Evening light throws sharp shadows onto a slickrock wall.

As promised, here is the butterfly picture. Like the pictures of the deer and the dragonfly, this one was taken on full zoom, then cropped significantly. I do so love my zoom, because I never would have gotten this close; I’m simply not that stealthy, I suppose. I do like how the tops and bottoms of the wings are barely moving while everything else is still. Makes me want to examine butterfly flight in a little more detail.

Evening sunlight filters through trees in a South Carolina swamp.

Another experiment with my new camera. Again, I used the zoom, and even then I had to do some serious cropping. While the focus is a little off — on the wings instead of the face — I was still quite pleased with the crispness of the shot, and am choosing to consider it a successful experiment. As for the focus, I suppose I’ll just have to practice. Oh, how I suffer for my art!

Rock sentinels watch the land in the Windows / Garden of Eden section of Arches National Park. The setting sun catches minerals in the rocks, making them glow red. Note: Any resemblance to male anatomy, either real or imagined, is entirely coincidental. These are just rocks, people. Just. Rocks.

As readers of my regular blog know, I just got my first DSLR, a Nikon D60. It’s scary, but I love it, and I’ve been looking for every opportunity to go on photo shoots. The other day I went up into the mountains. I happened to be working on something else entirely (my book, if you must know) when I looked up and spotted a deer in the woods. I wasn’t quick enough on the draw, and switched to my zoom lens way too late. But it came back, and this time I was ready for it. Even with my zoom lens, it was still quite small, so I cropped it, and I have to say I was quite pleased with the detail I managed to get, even from that far away. I also captured a butterfly and a dragonfly, among other scenes, both of which you’ll see on here soon.

A brilliant gold flower smiles cheerfully at the sun.

A swallow dips and swerves over the Colorado River on an summer evening in the Grand Canyon.

Sunset light silhouettes a cliff wall in Arches National Park.

A spent dandelion stands in the path of an oncoming breeze.