Weekly Challenge #16: BUGS!!! WINNER ANNOUNCED!

[KLM]

Well, as usual, it was TOO HARD to choose the winner!! I consulted SU for a second opinion! We studied and discussed each one. They are all SO great and it was way to hard to choose!! You ALL have some great bug pics!

Ultimately we chose Paula's bee as the winner.

I liked it because of the color and the action of the bee in flight. SU picks what he likes based of what what jumps out and intrigues him the most. He liked Paula's bee because the bee was so loaded down with pollen yet was looking at those flowers as if he's trying to figure out how in the world to hold even more!

Congrats Paula! You get to pick the topic for the next challenge!

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This week I want to see INSECTS!!

Submit your best old or new photos by noon on Sunday July 29th, 2007!

Here are some of my BUG shots!

[CaliforniaLabLover]

I haven't really had the time to participate in the challenges, and really don't want to officially "enter" the challenge this week (I'm out of town frequently the next few weeks and can't seem to get back here with any frequency), but just wanted to post a couple of my "bug shots."

I wanted to be an entomologist as a kid and remain fascinated by bugs to this day. That's why my next "big" purchase will be a good macro lens (rather than the Rebel XTi kit-lens I have)! LOL

Grasshopper-



Baby praying mantis-




(I sure wish I had gotten better lighting for this one...the color contrast was really amazing!)

They're nowhere near as fantastic as the ones above, but bugs are so much fun to photograph!

[KLM]

I'm glad you posted them even though you aren't able to enter them - it's good to know I'm not the only BUG crazy person here - I chase the poor things all over my yard ;D! Great shots! I love the grasshopper - I always get a laugh when it looks like the bug is hamming it up for the camera - your grasshopper seems to be saying.....THIS is my best side!! I love the mantis on the finger - that's a great sillhouette! That last one reminded me of another shot I had. Is that a burning bush your mantis is sitting on? I too was left wishing I had better lighting on this katydid shot. I seem to have a hard time shooting red but I always liked this one anyway because of the color contrast!

[georgie]

I like bugs too!! Here are my entries.

"Mating Season"


"Lunch time"


"Good to the last drop"


"In flight"

[Paula]

My sure doesn't compare to yours KLM but here's my bee.

[3TailsWaggin]

I don't have a macro lens, so this is a hard challenge for me. But here's one that's not too bad...

Banana Spider

[Charla]

I haven't entered one of these before but bugs happen to be my favorite subject. A bee on one of my ligustrums.

[imported_Wendy]

Wow great pics!!!! Holy Cow Charla the detail of that picture is amazing!! You can see every little pollen stuck to his body!!!

[imported_Shanna]

Wow great pics!!!! Holy Cow Charla the detail of that picture is amazing!! You can see every little pollen stuck to his body!!!

YEH... talk about something for a classroom of kids. Perfect shot to show how cross pollination occurs.

[imported_Jimbo]

Awesome picture Charla!!!

These pics are from a wedding I shot a few weeks ago at the Butterfly Pavilion...