Color Photography – Page 82 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

Teamwork

Many hands make light work

– Richard Bishop

From the depths of the earth they march towards the light. The scouts guide them through the dimly lit jungle past the traps of predators and up the tree a treasure trove of food for the winter. The tiny Pharaoh ants march single file until they reach the work site. Once there they divide up the tasks. Some will gather grains of pollen while others will collect the sweet nectar at the base of the flowers. They’ll have the flower stripped in no time because of their numbers. Nothing deters their work. They hold no debates about who does which job. They simply handle the task in front of them. Each little ant is capable of carrying many times it’s own weight in food but the grains of pollen are small and ants don’t have the structures on their legs like the bees have for packing their food securely for the return trip. And without the bee’s power of flight they will march back with their payload in their jaws. The daunting task for the individual ant but colony moves as one and within a few hours the harvest is complete.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Lloyds Lens Photography web link — Click here to visithttps://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

Did you know that I also do portraits by appointment? If you’re interested in a portrait session either message me on Facebook or Use the Contact form. The YouTube link below takes you one of my slideshows.

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

Clicking on the photo takes you tohttps://www.zazzle.com/lloydslensphotos?rf=238248269630914251

Lastly, all of the photos and writings are my original work unless otherwise specified and are not to be copied or reproduced without expressed written permission from the photographer

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Tranquility On Little Elk Creek

Color Photography, West Virginia

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Spicebush Swallowtail 81020” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The afternoon sun hides it’s face behind a thickening layer of clouds and falls across the landscape as a soft glow. Small minnows gather in the shallow eddie as my creek trickles it’s way to the Gauley River. Off to my right a Grizzly Locust rattles his call on the edge of the yard. I perch myself on the edge of my bridge and look upstream wondering what I might catch in the lens. The clouds soften the light but they also hold in the heat and raise the humidity causing the air to transmit the smell of the water mint better. The inflorescence of the mint brings all the pollenators near the water. Tiny skippers of several types. Earlier a pale green cloudless sulfur butterfly performed it’s aerial dance as it passed by my window. I had hoped to catch up with it but as of yet it remains elusive. The breeze shifts gently and the smell of the mint is stronger. The movement just beneath the Sycamore seedling pulls my attention towards lower left and I am treated with the beautiful blue of the Spicebush Swallowtail in a rare moment of stillness. The peaceful serenity of the trickling water and pleasing aroma of mint combines with butterfly’s visual and and blends into a sustained moment of peace.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

I’m now using Zazzle to fulfil orders. What this means for you is a secure way to place an order, discount codes & a broader product selection! Simplymessage me on Facebookoruse the contact form on my websiteand tell me which image you want and I’ll reply with a direct link to where you can place the order.

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤

Mr Hawk Comes Calling

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Red Tail Hawk 80620” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Even the wind dare not whisper his name as he sails silently over my mountain. The eyes miss nothing as he scans the forest for a twitch of the tail or the flick of a long ear. His talons are cocked and ready to snatch his prey. Even the most subtle earthbound serpent in the forest is vulnerable to the speed of his silent wings. The only clue I had to his presence was the disappearance of songbirds. As I gazed through my window the smaller birds suddenly vanished into the dense brambles borrowing their thorns for protection. When he took up his perch on my carport I knew that the best chance I had to capture his image was through the dirty window in the back of the house. Still, I had to try. As I lined up my lens with his permission and attempted to focus past the airborne pollen and new cobweb clinging to the glass he cocked his head my direction. I don’t think he actually saw me through the glass but he definitely knew that something moved inside the house. After a few shots I decided to try and ease my why outside for a closer photo. It’s been a while since I’ve practiced my weasel walk but my feet remembered the pattern. Stepping with the balls of my feet and allowing the foot to roll into place before shifting my weight would minimize the sounds of movement in the house. I made it all the way to the side door and he didn’t seem to notice. It was the click of the deadbolt that got his attention. Slowly I allowed the door open but with the sudden creek of the hinge the Hawk turned as if he were spring loaded. The gaze of his piercing eyes struck me with a perceived impact that raised the hair on the back of my neck. The eyes felt like they were attempting to burn through to my very soul as our gazes locked. For a moment I wasn’t really sure if he would flee or charge. Even the largest Red Tail Hawk is no match for a human but he does have razors on his feet and I have enough “cool scar stories” to last for the rest of my life. I slowly shifted the camera in order to raise it to my eye and he drew himself skyward and commanded the wind to carry him over the ridge. Before I could even focus he was just a little dot in the sky.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤

Encounter With A Mydas Fly

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Mydas Fly 80420” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

A the movement of a shadowy predator catches my attention at Kanawha Falls. I’d actually come here looking to see if the mushrooms I’d spotted in July were still around but they were gone. The creature moved again and at first I thought it was a Mud Dauber wasp but something was wrong with the flight pattern. It didn’t move like a wasp should move. It’s was at that point I began to suspect that I was being lied to. Mud Daubers are generally non-aggressive even when I’m close to their nests. Sometimes they’ll hover close and try to intimidate you but I’ve never had one actually land on me. Mud Daubers can fly in a curve but tend to prefer flying in straight lines. The dark insect before me now moves in curves and circles like a fly. Still, getting stung by any wasp isn’t really my idea of a good time. So I took out my long lens and zoomed in for a better look. The first thing that struck me was the club like antennae and an abdomen that wasn’t connected to the body by a slender waist. The insect looks like a robber fly but is huge compared to the robber fly. The distinctive reddish orange spots on the abdomen were also an identifying trait. This is a Mydas Fly.

Image Titled “Mydas Fly 80420b” showing the iridescent blue sheen on the wings.

The Mydas Fly buzzed me a few times and flicked it’s a few times in an effort to convince me that I was about to be stung. I called it’s bluff and moved a closer. It charged me and pulled away st the last second.

Most likely it’s there simply to lay eggs in the rotting log. It needs to do this because it’s babies are predators. The larvae actually resemble the Graboid monster from the movie Tremors. The maggot has an armored head with powerful looking jaws and it hunts beetle larvae. There’s actually over 400 species of Mydas Flies and some lay eggs in the soil instead of wood. Because they hunt destructive grubs they’re being studied as a natural control on pests.

Image Titled “Mydas Fly 80420c” showing the “claws” on the hind legs.

My internet research says that the adult Mydas Fly is also a predator. A closer look at the hind legs shows that they are built like the front legs of a preying mantis. The claw structure is pointed forward suggesting that the a Mydas Fly overtakes it’s pretty in mid flight. There’s actually controversy in the scientific community about the feeding habits of Mydas Flies because they have been seen pollinating and eating nectar. I suppose that nobody has considered that they might be omnivorous.

After a few minutes I decided it was time to leave the Mydas Fly to go do Mydas Fly things in peace. Perhaps at some point I’ll be able to photograph one with prey and put an end to the controversy.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

https://youtu.be/UPXlC0uaXW4

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤

Tiny Troubles

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Heal-all With Flea Beetle” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

How small is small? When you’re less than 1/8 of an inch long planet earth is a vast gigantic jungle. Even the tiny pharaoh ant dwarfs the little guy in tonight’s feature image. To give you the scale the Heal-all flower spike that he’s on top of is only about an inch long so he’s far smaller than 1/8 of an inch. When I spotted the little guy I was reminded of a poem I heard in grade school.

“If you missed me it’s not my fault.

I’m only the size of a grain of salt.”

I have to wonder if that because he’s so small if he can even perceive me as another life form and not some celestrial event like an eclipse. The tiny little bug is a flea beetle. But big trouble comes in small packages.

Experienced gardeners will know what the irregular shaped holes in the leaves of their crops mean. One flea beetle exploring a wildflower is kinda cute but 1000 of them one your favorite salad vegetables can be maddening. Especially if you have strong feelings about chemical pesticides on your food. Encouraging predators into your garden is always a good thing. Braconid Wasps and Tachinid Flies larvae both feed on flea beetles but I found it hard to believe they’d be able to host on one this small. However, a quick internet search revealed a tiny wasp even smaller than the beetle in tonight’s feature image. Plants like yarrow and Queen Anne’s Lace are generally considered to be weeds but they do attract parasitic wasps that are beneficial in the fight against garden pests like the flea beetle. Plants like mint seem to repell flea beetles as well as other pests while attracting pollenators

The tiny world is a dangerous place but aside from its shiny armor the flea beetle has an active defense. Their secret weapon is Maulik’s Organ. An organic spring built into the hind legs that is cocked and when released sends the flea beetle sailing through the air as if fired out of a cannon!

Some flea beetles are actually beneficial insects themselves. Depending on the species. They seem to be selective in their food choices and the plant they host on. Some will eat the weeds right out of your garden and never touch the plants you want to grow.

The little flea beetle in tonight’s feature image eventually decided that it didn’t like my presence and with a flick of it’s hind legs performed a disappearing act to rival any on stage. One second it was there and the next it was gone.

Image Titled “Heal-all Spike 71020”.

Hey Friends! Just a quick reminder that Lloyds Lens Photography is available for portraits!

To book me simply reach out using the Contact Page and we’ll set a date. If you’re within a 50 mile radius of Summersville West Virginia all travel fees are waived.

If you would like to Follow me on Facebook the web address is

https://www.facebook.com/aviewfromthelens/

If you’re enjoying my blog and don’t want to miss a post then you can sign up for email alerts on my website.

https://lloydslensphotographyllc.com/

https://youtu.be/FDcrY6w8oY8

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Thank you again for your support of my page! ❤