Best Shot Monday - A beautiful bug

I love bugs.

Well, I like a lot of them - from a distance - for the most part.

I mentioned previously about my spent time in Latvia, such a beautiful, lush country; and after how living in a concrete jungle for so long even the life of the bugs intruiged me.

Even the bugs were beautiful when I slowed down.

I've been trying to slow down again. Take in the beauty of *now*. It's so hard to do. Saturday I spent a few hours at the botanical gardens {by myself} with my camera. Really, I'm not one to take pictures of flowers - no matter how beautiful; but when you're at a garden...well...

And then I found this guy.
 Let me tell you, it was abiding and patient enough to let me snap off several pictures, manually trying to get it in focus with only my 50mm lens and a macro filter. I had to get pretty close. My sweet little best shot.

Shortly after that I ran into this hungry little caterpillar. I actually held the camera up and hoped for the best.

Then I discovered his brother {or is it sister} By the way, this particular larvae will develop into a Monarch butterfly some day.
When I uploaded the file to LightRoom, I noticed the caterpillar's fan club hitching a ride on the back of the leaf. Are those aphids?

And if that's not enough, as I pulled my camera away, I noticed I was surrounded by a little band of Box Elder bugs gazing up at me. Okay, maybe they weren't quite gazing up at me, but they were out in full force. This one came around for a closer look, (after all, I'm pretty close to them)

So I moved in for a closer look.



Sometimes it's just good to get down and see the beauty in the world from a bugs point of view.

Maybe there are more beautiful beetles in the world - with armored coats of rainbow; but often, they have a looming presence of "creepyness". Not something that lures the faint-of heart into bug appreciation.  Ladybugs, on the other hand - they evoke a sense of beauty and perfection in the simplest, if not the smallest form. And their little round bodies are inviting to almost any toddler without much drama. I think Ladybugs are just beautiful.



Your beautiful best shot?

16 comments:

Killlashandra said...

Your ladybug shot is completely perfect! Looks like an excellent photoshoot at the gardens. What fun! I'll have to try and get to ours sometime soon.

The unintentionally captured aphids are great too. Reminds me of the childrens Ladybug book about the ladybug who's always looking for a fight. ;)

Jen said...

What a great way to spend the afternoon. I love all of the shots, but the ladybug is my favorite too. The caterpillars are pretty cool too.

Anonymous said...

First, catepillars are the creepies creature EVER. EVER. Second, love that first lady bug shot. The dof, the red against the green. Nicely done, all of them.

Anonymous said...

Did my comment just post?

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. You're making me want to go watch 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'!

Amy Jo said...

I agree. Ladybugs are a treat for kids and adults alike. Great shots, but especially the ladybug shot!

Megan said...

love the perspective on that ladybug shot -- so cool!

Capturing Sunshine said...

These shots are so lovely! I'm singing "Lady bug Lady bug" in my head...

Never That Easy said...

It is hard to slow down and see the 'now', but I think you did great - that ladybug shot is just perfect!

Dawn said...

Oh I love lady bugs and caterpillars and butterflies and bees...but not SPIDERS!

How fun to go on a camera date with yourself! I can't wait to go too!
:)

Colleen @AMadisonMom said...

I'm generally not a bug person. Those bugs... they're not so bad.

Joanna said...

Boxelder bugs give me the willies! We have them horribly around here sometimes. But these photos are so beautiful and they dont bother much right now. Great macros!

Unknown said...

Gorgeous! I hope you pointed the ladybug in the direction of the aphids! Mmmm...breakfast!

I actually love bugs too - and love to garden, so we get plenty o' bugs around our house!

Anonymous said...

These are beautiful - very Annie Dillard-with-a-camera. Talk about a closeup!
I love the last shot, with the box elder bug on the rhubarb-colored stalk.

Cara said...

Not only are Ladybugs beautiful they are also good luck. Well at least for me. Great shots, your focus is awesome with the 50mm.

Stacy said...

I'm sure I could find a good 10 to 20 box elders in our house for you to photograph right now...heck, I'll even give them to ya! :D

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