Dragonflies are one of my favorite subjects to photograph. This yellow dragonfly brightened by an August sun to a shimmer of gold. Again, those wings make for an interesting stufy, like a pice of delicate stained glass design.
Insects
The smaller variety of nature including dragonflies, skimmers, bees, etc.
Spring on my mind
Seriously, I have spring on my mind. I’m just finishing off a season of mushrooms, and sorting photos from an amazing plethora of fungus and mushrooms this year. But in the meantime I’m now looking forward to the bloom of wildflowers in the spring, and buzzing insects, and especially to summer dragonflies and butterflies and bees. I think I’m ready.
Macro and Bees
When I first got the Tamron 90mm lens of course it was time to play. and spend lots of time learning. I have several tripods. One is a heavy duty tripod for when I’m using the 100-650 lens, and then at the oppose end of the spectrum, I have a lightweight tripod that folds up neatly to fit into my camera bag. I usually carry this one with me so I have something to work with, and it can hold my 18-400mm lens in a pinch as long as I’m steadying the frame. But mostly, I use the lightweight for macro work and getting close to the ground, or as in this instance, close to the bee as its collecting pollen.
Found a great buy on a trip last spring. Five dollars and I have found it to be about the best tripod that can handle from the heavy lens to the lightweight, and not an onorously heavy tripod. Older, but by golly it gets the job done. It isn’t about the cost of the tripod, in the end, it’s about what works for you as the photographer. This I have found to be true.
From the Unplug Collection
One of the images included in my 2018 Autumn Collection, “Unplug.”
Unplug. Open up, unclog, clear away. Reveal and free up…
This busy world can leave a person frozen and totally blocked as the world whizzes by, making us feel dizzy and clogged with activity, city smog, worldly clanging noises, trying to stuff more and more into our brains, into our phones, into our life. Stop now! Take a breath. Ease in, ease out. There’s no better place to escape, than into the Pacific Northwest temperate rain forests infused with a primitive, magical silence and scents and sounds that refill the well. Step back, breathe, set that phone aside come with TA Gallup, along the trail, and see what the photographer sees when she gets outside and lets nature have its healing way, and emerge refreshed and invigorated, able to see through the noise once again.
More than 100 images predominantly from Thurston and Lewis Counties, of Washington state’s temperate rain forest experience as the photographer sees it, and photographs it, both intimate moments and breathtaking landscape vistas. Colors that spark the imagination, walks that ignite inspiration. Unplug. Open up, unclog, clear away. Reveal and free up… This busy world can leave a person frozen and totally blocked as the world whizzes by, making us feel dizzy and clogged with activity, city smog, worldly clanging noises, trying to stuff more and more into our brains, into our phones, into our life. Stop now! Take a breath. Ease in, ease out. There’s no better place to escape, than into the Pacific Northwest temperate rain forests infused with a primitive, magical silence and scents and sounds that refill the well. Step back, breathe, set that phone aside join TA Gallup, along the trail, and see what the photographer sees when she gets outside and lets nature have its healing way, and emerge refreshed and invigorated, able to see through the noise once again. More than 100 images predominantly from Thurston and Lewis Counties, of the Washington state temperate rain forest experience as the photographer sees it, and photographs it, both intimate moments and breathtaking landscape vistas. Colors that spark the imagination, walks that ignite inspiration.
Daisies and Moth
Surprised I could get close enough to grab this macro shot of a moth on this daisy. Love working with macro. It was a lovely sunny day.
Green Dragonfly
Last summer I saw quite a few dragonflies that were very accommodating an stuck around for me to grab a picture of two. Dragonflies are one of my favorite subjects to photograph. Last summer I would often go out early in the morning and I could usually catch one or two.
Skimmer Coming in

Skimmer/damselfly in flight
A backyard photo. A little bit easier to capture a photo of a damselfly than a dragonfly in flight.
Butterfly on Purple
This cabbage white butterfly may be pretty common, but combined with these purple asters, just beautiful.
Damselfly Raft
Moving in autumn, still found some damselflies down by the edges of the lake. this one took toriding this fallen leaf for a w hile. I do love the colors of fall.
Can I catch a ride?
A lot of grasshoppers and crickets around toward the end of summer last year as things got very, very dry. Went to the Garlic Festival and then decided grab stop along the way home for something to eat. This cricket hitched a ride along the way and refused to leave the window for a several mile ride. Traveled with us all the way. When we stopped, he left. Too funny. Worth a picture. By the way, picked up some garlic, and honey, and handmade pasta at the Garlic Festival. Yum!