Amnesty Post

[waldo]

Okay, I've been sadly negligent in posting things here.  I've been busy setting up my photography blog, so I've been editing things, but once I got things up on the blog I kind of fell over from exhaustion. :p

Anyway... a few of the prompts I've missed...

Light

This is Volo Bog in Northern Illinois.  This may be one of my all time favorite shots I've taken ever.  I don't do a lot of landscapes, but this one was pretty cool.  It's actually one of two that will be going into a contest as a set - this is the second one with wider perspective and a break in the clouds.

Coolest trick EVER.  I went to the Tall Ships Festival in Chicago and asked for a Media Pass since I'm a blogger and they actually gave me one.  I got about $150 in free admission (regular view/board admission as well as two sail-away tickets) and priority access and boarding (i.e. no standing in lines).  So here's a cool shot of the ropes and halyards coiled for use.

In August I went to Midewin Tall Grass Prairie.  This place was butterfly central.  This is just a piece of a shot of a gathering of sulphurs at the edge of a small puddle.

Same trip.  This is an Eastern Swallowtail Black form female.  Yeah, that's a lot of description for one bug, isn't it? :)

This scary looking sucker is a thread-waisted wasp.  I was putting up this shot and a couple shots of bees on my blog and I realized that photography has drastically pulverized my self-preservation skills.  I used to be all, "Okay, that's a wasp/bee.  It can put a hole in me.  I should move far away from it." Now I'm all, "Oh look! It's a wasp/bee. Hold still so I can get closer and get a good shot!"  I suspect that one of these days I'll miss those self-preservation skills.

This was also from Volo Bog.  I love the lily's reflection in the absolutely still water of the bog.

Okay, this shot could qualify for "animals", or "water" or "reflection".  It's a Black-Crowned Night Heron standing in the shallows of the North Pond in Chicago.  It's also standing in the reflection of a nearby apartment building.  I love the mix of urban and natural.

*sigh*  I can't find the version of this shot where I corrected the horizon... sorry about that.  This is a shot of Chicago taken from the Tall Ship Windy while out on Lake Michigan.  Did I mention how much I loved having that Media Pass? :)

Not the world's best photo of an Eastern Tailed Blue, BUT, I completely adore that even his shadow is purple.

There are always people on Michigan Avenue in sandwich boards.  Most of them are telling you about some sale that you JUST CAN'T MISS!  And then there was this.  I really... I've got nothin'.

Comments

[sasha_feather]

Great shots! Love the one with the rope.

[waldo]

Thanks! Let me tell you, I was skipping around for DAYS going "I'm a real photo-journalist! I got a Press Pass! I'm official!" :) It took me 6 blog posts to get everything posted. (I try not to put more than 10 or 12 shots in a post so I don't kill anyone on dial-up.)

[jesse_the_k]

All lovely. The heron slays me.

[waldo]

Thanks! :) Chicago has, oddly, a very large heron population. We get green herons, great blues and black-capped night herons. And most are fairly people friendly. You can't pet them or anything, but as you can see, I got pretty close with an unobstructed view. :)

[j00j]

These are really amazing. I'm quite partial to the rope. Also I really dig the Volo Bog photo. I've been there at least once, and you've really captured it at a lovely angle; people don't always get that bogs have their own beauty.

[waldo]

Thanks. I'm finding it interesting how many people like the rope shot. It's not the kind of thing I usually shoot. (Obviously)

I love Volo Bog. I'll be going back out in a couple weeks to drop of stuff for their annual photo contest, and I can't wait to see how much things have chnged in the month or so since this trip. :)

So glad you liked my shots, thanks! :)

[tamara_russo]

The last one is indeed WTF... But my favorite is definitely the Chicago horizon. I've only been there once, when I was 13 (some 14 years ago), but I remember the beauty of the city very fondly.

[waldo]

Yeah, I saw him coming down the road and elbowed a friend of mine and we both burst out laughing.

Glad you liked the shots. The Chicago one is pretty, isn't it? We really do have a pretty skyline, I have to say. :)