I noticed him there on the leaf, I knew I had to get some pictures since he didn't look like he was going anywhere! I was able to move some pieces of grass off him without him moving away.

[tom st. laurent]

How big was that bee? It was probably a little beat up, they don't normally rest on leaves all that much

It looks huge. And maybe the bee was an old guy--you know, losing its wingtips instead of its hair.
Jessica, you sound like a great hunter, armed with a camera. My grandfather had rifles in his Vermont farmhouse, but when spotting deer, he preferred his binoculars. I never actually saw him shoot the gun.
I'm working on learning to post photos, though I'm no Ansel Adams.

[tom st. laurent]

Sorry, I failed. What a mess.

[brian70]

Tom, here is a pic of Echo Lake (taken from same vantage point as the other one) from a few years back during the foliage season:

[◄ Jess ►]

It looks huge. And maybe the bee was an old guy--you know, losing its wingtips instead of its hair.
Jessica, you sound like a great hunter, armed with a camera. My grandfather had rifles in his Vermont farmhouse, but when spotting deer, he preferred his binoculars. I never actually saw him shoot the gun.
I'm working on learning to post photos, though I'm no Ansel Adams.

Sometimes I feel like I'm hunting when I'm crawling on the ground so I don't scare off a bug I want to photograph! Luckily, not too many people have come across me like that. To post a photo, try following this guide: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,211.0.html

If you still have a problem, I can try to help.

[◄ Jess ►]

I bought a new 23" monitor and I'm loving how much easier it is to use photoshop now. Next up is a faster computer that doesn't lag so much.

Really pretty grasshopper:


Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly:




Sweetflag Spreadwing Damselfly:




I'm really excited about the damselfly pics. I might print one of those out to hang on the wall.

[tom st. laurent]

I did it! This was an experiment. Spring vacation in Maine, d*mn the luck.
I'll work on a nice photo.
Brian and Jessica, great. It looks like the damselfly turned to look at the photographer. Did you shout, "Hey, look over here!?"

[tom st. laurent]

I love it. I'm seeing macro and micro shots both.
Brian, get a photo of Echo Lake in winter (I know, I know, you'd be hiking in snowshoes, but, still...). I'd be the first to buy the series.
Jessica, love the tight focus and great detail. In contrast with the background, it really is art. If you frame one of the damselflies, I'd recommend the one with the whole wing.
Thanks.

[brian70]

Tom, I rarely hike in the winter, but I might have to go back there and take some pics. Thanks for the idea.

[◄ Jess ►]

Here Tom, is this the pic you're trying to post?



Gorgeous!!

[tom st. laurent]

Jessica,
Yes! I got on this thread to remove the mess I made yesterday and--what a surprise! I'd ask how in the world you did that, but the answer would probably just confuse me.
I'll keep trying until I get it right.
Thank you.

[tom st. laurent]

Another great vacation. Here's the babbling brook behind our B&B on Hurricane Irene Sunday. Somewhere down there is the golf course. Mandatory evacuation due to a weakening dam upstream lasted only 4-5 hours.

[tom st. laurent]

The vacation was not all bad. We had two days of great blues music at the foot of the Hunter Mountain ski slope in the New York Catskill Range.

[brian70]

One from my backyard:



One of my hiking buddy, Violet: