Friday, August 12, 2011

something is missing

Hmmm... (realizing that I keep on posting bug pictures)

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Today's theme is going to be about what's missing. That means no insects!! Let's see, we have a flower with... no bugs. And a late-night shot with a diminishing mosquito count. Why? Because of the subject of the photo that you can barely make out. I tried so hard to get a good shot of one of the bats, but this is where a good DSLR would have come in handy. I was out there for an hour panning these flying rats, and this is the best I could come up with! I want manual focus, minimal shutter lag, and a couple remote flashes on light stands... is that too much to ask?

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Well, maybe it is. For now.

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A friend from Osaka is visiting for a few months. Last night he told me that it never snows back home, and that he is nervous about what that will be like. I beamed with excitement as I told him one of the most wonderful details of our Chicago winters. Two words: "no mosquitoes." (big smile)

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One more bat picture:

11 comments:

George said...

I think you did quite well getting a picture of that bat. It's not easy to do. We have a bat colony near our house and they do a great job of keeping down the mosquitoes. Of course, Chicago winters do the job as well.

happyone said...

At least you can tell its a bat! A good try!!!

imac said...

Its better than most folk would capture my friend.

Shammickite said...

Lots of bats flying around at dusk at my son's house but none here, not enough mozzies for their dinner I suppose. Good picture, that bat should be very proud that you published his picture so we can all admire it!

Craver Vii said...

George, I wonder where this bat colony resides. That would make a great picture as well. Perhaps even better!

Happyone, I added another bat picture to the set. It's not the whole bat, but I got sharper details.

Imac, I suspect that the biggest challenge for this kind of night picture is how to get enough light in that cul de sac without disturbing the home owners. If I get a good picture, I should give them free copies.

Too few mosquitoes, Shammy? I'm green with envy. ;-)

EG CameraGirl said...

"No mosquitoes" is indeed a very good reason to like winter. :))

lime said...

wow, given what you had to work with i am incredibly impressed! very cool!

DeniseinVA said...

Those are wonderful photos of the bat. And your bug free coneflower. I will take the bat over the mosquitos any day.

Jackie said...

I bet if one looks verrrrry closely in the cone flower, a bug would be there (no pun intended.)
Hi, Craver. Good photos...and the bat ones....make my skin crawl. Not the photos...da bats!!
Smiles,
Jackie

Chris said...

Well I'm not gonna be able to advise you for night shots... IĆ°ve done some night trips in France, saw many things like few meters away from my feet, but was totally unable to take nice pictures ;-)

Craver Vii said...

You've got that right, EG!

Thanks, Lime. I've done this a few times now, and I'm half-surprised someone didn't call Bolingbrook's finest to ask me to stop that ridiculous flashing at 11PM. You should have seen it!

Denise, most people are much more afraid of the bats, but they don't really do us any physical harm.

Welcome back, Jackie!! I was thinking the same thing about finding bugs around the flowers, but this was a super-quick snapshot as I went home from my sister's house, so I did not look at anything other than the flower, and how the light made it look at that particular moment.

Hello Chris! How is your new site working for you? I found blogger (blogspot) was easier for me, but I have spent less and less time on the internet these days. I wish I could visit more often.