WatershedEvents

WELCOME TO THE MACRO ZONE

MACRO photography and my fumbling and stumbling efforts to relearn some of its basics are the subject of today’s post. What a difficult and frustrating journey it’s turning out to be! Some of the issues are hardware based but most have to do with my current physical abilities and my ageing brain. Sometimes the task seems so difficult I seriously consider calling it quits. But I absolutely love shooting Macro, when it works, and I am determined to get back to something at least close to my previous skill level at the craft.

What is “Macro” as applied to photography? A Technical answer from some expert sources say it is when the subject being photographed is the same size (1:1) or larger on the recording device (a digital sensor or piece of film) as it is in life. That’s a pretty simple and accurate definition from a strictly physical point of view, but it really falls short of the mark. "Close-up photography" comes closer when it comes to gaining some sense of what it means to step into the Macro Zone. Most of the shots displayed in this post are examples of close-up photography; but I was definitely working in the Macro Zone when I shot them. 

From the viewing standpoint it’s more about size relationships than ratios; and from a shooting standpoint it is as much about a level of concentration and care as anything else. When I speak of entering the Macro Zone, I have a much more subjective point of view in mind. I think of it as a very unique kind of experience, one that usually involves stepping into another world. All sorts of weird and wonderful things happen when you enter that world, and if you push into it any distance at all, you may begin to experience almost as many strange things happening with the medium itself as with the subject matter at hand.

Digital approaches to Macro Photography vary in important ways from those involving traditional equipment and materials, naturally enough; but what it takes to get up close and very personal with small slices of existence is pretty much the same, regardless of gear, so far as the Macro Zone is concerned. Don't get me wrong, the gear issue is real in either case – It helps tremendously to have the kinds of specialized shooting equipment that is readily available on the market today. But gear isn’t really the determinate factor, so far as the essence of the experience is concerned. 

I got my first taste of the Macro Zone in 1967, while still in the Marines. I was stationed at camp Lejune, NC, cooling my heels in Casual Company while I was awaiting my discharge. I had time on my hands, a well-used Petri Penta camera at my disposal, and a wonderful pine woods within a few yards from my barracks. On one of my excursions into those woods I played with shooting through the 50mm lens reversed and held onto the camera body, a technique I had read about in one of my photo magazines. Much of the film was useless when I picked it up from the PX, but a few of the shots were awesome, at least in my eyes, and I was hooked.

Since then I have used all kinds of optical devices ranging from pricey lenses to the sides of beer bottles to photograph the small things around me, and all with various amounts of success. What I’ve learned is what many experienced pros will tell you: the gear is important, sure enough; but the real key to photography, any kind, is simply shooting as much and as often as you can. As a great old photo instructor once told me, “You have to get the first 10,000 bad pictures out of the way before you can call yourself a real shooter.”

So, I am hard at work on my second batch. Who knows how all this will go? But working in the Macro Zone will definitely be part of it. 

___________________________

Note: Summer and warmer days are fast approaching, and I am less and less inclined to spend much time on the computer. There are all sorts of projects I want to get after, and they are all "out there." Accordingly I am going to fiddle with the frequency of my posts. Right now I am putting up two a week (Wednesday and Sunday), but in the future I will follow a much less regimented schedule. My data suggest I don't have that many regular followers; but if you are one, stay tuned. I will do my best not to let you down. 

WASP/BEE-HAVIOR

A honey bee, KIA. Moments earlier she was sipping nectar from the flowering oregano in the boxes on our deck. Then, out of nowhere, a bolt of yellow-and-black lightning caught her broadside and sent her tumbling to the boards below. She gyrated across the wooden surface for a few minutes, trying desperately to right herself and become airborne. But the force of the blow not only dislocated her right wing, it must also have broken her back. She died within two minutes.

I turned my attention to the assailant, a stocky brute of a thing that was patrolling the flower boxes. A yellow-jacket, I decided, but not one of your garden-variety, western specimens – much more compact and heavier of build. Perhaps one of the European varieties that are relatively new to north America, but are becoming widespread in the Pacific Northwest – Paravespula germanica?

I watched this character at work for several days and was tremendously impressed by how relentless and aggressive it turned out to be. It is easy to spot because, unlike its more common North American cousins, it tucks its legs while flying. This habit, along with its stocky build, makes it look a lot like a bumble bee in flight. It is, however, much faster and much more maneuverable than most of the other flying insects that visit the boxes from time to time.

Its entire raison d’etre appeared to be (1) drive off any flying insect that was not of its own species, and (2) mate with any wasp of its own species that stopped off in the flower boxes for a sip of nectar. I am not sure what species-recognition methods it employed to determine foe from femme – probably auditor in most cases, but perhaps the females were sending out pheromone signals as well. At any rate, whenever an interloper appeared, the wasp would instantly attack, flinging itself full force against its foe. (It was just such a maneuver that downed the honey bee.) If the attack was unsuccessful the first time, the wasp would instantly attack again – and again and again, if necessary. Inevitably it proved victorious, regardless of the relative size of the foe.

The mating behavior was only slightly less brutal and every bit as relentless. When a female stopped by to sip nectar the wasp would immediately begin to stalk her. When a positive ID had been made, and when a clear lane between the two would open up, the wasp would pounce on the female and pin her in place on the flowers. Mating took anywhere from 5 to 15 seconds. When the business was finished, the wasp would take off on patrol again, and the female would go back to sipping nectar pretty much as if nothing had happened. If the wasp encountered the same female again during his patrol, he would simply pass her by, showing little or no interest.

After the attacks/matings, or after long periods of patrolling, the wasp would quickly take on nectar from several flowers and then settle down on a leaf to rest and groom.

At one point I could not resist the temptation to capture a couple of these creatures for closer examination. Accordingly, I loaded a spray bottle with water and a little dish-washing detergent and shot down a mating couple. Once I had them in a container I put them in the refrigerator for awhile (about 30 minutes) until they were essentially comatose. Then I shot this picture:

My original intention was to turn the pair loose once I was finished with the photos. But something in my technique was flawed – fatally so for the wasps. I’m sorry to say, while both were alive when I put them into the refrigerator (about half an hour), neither survived for more than a couple more minutes after I took them out. If someone knows a better non-lethal capture method, please drop me a note.

Golden Spiders of the Sun

These little guys were all balled up in a labyrinth of silk runners stretched between two stems of a young elephant garlic we keep in a pot on the deck. That was this morning. I just checked on them tonight (about 10 PM) and they were making a break for it. I suspect many of them will have vanished come daylight, and the rest will follow sometime during the day. If I have my facts straight, they climb to a high spot, one by one, turn their little rears towards the sky, and shoot out a long filament of silk. When the wind catches it, they let go of whatever they are perched upon and set sail for their permanent home.

If you disturb them while they are still balled up and waiting for the right moment to make their break, they’ll spread out from the center until they are more or less uniformly distributed within the maze of webbing they create as part of their day-to-day work. But within a few minutes they’ll be huddled back into a tight, spherical huddle.

I think they are crab spiders, but am still working on an absolute ID. When I contemplate their method of moving from place to place I am invariably reminded of a Zen parable about a man who falls into a fast running river and can't swim. He grabs hold of a rock, but the current is so strong the water keeps pushing him under the surface. He will drown for sure if he holds on to the rock, but he is too afraid of the river to let go. The spiders appear to have no such dilemma; but who can say for sure?

My Summer Vacation (Good as it Gets Department)

Daughter Erica stalks a slow moving snag in the uplands near Cougar Creek on Sutton Mountain. Dig the colors.

Earlier this year I set out to spend some special time with as many members of my family as possible. My goal was to have at least four days of uninterrupted "We time" with them sometime between May and September. Given that I have three children and four grandchildren, scheduling, organizing and conducting that many days of quality time turned out to be a major challenge. In the end I managed to get to all of them, except for Aaron, my son, and Jane - my youngest granddaughter. (We will make up for that next summer, date and locale to be determined.) In addition to spending time with the kids/grandkids, I also managed to get in some quality camping time with my wife, Kitty. Here are some photos and captions that will give you a sense of how wonderful it all turned out to be. 

MAY - Erica (my oldest) and I spent a few glorious days at Muleshoe on the John Day River. Maybe the highlight of the trip was our hike up Cougar Creek - an intermittent stream that runs out of Sutton Mountain's northern foothill

The colors and textures in this area are wonderful. 

We also spent some time in the Umatilla National Forest where we encountered this little beauty. I think it might be a variety of penstemon, but I'm not sure. It wasn't 4" tall! If someone could help me with a positive ID it would be deeply appreciated.

JUNE (early) - Mule Shoe again, but this time with my wife, Kitty. We had planned to go to Nehalem, one of our favorite beaches; but the weather there was so poor we decided at the last minute to look in on the John Day Basin.

It was Kitty's first trip, and I wasn't sure how she'd find it. The good news is she loved it and I am sure she will be back. Part of the draw will be the wildflowers.

JUNE (late) - My youngest daughter, Ellen, and I haven't been camping together since she was six or so. Mule Shoe seemed like a good choice because we had only a four day window. It was on this trip that she let me know (officially) that she is pregnant and due in Februrary. This is the greatest news any granddad can hear, of course, and it made my summer even better than I would ever have imagined it could be. Mostly we fished because morning sickness made serious hiking and eating a non-starter. So long as she didn't have to bait a hook or gut a fish, she was OK.

JULY (early) - Quinn, my oldest grandson is 8 years old and already a John Day veteran. He can handle the terrain and heat as well as anyone. But this year we decided to beat that heat, at least a little, and went to Newberry National Monument. What a great decision! Below, a shot of Quinn on the east slope (7900 foot level) on Paulina Peak.

These days we travel in style. Here's Q in his "quarters."

One of the coolest things we encountered on our various hikes was this tree. Look carefully at the crown - that's ice up there in the very top, believe it or not.

 JULY (late) - For the last few years I've been able to have both Chloe and Jake (my son's kids) stay with me for a week during the summer. This year we hit a bad bubble in the weather - check out that hoody on Chloe...must have been in the mid 60s that day. Still, the flying was great!

When the weather improved we spent quality time looking for crawdads in Fanno Creek. They were so in-tune with this place that I wish we could have stayed all day.

AUGUST (early) - My sons-in-law (Craig and Matt) on their way back from a long hike up Little Indian Canyon on Steens Mountain. (For more photos of this trip GO HERE.)

I'm putting together a separate blog on that particular trip because it was such an amazing five days.

AUGUST (late) - Kitty and I finally made it to Nehalem. Just missed some good weather and ended up cutting it short for lack of sun and decent temps. Still, Nehalem on a bad day is generally better than most other places at their best.

 

Umatilla National Forest

Kitty at the Sheep Rock overlook. Weather wasn't great, but it was still grand to see.

Kitty (my lovely wife) and I camped out at Mule Shoe on the John Day River last week. Five wonderful days. One day was a little rainy so we drove to Prairie City so she could get a sense for the scale of the basin. Along the way we stopped at the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center. It's a world class science center and if you haven't journied out to see it, you are missing a great treat.

The fishing was lively, from an action standpoint, but we were only able to fill the frying pan once. Lots and lots of tiny bass. The real highlight of the visit turned out to be the two hikes we took while we were there. The best of those was a two mile jaunt we made along an unamed trail in the Umatilla National Forest. We found the trail head on Nf 24, just about three miles west of CR3. The "trail" is actually just a remnant fire trail. Judging by the number and size of young Pondersa pine growing in the middle of it, the trail last saw action twenty years or more ago. There are dozens of such trails in the forest, and Kitty and I plan to walk a bunch of them in the future! What a great time we had.

We stopped short of reaching the highest spot on the trial but here's a look from the 4200 foot level. 

We came across many small meadows that had been cleared by fire some time ago. The flowers were wonderful.

I'm still struggling with the identifiction of flowers. Any ideas, anyone?

Similar colors but an entirely different lovely. (Clarkia pullchella)

While I crouched or lay down to take photos, Kitty kept an eye out for cougars...

You could spend your life shooting close-ups on these mountain trails. Makes it hell for anyojne who hikes with you.

Always surprises, if you keep your eyes open.

This snow berry checker is pretty beat up. Hundreds of them fluttering around up there that day.

Finally, the best catch of thre trip - a Mariposa lily (found at a much lower elevation). 

As I said, it was a great trip. I'll be headed back there very soon. Can't wait!