# It's summer! Post your summer pics here



## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Happy solstice all! Here are a few pics to start the new thread out with.

Deer running nearby as I pulled up to the meadow:









Pretty flower:









Angry swallow:









The swallows seem to have decided the entire meadow is theirs, so they dive-bomb me every time I walk around. It took all my willpower not to duck as they dove within a foot of my face!


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## Coral Moore (Nov 29, 2009)

Wow! That swallow does look angry.


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## John Hamilton (May 6, 2010)

Nothing says summer like giant Minnesota mosquitos!

A frame from "Proboscis", my indie film (soon to be out on DVD!) Shot from a float plane, with me hanging out the door (securely tethered, of course). It was hard to train the giant mutant mosquito to fly next to the chase plane, but we successfully baited him with bags of blood from a local clinic. 


Proboscis by johnchamilton, on Flickr


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

It's been way too hot outside lately, but it finally cooled down a bit, so I went out and took some pictures. Found a damselfly:










And a hummingbird clearwing moth, which I've been wanting to see for a long time!


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## unitbit (Jul 22, 2011)

John Hamilton said:


> Nothing says summer like giant Minnesota mosquitos!
> 
> A frame from "Proboscis", my indie film (soon to be out on DVD!) Shot from a float plane, with me hanging out the door (securely tethered, of course). It was hard to train the giant mutant mosquito to fly next to the chase plane, but we successfully baited him with bags of blood from a local clinic.
> 
> ...


Ah that is awesome! haha nice work.


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## loveangel (Jul 19, 2011)

wowwwwww lovely


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## terryspear (Jul 31, 2011)

Sunflowers next to cornfields and hungry critters that weren't supposed to be in the picture!


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## CarolBurnside/AnnieRayburn (Jul 31, 2011)

terryspear said:


> Sunflowers next to cornfields and hungry critters that weren't supposed to be in the picture!


I'm assuming this is before the drought? Pics I've been seeing down your way show the sunflowers all brown and shriveled. Or are they exaggerating?


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## John Dorian (Jul 23, 2011)

Oh wow! There are some cool pictures in here! 

I especially like the hummingbird moth and swallow pics, i've never seen those before!


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## terryspear (Jul 31, 2011)

Yeah, it was way before the drought, Annie. It's been terrible, water restrictions, scorched and cracked earth. 110 degrees all week this week.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

The bugs were out today (unfortunately, that included mosquitoes!)

Wandering Glider Dragonfly:









Sweetflag Spreadwing Damselfly:









Forktail Damselfly:









Beetle on some flowers:


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

I love the action shots. The little swallow looks like it turned into an Alfred Hitchcock bird.


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## John Dorian (Jul 23, 2011)

terryspear said:


> Yeah, it was way before the drought, Annie. It's been terrible, water restrictions, scorched and cracked earth. 110 degrees all week this week.


That sounds awful. Those poor sunflowers.


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## hakimast (Jul 23, 2011)

Lots of creepy crawlies in here...


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

Below are two recent pics from hiking trips around New Hampshire this summer. The first is from Mt. Kearsarge, the second is just north of Franconia Notch.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

How pretty! I've never been to New Hampshire before, but it looks very green.


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

I'm from New Hampshire! Brian--great shots! I go to Echo Lake in Franconia Notch a few times every summer, and it is, indeed, a beautiful place. It's the White Mountains!


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

Thanks Jessica. Tom, since you mentioned Echo Lake...


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

brian70 said:


> Thanks Jessica. Tom, since you mentioned Echo Lake...


Wow! That's it. Thanks, Brian.
Jessica, that's the Cannon Mountain ski slopes on the right of the picture--swim in the lake and dream about snow. Come on down, or up, or over, whatever it is. We've got some great bugs, too.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Gorgeous! This is from way back in 2006, but those pictures remind me of Olallie Lake, in Oregon (one of my favorite places).


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

Great pics, Jessica.


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

Olallie Lake olovely. Thank you.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

It's a beautiful day out today and I'll probably go out again later, but here's a daily dose of some bugs. 

A big old bumblebee. I'm not sure why he wasn't flying away, but his wings might have been too tattered.









Grasshopper hiding in the rocks. He was very patient as I took pictures too.









Monarch butterfly.









I think this is a ruby meadowhawk dragonfly.


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## hakimast (Jul 23, 2011)

How big was that bee? It was probably a little beat up, they don't normally rest on leaves all that much


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

He was pretty big. I wasn't sure if he was just too cold, wet, or beat up, but I'm guessing beat up. As soon as I noticed him there on the leaf, I knew I had to get some pictures since he didn't look like he was going anywhere! I was able to move some pieces of grass off him without him moving away.


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

hakimast said:


> How big was that bee? It was probably a little beat up, they don't normally rest on leaves all that much


It looks huge. And maybe the bee was an old guy--you know, losing its wingtips instead of its hair.
Jessica, you sound like a great hunter, armed with a camera. My grandfather had rifles in his Vermont farmhouse, but when spotting deer, he preferred his binoculars. I never actually saw him shoot the gun.
I'm working on learning to post photos, though I'm no Ansel Adams.


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

Sorry, I failed. What a mess.


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

Tom, here is a pic of Echo Lake (taken from same vantage point as the other one) from a few years back during the foliage season:


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

tom st. laurent said:


> It looks huge. And maybe the bee was an old guy--you know, losing its wingtips instead of its hair.
> Jessica, you sound like a great hunter, armed with a camera. My grandfather had rifles in his Vermont farmhouse, but when spotting deer, he preferred his binoculars. I never actually saw him shoot the gun.
> I'm working on learning to post photos, though I'm no Ansel Adams.


Sometimes I feel like I'm hunting when I'm crawling on the ground so I don't scare off a bug I want to photograph! Luckily, not too many people have come across me like that. To post a photo, try following this guide: http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,211.0.html

If you still have a problem, I can try to help.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

I bought a new 23" monitor and I'm loving how much easier it is to use photoshop now. Next up is a faster computer that doesn't lag so much. 

Really pretty grasshopper:









Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly:


















Sweetflag Spreadwing Damselfly:


















I'm really excited about the damselfly pics. I might print one of those out to hang on the wall.


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

I did it! This was an experiment. Spring vacation in Maine, damn the luck.
I'll work on a nice photo.
Brian and Jessica, great. It looks like the damselfly turned to look at the photographer. Did you shout, "Hey, look over here!?"


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

I love it. I'm seeing macro and micro shots both.
Brian, get a photo of Echo Lake in winter (I know, I know, you'd be hiking in snowshoes, but, still...). I'd be the first to buy the series.
Jessica, love the tight focus and great detail. In contrast with the background, it really is art. If you frame one of the damselflies, I'd recommend the one with the whole wing.
Thanks.


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

Tom, I rarely hike in the winter, but I might have to go back there and take some pics. Thanks for the idea.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Here Tom, is this the pic you're trying to post?










Gorgeous!!


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

Jessica,
Yes! I got on this thread to remove the mess I made yesterday and--what a surprise! I'd ask how in the world you did that, but the answer would probably just confuse me.
I'll keep trying until I get it right.
Thank you.


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

Another great vacation. Here's the babbling brook behind our B&B on Hurricane Irene Sunday. Somewhere down there is the golf course. Mandatory evacuation due to a weakening dam upstream lasted only 4-5 hours.


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## tom st. laurent (Jul 22, 2011)

The vacation was not all bad. We had two days of great blues music at the foot of the Hunter Mountain ski slope in the New York Catskill Range.


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

One from my backyard:










One of my hiking buddy, Violet:


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