Oh my...talking about the birds and the bees

Oh my...talking about the birds and the bees
Originally uploaded by Kraphti-Dez

"Ah, baby, let's get it on"

You hear it too don't your....Marvin Gaye crooning in the background. I mean it has to take the powerful voice of someone like Marvin to get a gal to hang on in the wind and some voyeur bumping them with the camera.

What I Saw Close up on May 16th

Cicada
Originally uploaded by Kraphti-Dez

This Cicada was an un-expected but much welcomed visitor on my patio this morning. I was sitting there without my glasses on and kept squinting trying to figure out what was on the fence. I thought I hit the jackpot when I saw what it was and hurried in to get my camera and tripod.

I was not happy with the lighting on the 1st 20 or so shots...it was a pretty overcast morning and because of the way he was sitting on the fence, it was hard to get a shot at a good angle.

I went in and grabbed on of the small lamps I use with my light box and hung it on the fence.

This little guy probably felt like some celeb being stalked by the paparazzi . Note to self....gotta remember that insects have personal space too and they don't like being bumped by a camera

What I saw close up on May 14th

Honey mango that has seen better days
Originally uploaded by Kraphti-Dez

Ewwwww....what is it with you and rotting food?

Well..I don't have a thing for rotted food, per say. But I do think food that is starting to whiter as it rots is rather fascinating..

This honey mango stayed in my fridge a week....ok, ok, ok...2 weeks too long and it's starting to look like it may need a little face lift.

Despite the fact that it's no longer edible, the wrinkles and dimples do have a certain photographic appeal. Ok so maybe it only appeals to me.


Let's get a closer look at this once juicy tasty fruit. Hmmm....you know it could actually still be tasty. I mean it doesn't stink or anything. But I'm not willing to give it a try. Plus it looks like it has liver spots. Yuck.


And check this out....doesn't the stem look just like a newborns belly button after it dries and right before it fall off. Ewwww!


I have got to work on my lighting when trying to photograph close up pics. If it is not a bright sunny day, then I have a hard time controlling the flash and end up with over-exposed spots.

What I saw up close on May 13th

I've had this packet of Equal sitting on my desk forever.


Somethings, not quite right with the lighting in this pic. But I haven't figure out what.

SHOE ALERT! SHOE ALERT! SHOE ALERT!

I probably haven't mentioned it before...but I am a serious shoe fanatic. And sometimes this blog is going to go off kilter into shoe land. But today's post about shoes is actually related to what I saw.

My favorite miniature shoe line is "Just The Right Shoe" by Raine. I love these funky These little shoes are so detailed and perfect for closeup shooting.





Checkout the detail of the shoe buckle:

What I saw up close on May 12

I don't think I can get a good picture of my comforter since that usually if the first thing I see close up, so the next most interesting thing I saw this morning was my cup of Latte:
This was Sonic's version of a Latte...not the best I've had, probably won't have it again, but it made a nice pic.

After work, I went out to the lake to see if I could find some intersting shots.

I don't know when all these little flowers started appearing out there, but I don't remember them from the previous spring seasons.





Yellow flowers in any species are my favorite color flower:



As I was leaving, I noticed this Big Eyed little fellow....I think I'll name him Greg. He's a litlle bitty thing...only about 3/4" of an inch long.

I had a hard time getting him separated from the background. Then I got to close and bumped him with the lens. Guess I got into his personal space...he took off in a hurry.


And for the mystery of the day...what the heck are cacti doing growing at the lake in the Middle of TN?

There were about 20 small cactus plants growing off one of the path in a shaded area. Interesting find.

What I Saw Close-up on May 11th

I was looking looking at the bushes outside of my bedroom window. I though the berry cluseters growing on them would make a great close-up subject. And of course being me, I didn't think any of the clusters on the outer branches were perfect enough. Oh no, I had to go digging into the sticky, ichy leaves.

I was too lazy to go back in and get my tripod, but I am please with how they came out.

The original:


This one has been "auto-fixed" with Photoshop Elements 6....gotta get out habit of using the auto features here as well. I guess I'll start checking out some books.