wildlife – Page 44 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

The Color Change On The Roads

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Plains Coreopsis 90120a” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The color of mountains are slowly changing from lush green to gold and brown. Some time within the next three or four weeks we should reach peak color in nature’s grand finale. It only seems like yesterday that I was so excited to see the first bloom of Spring! The days of the sun seemed to pass before my eyes like the images in a Zoetrope until they blended into a single moment.

The first noticeable change for me this year was the appearance of the Plains Coreopsis along the road. Bright sunny pedals embrace a reddish brown center in a beautiful display of joy. Also known as Golden Tickseed they were not seen in these numbers in my youth. Instead we saw black-eyed Susans, ironweed, Joe Pye weed and Virginia Boneset gracing our ancient hills. Occasionally tall cattails would take root in the ditches and host Red-winged Blackbirds along quiet country lanes. We still have these on the back roads.

The Plains Coreopsis also feeds butterflies and bees while they’re in bloom but the road crews are required to mow them before they form seed to prevent them from becoming invasive. On the surface that’s a good thing because we have enough invasive species in the Appalachian Mountains. Mostly Asian varieties that were brought here as ornamental plants. But the problem is that the edge species that have been replaced by the Plains Coreopsis were also a food source for out native birds. The beautiful Plains Coreopsis would provide the birds with an edible seed but that has to be removed to prevent the spread of the plants. The results are less food for the songbirds. The advantage to the person who wants to attract songbirds is that it becomes easier when they’re looking for a meal.

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The Meeting Of Friends

Color Photography, wildlife

Where the sun smiles brightly on shallow waters and life seems to spring from everywhere the humble field thistle stretches it’s spiny leaves skyward. The sweet aroma of nectar draws all who seek the taste of nature’s ambrosia. The small bumblebee lands softly on the downy tuft above the thorns. From below, a Goldenrod Soldier Beetle’s armor pushes aside the thorns as it climbs towards it’s treasured prize. I watched trough my lens as the two insects meticulously sorted through the purple strands. They nearly collided several times and when the finally did face each other what ensued was a short game of patty cake played with antenna. I had to giggle slightly at first and then I wondered if this was some insect form of a secret handshake. The latter is most likely the truth. An insects antenna is a highly acute sensor array capable of receiving complex information. in an instant massive amounts of information was exchanged and rechecked. Both creatures are solitary beings who don’t normally share a space. I’ve actually observed sparing matches between bumblebees for control of the same territory. But here are two insects with the only thing in common is the flower their feeding on. Knowing that insects are living chemical factories and that beetles especially are masters of chemical signals I wonder if the little soldier beetle was able to somehow camouflage it’s scent? Regardless of the reason how these two decided to share they did in fact go back to feeding together in peace. Is the soldier beetle a Jedi master able to trick the bee into ignoring him? Or was it as simple as a conversation between bugs?
“Hi, I’m a Goldenrod Soldier Beetle but everyone just calls me Leatherwing.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m a bumblebee but everyone thinks I’m a small carpenter bee. “
“Cool, let’s do lunch.”
“Okay,”
Either way, it would be great if we could take a lesson from these insects and just get along.

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/

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.

Second Harvest

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Sweet Duties 90820″and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The changing breezes call out to the workers “come and follow.” As they yield to scent floating on soft currents they fan out amid the fall flowers. Blue-green leaves spread in welcoming gestures bend and sway softly as the little feet find their landing. Pale yellow flowers gaze down and smile in their own way as the grooming begins. The wings beat out music that’s only understood by nature and the beekeepers soul. The little ones perform their work without promoting from human hands. This is the second harvest of God’s providence and it’s the most important to the hive. The first harvest was given in tribute to the kindly master of the hive in tribute. But this harvest will carry the hive through on days when it’s too cold to fly and the forage is scarce. It’s an important task but one that’s performed without angst. The last days of the sun are still plentiful and there’s more than enough for everyone.

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/

Have you checked out the Zazzle Store?

Collecting Moments And Learning To Appreciate Mistakes

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Suspended In September 91320” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

Life is a collection of consecutive moments that we forge into reality as they are given. We began creating our today from bits and pieces of all the previous yesterdays. Each moment is a patchwork of successes and mistakes that form the thread we weave tomorrow with. It’s not really matter of if we fail but when. More importantly is how we use that failure in creating our future. We can build a wall of mistakes that imprison our own spirits in an impenetrable fortress of “I Can’t” or, we can use those same errant blocks to build a stairway that takes us beyond our previous limits. It all depends on how you arrange your mistakes. Today I was looking through my archive for some specific images to present to a client as potential book covers and the deeper into the past I got the more I cringed at what I had chosen to archive. A lot of images were over processed and there was virtually no control over lighting. Some of the images had such a poor flow that it was hard to tell what the subject was. And yet the overall pattern shows that I have built on my mistakes by learning from them. And I am more than certain that there will be more building blocks in the future.

When I look at tonight’s feature image of the Snowberry Clearwing Moth feeding on the chicory bloom I see life in motion. A moment of time suspended that carries all my previous moments that built up to the point when my eye and lens moved in sync with the moments of the moth’s life. It is as much a collection of lessons learned as it is a collection of successes.

I suppose that in conclusion of tonight’s post I simply wanted to encourage you to never allow a failure to hold you back on anything you try. Life is an expiriment in trial and error and the errors are not a stopping point. They’re just a way to find what does work.

The Shattered Sunset. An alternative mythos of the Monarch butterfly.

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello Friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Monarch & Joe Pye Weed 90820a” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

From my youth I have always been fascinated with myth and legend. So much so that sometimes I write alternative mythos. My mythology isn’t intended to be anything but good entertainmen and any resemblance to the mythology of an actual culture is purely coincidence.

The marsh falls silent in the September sun as the Monarch explores the sweet blooms that dominate the edge of water. The orange butterfly gracefully navigates through through the bloom and checks each of the florets with delicate precision. My imagination began to concoct a mythos of the Monarch.

My minds eye conceives a sachem on the edge of a cliff looking out over the New River Gorge. As the sun sets below the canyon rim get beholds the sunset in all its glory. But in his vision a shooting star strikes that part of the sky and the sunset shatters into the night sky. The amber shards of the sky fall into canyon and litter the ground. Saddened by the loss of the beautiful sunset the sachem is moved to play a mournful tune on his flute. As his tears fall into canyon they rain onto the shards of amber sunset and they began to live. Through his tears the sachem sees the living sunset shards and his mournful tune changes to an expression of joy. He continues to pipe the more lively tune into the dawn when the transformation of the sky shards into butterflies is complete and the valley below is filled with life. And so the Monarch butterfly now begins it’s life feeding on the bitterness of the milkweed but soon transforms into little living sunset full of joy.

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/