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?

Tranquility for February

tran⋅quil⋅li⋅ty-(trang-kwil-i-tee) n.1. quality or state of being tranquil; calmness; peacefulness; quiet; serenity.2. a disposition free from stress or emotion

I've picked my one word for February. It feels like a place I want to be. Even though the word it's self tends to stir up images of nature and babbling brooks on the cover of a music CD I would find in a yoga studio or day spa, I like that it is also a reminder to slow down and be quiet.

Sometimes I need quiet down to be free of stress... and hear God's voice. What will I find this month that represents tranquil?

I know homemade bread and tea in the morning starts out the day slowly and relaxing. I'm also working with shadows and light for a change. I tend to have bright pictures often (which I like) but I want to embrace the shadows.

Mood lighting is calling me...

I took the picture then he ate the breakfast - cinnamon-apple tea and all.

One Word

I've committed to doing the 365 project, which is a great task in it's self, then I thought about interpreting some words and scriptures through photos to keep the creative process fluid and active. Then Shutter Sisters announced the One Word Project starting in February. With prizes! As much as I long for a Lensbaby, I really don't think that will happen; but I'm game anyway - just to be creatively challenged.  And if I couldn't think of any words, Shutter Sister linked over to Ali Edwards blog post with an extensive list of words.

So whether or not you play along with Shutter Sisters; whether you are a photographer, painter, scrap-booker, mixed media artist, etc - let Ali's word list inspire you to create with one word this year.And create often!