Gigantic Longhorn Beetle at LaPine State Park (+10 insets!)

(+10 insets!) (view large for awesome detail!)

Photography Immortalizes the Wonders We Witness
How often do you see a picture you've captured that leaves you feeling astonished and awed by the subject? It's so amazing to have this miraculous technology at our fingertips. It used to be for just the devoted professional. Now everyone has access to the simple aim and press of a button to make a lifetime memory. It's wonderful. Better still, with that rise in technology, resulting image quality has increased exponentially so that no matter who you are, the pictures are better than ever. How incredible that a recording a lifetime of high-quality memories is available to everyone!

Macro Bokeh Junkies Still Need DSLRs
Even though technology has made it easy for anyone to capture awesome shots, there is a limit. If you want to take macro pictures that have stellar bokeh, you still have to step up to the big league and use a DSLR with a dedicated macro lens. I will never forget how hard I tried to force my point and shoot super zoom camera to create the type of pictures my husband was capturing with his (current at the time!) Canon 5D + 180mm macro lens. As a budding photographer, I learned what "bokeh" meant and why I simply couldn't get what I wanted out of my marvelously versatile super-zoom. It was infuriating, but I sure learned a lot! Finally I gave up and waved a white flag of surrender. It took a lot to learn how to use a DSLR--and I will always be working on my education!!--but I instantly fell head over heels in love with my Canon 5D MkII and the incredible 100mm 2.8L lens. Oh, that creamy, lovely bokeh! (I also learned that I don't like to use the 180mm lens because even though it's creates the best bokeh, it's way too heavy and requires a tripod: no thank you!)

NOTE: Since I moved up to a DSLR in 2011, the quality of macros you can get from camera phones and point-and-shoots has gotten incredibly good! In fact, my new 8x superzoom Sony camera captures fantastic macros with very nice bokeh--much better than my old 30x Canon PowerShot! Phone cameras also have astonishingly good macros and really super bokeh too. The lay person won't be able to tell the difference but bokeh junkies won't be satisfied.

Today's Picture
I was returning to the RV one morning after creeping around with my Canon and macro lens when I looked at our RV and nearly fell over. HOLY MEN IN BLACK BATMAN, LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT BEETLE!!! Hanging out on one of our many picture-sized windows was a ginormous long-horned beetle. This is the largest beetle in the United States, growing as large as 2.6" in length! (I found a picture of someone holding one so you can get a better understanding of just how huge these critters are.) Though enormous, the pine-borer was well-camouflaged on the black-tinted glass and I nearly missed seeing it as I rounded our trailer that morning. It was positioned high on the glass soI had to hold my camera up and brace my elbow on the trailer so I didn't shake. Most of my pictures turned out so blurry I had to laugh. I needed to be sure I got something crisp so after a bunch of attempts I returned with my macro flash, but most of those were blown out despite the settings I fiddled with. It's hard when your subject is on a reflective surface! But in the end, I was successful. My main image was one of my first pictures, taken without a flash. Would you just look at that awesome bokeh?! All these years later and I am so madly in love with my 100mm 2.8L lens…can you blame me?! :)

Today's Insets
Inset 1: the first picture shows another view of this amazing beetle, taken with the macro flash. I spent some time removing the harsh reflected shadow and the result, processed in b/w, turned out well I think! Isn't the pebbly texture on its back cool?!

Inset 2: this is a close-up of the male pine cone I shared a couple of days ago. The texture is just awesome!

Inset 3: yet another picture of the lovely Ground Smoke flowers I saw on one of the campground loops. Even though the bush was literally right next to the current resident's trailer, I bet they never even saw this treasure! I nearly missed it myself…only the breeze and sunshine that caused the tiny flowers to glimmer and flash got my attention.

Inset 4 & 5: this is a macro view of a large species of coralroot orchid that I found at LaPine (In my last presentation I shared a pair of images that showed a smaller species with a hungry wasp on it). These dried pods remind me of Chinese lanterns and glowed beautifully in the sunlight. You can also see the sticky carpet of resin balls on the stems and stalk…don't touch!! Inset 4 shows a picture of two dried stalks and the pods that dance up their length.

Inset 6: the impossibly neon-yellow color of this Powdery Sunburst Lichen cannot be missed. I found it growing everywhere and though I took many pictures, experience warned me that they'd be blown-out no matter what I did. This picture has pretty good exposure but the bright areas still suffer. I needed a day with heavy cloud-cover so I'll try again in the future!

Thank You!
I hope all of you are having a super week. Stay safe, dry and warm and thank you so much for your visits! You know how I feel about you guys!! YOU ROCK! :)

Explored on 4/01/21; highest placement #3.