Cricket

Found another dead insect and decided to shoot it. Unfortunately I'm busy with exams and completely forgot about it until I noticed a really bad stench in my room. Turns out it was the cricket so I sprayed some deodorant on it and then took a few pictures before throwing it out.

Also, I didn't use the usual reverse-lens technique. Instead I used a few extension tubes. Not much of a difference except for the fact that I have to get closer to the subject with these tubes which can be a big disadvantage as it'll spook most subjects. However, it's not too close and I don't have to hold the lens. I can now hold an external flash which should make lighting a whole lot easier and better.

Thankfully my room isn't stinking now.

In The Open

I really don't mind if I had to photograph Oriental Garden Lizards all day. They're awesome and beautiful.

Underlying

It had just rained and the colours in the flowers looked really good so I decided to take a few shot of the flowers in the garden but I ended up taking a shot of bugs and spiders instead.

Flowing

Another portrait for today. This time it isn't a self-portrait. I can actually hear your sighs of relief ;)

This is a shot of a good friend of mine who was kind enough to give me permission to upload this one - Thank You! :)

Curiosity

I noticed this Oriental Garden Lizard on this wire fence once morning and I had to get a picture.
It seemed to be really willing to all me to take a few pictures after a while. It was quite shy in the beginning but got comfortable with me being around.

Food Hunt

When it rains these massive black ants come out and it's actually fun to watch them because they always travel in a straight line and never waver.
Their bites can be quite painful but I thought I'd get up close and try and take a few photographs.

The fact that they move really fast doesn't really help but I was able to get a few good ones. This is the one of the smaller ants - yes, smaller. There are ants twice their size but they were moving just too fast.
This one stopped for a moment to pick up something and gave me my shot.
Just look at those compound eyes!

Always Watchful

This was a rather unexpected encounter. I just peeped out of the window and noticed this Oriental Garden Lizard on the fence. I grabbed my camera a got a few quick shots before it noticed me and ran off and climbed this lemon tree.

This was rather unexpected but gave me quite a few good shots.

Evil Eye

This snake wandered into our compound yesterday and I grabbed my camera before I grabbed a stick.

My dog barked his head off and I don't think he quite understood why I was taking a pictures instead of getting rid of the snake.

Getting a macro shot of something that moves so fast and is so close to the ground is a pain. My arms and my back hurt a lot and I had to just throw away quite a few pictures but this one was worth it.

Watchful Eye

So I was out getting lunch for my dog when this lizard jumped out of nowhere. It's head was bright red when I first saw it so I'm guessing it was somewhere high up trying to attract a mate.

It seemed to be shy but allowed to take a few pictures before deciding that it didn't quite like me.

Mosquitoes Are Beautiful

Before you say I'm crazy just look at today's picture.

So I just got a DSLR - a Canon T4i aka 650D - as a very generous gift from a couple in USA. It has got to be one of the best presents I've ever received.

So I've always wanted to try out taking extreme macro shots and I wasn't disappointed. Sure it's really difficult and you have to shoot a tons of images just to get a handful that you can actually use, it's really rewarding because you get to see the world like never before.

This picture of the mosquito was really surprising. I actually said "Wow!" out loud when I saw it on my camera's LCD screen. It was the first time I've seen a mosquito like that and it blew me away.

I'll still swat at mosquitoes when they irritate me but they are beautiful!

Also a BIG Thank You for the camera :)

Leaf Eater

We've had this cherry tree in our front garden for a few years now and one of the best things about it is the wildlife it attracts. There are loads of birds, bats and Oriental Garden Lizards that love this tree.

I've seen birds and bats eating the fruit but I've never seen an Oriental Garden Lizard eating one so I was curious when I noticed this little lizard munching on something. Turns out it was eating the leaves.

It was completely engrossed in what it was doing that it didn't even notice me sneaking up on it to get a picture. This has got to be one of my favourite pictures of this beautiful creature.

You can find this picture and more in my new "Best of 2013" video on my Youtube channel.

Black Ibis

Yup, no cheesy title today. Just the name of the bird in today's picture - black ibis. Birds have really cool names!

I really like photographing birds but the bird population here has declined - that's probably because of the rapid rise in the number of new houses and buildings in this area.

It's sad but true. One afternoon I just happened to look out the window and imagine my surprise when I spotted these magnificent birds in the field. I didn't expect to ever see them again because they had been driven away by some people who apparently thought they were bad for this area. I have no idea how people get such weird ideas into their heads but somehow they do and the wildlife in this area has to suffer.

Reminds me of the time when a giant vulture landed on our roof. The entire village gathered outside our house and told us to kill it or drive it away because it was a bad bird that would kill us and whose feces was so toxic that it would literally burn though anything. I tried to stop them but I was just a little child and no one listens to children so I had to run and get my parents. They finally went away but some other boys came back with slingshots and started shooting at the bird. Before we could stop them the bird flew away and we never saw it again.

The reason I wrote that is because something similar happened to these beautiful black ibis. Some weirdo decided that these birds don't belong here and so every morning whenever they would alight on the fields some men (and women) would try and shoot them with slingshots and even set dogs on them.

I'm glad I got to see these birds again because I haven't seen them since.

Ready For Take Off

I can't remember when I last shared a picture of a dragonfly but it's been a while so here is one today.

These can sometimes be a real challenge to photograph and you have to go to great lengths to get a good shot but it's worth all the effort.

This dragonfly gave me a particularly difficult time. It wouldn't let me go near it and it just wouldn't stay still for more than a couple of seconds so by the time I'd framed my shot it would be somewhere else.

Finally I decided to just be very still and wait till it came and rested in front of the camera. I figured it wouldn't be very long since it kept moving around. It took a while but this is what I was able to get.

Bully

This is the picture I wanted to share yesterday. I like mixing things up a bit and of late I've been sharing quite a few landscape photographs - not that I don't like landscape photographs.

This is the Indian Bullfrog. It a big frog and my dog doesn't really like it but I think it's great.

If you remember I posted a picture a few months back of two eyes sticking out of a body of water. Well that was an Indian Bullfrog too. Not sure if it was the same as this but it was a bullfrog for sure.

Oh and recently I saw a Lesser Adjuant Stork in the field and it just poked its beak into the ground and pull out this massive frog, which I'm guessing was a bull frog. I did get a picture of it but it was too far off so is not really detailed.

Calling Out

In the past we'd get a lot of birds everyday in our garden. On most days we would see rare and really beautiful birds that we didn't even know existed.

Sadly over the past few years the number of birds has come down as has the variety of birds that we see. The loss of habitat is the main problem but I guess that isn't something you can stop. The Jungle Babbler is a bird that we don't see much of nowadays.

This bird NEVER moves about alone. It is always with a group and boy are they noisy! The way they move about is quite interesting. I've never seen one of these birds walk in a straight line. They'll always hop about.

The best thing I like about these birds is their eyes. Those eyes remind me of eagle's eyes. They have this piercing feel to them. It looks like they haven't slept in a very long time. Almost like zombies (if zombies exist, that is).

Learning The Ropes

I came across this juvenile Oriental Garden Lizard after months of not even seeing a single lizard so I was really quite happy.

Also this happened to be the first juvenile I'd seen up close. It seemed really shy and really didn't like me going too close. I assume this is because it is still a juvenile as adults don't really seem to mind too much unless of course you make them feel uncomfortable by making sudden movements or loud sounds.

After a few attempts to get a good shot it decided it didn't want to pose for me anymore and scurried away. Fortunately, it didn't go too far and just climbed this brick and stood there staring at me. This was a good opportunity and made for a good shot :)

Just A Peek

Shooting dragonflies is fun but also challenging and so a break is a good idea.

I was shooting dragonflies when I noticed some movement a few feet away from me. The grass was really thick so the first thing I thought of was that it was a snake but when I went closer I saw a juvenile Oriental Garden Lizard looking right at me.

He/she seemed scared and just ran off when I tried to get close but it stopped at this fence and put it's tiny little head through it.

It looked so very cute and adorable (yes, adorable) :)

Dark Eyes

Coming across this silk moth was a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to find it when I went to shoot some dragonflies that evening.

It was really huge. The first I've seen (I think).

Anyway the antennae really impressed me. Look at those things. They look so fluffy and yet the closer you look the more details you'll fine.

The pitch black eyes just make it better.

Angry Insect

This is one of those times that a DSLR would come in real handy and where the SX50 HS just can't win. I wish I could have got a better macro shot of this insect but this is the best the SX50 could do...plus it's cropped.

Anyway this insect actually looked like it was frowning and like it was very angry. You know when you're really hungry and there is no break in sight you kinda get angry? Yeah? Well, that's the kinda angry it looked.

Below is a low res image of the insect cropped from the original image above. It looks angry, doesn't it?

The Comb

I was going to go with "The Comb-Over" but I didn't know how many people would actually get it so I decided against it.

We'd gone fishing and this cock kept following us around and so I decided to take a few pictures of it while we waited for the fish to take the bait.

I quite like this one from the entire bunch because I think it portrays the pride of the cock quite well.