Luck Be a Lady

date

10.23.17

Getting photos of any particular bug, much less good photos, is always a matter of some luck, no matter what skill you have, because you have to have the bug and your camera in proximity at the same time. You can work on setting that up if you know where they live and are patient, but luck plays a decent part. In my case, luck plays a very integral part, since I tend to start out with a plan, and then quickly get distracted.

Early last week there was an explosion of Lady Bugs and Lady Beetles. They were everywhere, and I got multiple bites, but didn’t have my camera, and so got ZERO pictures. So later in the week I went out hunting them, as I assumed they wouldn’t vanish completely in two days. I did, however, foolishly think I could multitask since school was out by bringing my daughter with me. The plan: she could play on the playground while I chased bugs. I don’t know why I think these things will work out, as they never do. My daughter and the neighbor girl were so excited to help me hunt bugs that I spent the entire time taking photos of lady bugs and lady beetles on slides and swing sets and backpacks and fingers. Some of them may turn out to be perfectly acceptable photos, but it is unlikely that they will be what I had in mind.

I am so clearly loved.

However, I am finally starting the slow process of sorting through some of the photos I have taken this summer. As a nod to the missed ladybug/lady beetle opportunities, I concentrated on those this time around and am sharing my favorites. I am pleased to say that while I feel I have a long way to go before I can say I am a “photographer” rather than “someone who chases bugs with a camera” that all the practice and learning I have been doing is starting to pay off. I’ve really managed to capture quite a few lovely images. I am using the swarm of bugs last week to justify sharing a swarm of images this week. Because they make me really happy.

This was the only image of lady beetles I managed to get last year (2016):