Monarch Butterflies, I think. They’re pretty distinctive so it’s a safe bet.
We came across a field that was filled with wildflowers, all along the edge were butterflies. We were on a dirt track that we drive to stop by an inlet that will sometimes have Dolphin pods fishing. Tide must be high but it’s always worth a stop. In this case no Dolphin but we did find the Monarchs.
Specs; OM-1 (1), Olympus 40-150 r (I think, don’t have the details handy). Finished with ON1, Topaz.
The small dinosaurs have hatched now. They grow fast, but until then they are hard to find. And once you do they are fast. Small Anole are less than an inch when we first find them.
I want to say these are two different lizards from the thick plants out in the big arbor area. Not like they have name tags so maybe not.
During the summer, when it’s hot and humid, these are my preferred wildlife to photograph. The air conditioners are close and it shows the temperature as over 100 right now.
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Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 12-100 f4. Finished in ON1 Photo RAW, Topaz.
I don’t use any macro gear, yet. Ellen does have an OM 90 mm macro lens but I’m not ready for limiting myself to a prime lens.
Ellen likes fresh vegetables, local farm raised meat, and eggs. Going to the local Farmers Market is part of her weekly routine. There’s also a farm here that grows flowers. Each week they bring in the most recent blooms from their acres of wild flowers.
Below is this weeks crop. Pretty impressive.
This image was finished with ON1 Photo RAW. It was shot indoors, no flash. Using ON1, rather than Lightroom was a test. The flow was to use multiple softwares that have specific strengths that general editors do not and see how well the flow worked. Most editors don’t ’play well with others’. This is one of Lightroom’s strengths.
The work flow was;
The end result was this image, just about the same as Lightroom would have made. And it actually took the same time I would have spent in Adobe. ON1 is faster than Lightroom (much faster) and has the same interactions with other imaging systems so it’s really nothing different than I would have done in LR.
If the editor works smooth the transition is not all that much different than if I had done the work directly inside an editor. Except these softwares do the function better, they’re made for specific purposes, not a one size fits all.
OK, this is now much longer than I had planned so I will go to the final goal in post processing for me. The best I can get is using special software on multiple images. Basically get the first image in a series, like a Heron in flight over a swamp, the way I want. Then have all the other images in that series get the changes ‘pasted’ to them. Consistency across them all. With the flow above it’s easy, even using multiple softwares, if the editor ‘plays well with others’.
ON1 is getting pretty close, and works fast, at an inexpensive one time purchase.
A cooperative local, well as much as they can be.
If you raise your camera and he is still there it’s a win.
Best viewed large.
There are two different Anole here. Strange how the first smaller one chose to be brown even though she was in among green leaves.
Above you see the fairly small pink flower and stem next to the Anole. This gives some perspective on her small size.
Below is a larger female that was not moving regardless of the big animal with the single big eye staring down.
The dorsal fin pattern running down the back identifies this as a female. I read it on the internet so it must be true.
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 12-100 f4, Lightroom.
One of the locals I live with.
This lady was climbing through vines out back. Rather than run when I saw her she decided to just hang here until I was done poking around.
Best viewed large, she has lovely eyes.
I haven’t tried Ellen’s 90mm Macro lens yet, a few of our other lenses seem to be pretty good at close focus though. I’ve never paid attention to that spec in the past.
In this series I was simply trying to keep this ‘wasp’ thing in focus and grab a series of shots on this flower. I’m learning there’s a lot going on when looking at their world close.
First I worked on focusing, in the series I noticed the wasp left behind a dark substance as he poked around. Probably don’t want to know too much. Also at some point an Ant came from somewhere and went after the wasp, who quickly left.
I was at a slow shudder speed and using mechanical single shot. I was thinking more about a single photograph rather than a series. I may need to rethink that approach.
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Photographed OM-1 (1), OM 12-100 f4. Finished with ON1, Topaz DeNoise.
While poking around searching for critters I need to remember to look up.
The arbors out back are tall, and probably a safe place for any Anole. You can spot them anywhere. Yesterday I looked over at a bird bath and there was one hanging in the water keeping cool.
I think my house has become a country club for the locals.
