vikkyvik wrote:Anyone know what kind of spider this is? Leg span was about 1.5-2 inches.
Eratigena atrica, the giant European house spider. Looks like a female of a decent age. They're an introduced species in the Americas, very common over here in Europe. We've had older spiders of this species grow to easily three inches in our garages and they live for many years. We leave them alone because they're very passive with people but will out-compete and eat pretty much any other spider, as well as wasps and hornets.
These are equally exciting. Except that these are not the plains like Masai Mara, but dense jungles. You drive through jungle trails and are really one with the nature. If I could, I would go there every week. Just too expensive compared to what I earn.
You should try it, check out Kabini safari. Also, I have some more pictures on my Flickr account. Like this. Yay, embedding picture worked.
The last time I was in NYC, I wanted to check out the One World Observatory. As luck would have it, it was rainy and foggy. Nothing visible, apparently. The staff told us to come back another day. And I was leaving the city the next day. So I did the next best thing. Just loved how grey the day was and the building just added to the natural charm. This is not a BW shot, just grey and colourless.
At the Denver Botanic Gardens last month, I saw a very nice waterlily garden. The dark color in the water made the colors of the flowers and leaves really pop out.
On the coastal and warmer side, here was a nice moonset in San Diego. The Santa Ana winds brought temps of 95F (35C) to a usually cool place, so the hotel air conditioning was straining with the heat. I awoke at 3 am to open the door for some air, and to my surprise, the moon was setting over the water.
md88dawg/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user2174/1.pngoffline03 Aug 17, 01:55
Thanks, Venkat! The moon was setting rather quickly, so I was happy to get this just in time. I wouldn't mind visiting there again this winter.
venkat wrote:The moonset picture is AWESOME....
vikkyvik/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/default.pngoffline22 Aug 17, 01:32
Solar eclipse photos. We only got somewhere around 60% here, but nevertheless....Thankfully, the marine layer burned off fairly early this morning:
vikkyvik/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/default.pngoffline22 Aug 17, 01:37
Also, wasp's nest photos from yesterday:
Lucas/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user76/13.pngoffline(netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 22 Aug 17, 06:01
Wasps are evil. Kill them with fire ASAP.
I have not had time to really look and edit my photos from RAW. Two pics I just threw up on FB really quickly.
Best thing I've seen in my life.
vikkyvik/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/default.pngoffline10 Oct 17, 04:12
More insect photos. This guy/girl was perched just above our front door the other day:
symphonicpoet/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user2687/1.pngoffline26 Oct 17, 03:42
Forgive me if I photodump a little in this my first non-aviation post. I'll try to keep it a little under control. But seeing your shots of elephants and bugs and your much better shots of the eclipse than I . . .
With the exception of the eclipse I just haven't shot anything that exotic lately, and the eclipse shots were not optimal because I was so utterly gobsmacked I screwed several things up. Not too surprising, really. But as a result, my pictures of that are a bit fuzzy.
So I'm going to take the liberty of posting at least a couple from a trip a bit more than a year ago. But other than that I'll try to get more recent.
June 2016 . . . [/url] Later . . .
md88dawg/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user2174/1.pngoffline08 Nov 17, 23:50
This egret was in the process of fishing while I was spotting near DCA:
md88dawg/forum/images/avatars/gallery/first/user2174/1.pngoffline08 Nov 17, 23:53
[quote="vikkyvik"]Also, wasp's nest photos from yesterday:
That detail is stunning--not the most pleasant of insects, but you can appreciate that craftsmanship and teamwork (from a safe distance or with a camera!).