May 27 - Gateway Arch

I was in St. Louis on Memorial Day and of course had to take a few pictures of the arch. It was a cloudy night and even started to rain before we were through, but it was fun to see a view of the arch that I don't usually see.

This first image is with a very wide lens on the East side of the arch - the lens is wide enough that it distorts the arch from its familiar shape.


The next view is a 60 second exposure from the inner point of the South leg looking up. It's kind of an odd view, but I enjoy finding new ways to look at familiar things.

May 19 - Woods Prairie

A group of folks from the camera club met at Woods Prairie this morning (before dawn for some of us) and took a few pictures of the flowers blooming. The morning dew left my feet completely soaked in no time - even with my good hiking boots (maybe I need a new pair). Oh well, what's a few wet feet in pursuit of a nice picture!

Indian Paintbrush


Shooting Star


????


Indian Paintbrush

May 15 - Around the House

It was an interesting day for photography. Not too long after the sun came up, we spotted this Luna Moth out on our light post. I wish it could have chosen a more attractive landing spot. Unfortunately, when we tried to move it to a better location it flew away. Oh well - hope it comes back!




Hummingbirds (and birds in general) are very difficult to photograph. I caught this one peeking around the corner of a Blue Salvia on our back deck.




And finally, through the rain, I found this Indigo Bunting in an Oak tree.

May 12 - Hercules Glades Wilderness Area

For the second time in as many weeks, I ended up in Hercules Glades Wilderness Area. This time, however, I was with several members from the Southwest Missouri Camera Club. We had a great time wandering up Long Creek, taking pictures along the way. With the amount of water we've had around our house recently I was surprised to find that the falls were dry. Oh well, some other time. Even though it wasn't a great day for photography, it was still great to be out in the woods again. I did take another picture of a columbine (this is the last one, I swear!).

May 11 - Yellow Cone Flowers

After an impressive late afternoon downpour, I couldn't help but go out and photograph a few cone flowers we have on our deck. In fact, I didn't entirely wait for the rain to stop before I was out there - umbrella attached to tripod - peering into the viewfinder. If you look on the lower left of this flower, you can see a raindrop caught by the camera as it was in the process of dropping to the ground.

May 6 - Hercules Glades Wilderness Area

I dropped by Long Creek this morning to see if any columbines were blooming and was relieved to see that they were plentiful. It was a warm and humid morning. Warm enough to make you wish for that one thing which would make photographing these challenging flowers impossible - a nice breeze.