Insects, brrrrr

In many ways i'm not really a fan of bugs and insects (they may be the same) and once took a good photograph of a relatively large spider in its web which gave me such creeps that once i looked at the image i immediately closed it and have never gone back to it. And, as a photographer and fairly inquisitive person, i find that pretty strange. So, when my Creative Photographer teacher brought her pet Australian walking stick (Extatosoma tiaratum) to class, i shivered a bit as i looked at it and decided i wasn't going to take any photos of it. Still, that was the assignment later in the class and so i ended up with this shot which is a fairly good portrait of Trixie (because she is tricky, says the teacher).

This is my first post in this new blog and about which i know almost nothing in terms of how to use it but assume that as i use it more often, i'll become adept at the different possibilities.

I think that for the time being i shall limited its use and posting to photographs and how i may or may not be struggling within that area called "art." And no, i don't know what art is ... isn't everything a kind of art? Or at least can be view as art?

Some years ago i was working on some macros of String of Pearls when this very small spider jumped up the side and quickly made its way to the top of the blooms. I tried, many times, to chase it away but to no avail and then i realized what an opportunity was being presented to me. This was the resulting portrait of this very tenacious small spider. 

Wed, Sep 24th, '14

On Sunday, i spent the day at GGF going 'tween listening to a on-site talk about the changing creek bed to accommodate the possible growth of salmon over the coming years (fingerlings had been found in the creek over the past decade) and visiting with a friend at Muir Beach who was having a 'Parting Party' for her friends as she prepared to take a different path in her life and was moving to N Arizona to begin work as a women's health worker to the Navaho. This was the fire in the firepit they were cooking over.

It was a wonderful gathering of family and friends and while there was some sadness at the parting of ways, there was much greater happiness for her as she began a new journey into a newer life. I wished her well on her journey and hope to visit her in Arizona some day.

The creek bed changes were awesome. In very raw form, the land had been dug, the channel taking shape and redwood logs were being placed strategically to allow shade and shelter for the fish. This is the form it currently is taking:

  

The photos seem awfully small and i'm very much still learning how to work this blog ... just a minute ago i clicked on a photo to see if it'd appear larger and the whole blog disappeared and i couldn't find how to get back to it - sigh, i'm sure its all very simple, just gotta learn how.

The top creek photo's blue line shows the path of the future creek bed and the two photos of the redwood logs show both how they are arranged and how they are bolted (you mean they bolt logs into a creek bed??) together which seems to be an art unto itself. Much more work is to be done on the creek but the speaker thought they would be through by the end of Oct in time for whatever rains we may get this year. Regardless, there is water running in the creek now although it is sidelined so the work can be done in the dry. I'm looking forward to see the water flow and spent sometime looking for a place to take photographs.