Last week I photographed some butterflies and dragonflies while on the coast of North Carolina. They were at a nursery I visited.



Check out the butterfly's proboscis!



And check out this dragonfly's crazy grin!



He certainly comes to the point.

AMAZING shots! I especially LOVE LOVE LOVE that dragonfly! WOW! Any more pics like this?

The butterflies sure do love that lantana, don't they!

Alan

I also photographed some egrets in the nearby wetlands. The first shot shows the motion of landing, while the second and third shots are still portraits.

I also took some macro photos of conch shells that washed up on the beach.

And a distant, but close-up, shot of the moon, showing some detail.

I also had some fun taking contrast shots, like the colorful folds of this beach umbrella against the gray, craggy texture of the deck boards.



Of course, these have nothing to do with roses; they're just random photos.

Random is good! I love the egrets most of all!

Glad you like 'em. Here's a little green friend, camouflaging himself to stay safe from the egrets, perhaps.

And another egret.

Back at the beach cottage... Yin and Yang

"Copy Cat..."

Great shots Mike! I love the series of butterflies and my favorite is the green lizard. Fun to walk around with a camera and see all the interesting shapes, textures and colors you can capture through the eyes of s good lens.

That's some really artistic photography!

I didn't think that anoles could live in the wild that far north.. but I guess North Caroline's not really that far north, is it.

Toni, I was in Emerald Isle, which is part of the southern Outer Banks of No. Carolina.

So green, so wet. Beautiful. I'm jealous.

BTW, what camera are you using? I'm still lovin' that picture of the smilin' dragonfly!!!

All of these photos were taken with a Canon 5D Mark II camera (a digital SLR). The close-up photos of the insects were taken with a Canon 100mm macro lens at f/2.8. The photos of the egrets, moon, and even the lizard were taken with a Canon 100mm-400mm telephoto zoom lens at f/5.6. I often take a wide angle lens into the field as well, but didn't on these occasions since I was only planning on photographing wild life.

Cripes all mighty, that is NOT a cheap camera! WOW!

lessee, 2.5 mortgage payments or a camera.. hmm.. let me think..

:) Amazing how some of our hobbies get away from us. You a professional photographer? You do take some absolutely awesome shots!

Not a pro, just an obsessive compulsive amateur. I started investing in this kind of equipment when I started photographing bald eagles on the Hudson River near my home. They come down from Canada each February and March. You need the "big guns" for that kind of photography, due to the distances involved, the frequently poor winter light from overcast skies, and the eagles' quick movements in flight. And I still don't have the equipment that's really up to the task, but that would require a $7,500 lens, and that ain't never gonna happen!