Got The Shot
This photo is up for the People's Choice Award in the Audubon Magazine 2012 Photography Contest. It is in competition with a Kestrel photograph. You can place your vote on the main page of the website.
The bee has its sites on the flower a gray hairstreak has come to rest upon. A milisecond later limbs and wings are flying all which way.
This is one of those "being in the right place at the right moment" shots. Freezing a bee in this pose is almost impossible, unless it is hovering over a spot.got the shotbeehoverinsectstingflypestspringsummerbutterflygrayhairstreaksiteflowernectarproboscisfightencounter
Friday, October 22 (Full Moon), I was photographing birds in my front yard. The sun was lighting up the sky. A jet, in a higher altitude to leave a beautiful vapor trail passed by and I photographed it. Then I noticed in my camera viewfinder something behind and below the plane flashing/reflecting the sunlight. It appeared to be a plane in a "death spiral." I photographed it until one of the flashes caused the camera to loose focus. Can you tell what it is? I was told by the police officer and the FAA official he was speaking to that the falling object was a bird. Can a bird survive that high in the atmosphere and would we have a bird that large which could survive a jet impact and stay intact? What do you think?
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Lightning flashes across the sky behind the Arts Museum on the IU campus June 7, 2008, the night before the big flood of 2008.
got the shotlightningthunderstormcampusfloodindianaiuuniversitymuseumartlindahoopes
Lightning flashes across the sky behind the Arts Museum on the IU campus June 7, 2008, the night before the big flood of 2008.
got the shotlightningthunderstormcampusfloodindianaiuuniversitymuseumartlindahoopes
Each day St. Francis' basket gets a hefty portion of nuts. When the squirrels discover the bounty, the basket is emptied in a matter of minutes. This day the squirrel was caught just as he was moving away from the basket and his eyes were closed (in a blink?). It appears he is paused in a moment of saying grace for the meal he is about to receive.
got the shotsquirrelfurfurryrodenttailnutscutebeaverst francisstatueprayerpraygraceblessinglindahoopes
In the middle of winter it is not wise to stick your tongue out, especially near frosty covered limbs. In the "dead of Summer" this might be a baby bird calling for its mother. In the "dead of Winter" I can only guess this shot caught the black eyed junco at the peak of a high note.
got the shotwintersnowbirdblack eyedjuncosingsongflycoldfreeze
For the past 2 years I've wanted to digitally capture a tufted titmouse in a natural setting. However, those that visit my feeders seem a bit skittish. Whenever I was about to "take the shot" they would fly off. This particular day I noticed a titmouse frequenting the feeder closest to my house! Lying in wait... within minutes it showed up. Strangely, it looked upward and seemed to begin to sing (which I was able to photograph). Seconds later, to my surprise and delight, a second titmouse appeared in my viewfinder. Without hesitation I snapped away. This is one of a few of the images captured in that rare moment. A two-year mission accomplished. What seemed to be a frequent visit by one titmouse was in fact visits by two titmouse (or is it titmices?).
birdtitmousetuftedfeatherflymoultseedfeederflightnestgot the shotornothologyavianbirdinglindahoopes
Lunar Eclipse February 20, 2008, 9:51 pm, Greenwood, IN
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This hot day in August the Gold Finch "chowing down" on a sunflower ripe with seeds. But the honey bees had the same idea. It looks as though the bird is looking right at the bee in a "fly by" moment. Is the bird contemplating taking a bite out of the bee?
got the shotflybugpestinsectflowerseedfinchbirdsunflowerlindahoopesbeesting
I observed these two squirrels scurring up this tree one morning and I began to photograph them. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to capture this shot... 2 squirrels kissing! The lead-up shots had the squirrel in the foreground playing "hard to get." The other squirrel had enough of that and grabbed the face of the other squirrel and laid a big kiss on the mouth of the other. This photo is the truth. But it's the photo taken after this event that is the "true news" to this incident...
slapkisssquirrelgot the shotlindahoopesfurfurryrodenttailnutscutetreelovevalentine
All the creatures in the backyard were a bit squirrelly this morning (even the squirrel—you gotta see the squirrel picture—it’s outrageous). I decided to check out the “south 40” and survey what was going on.
I was following "Daddy" sparrow around because he too was acting a little strange. While taking pictures this is one of the pictures that happened. Honestly… you can’t have a bee come into a picture on cue and you can’t get a bird to look at the bee coming into the picture even if you could cue the bee.birdfeatherflymoultseedfeederflightnestornothologyavianbirdinglindahoopesgot the shotsparrowbee
