What can I say? I love the life cycle of these Agapanthus.  A neighbor gave them to me several years ago and I so enjoy watching them go from “pregnancy” in the springtime to seed in the fall.  Ever since I got the macro lens I’m just drawn to these plants.  Honestly, I’m not satisfied with these images. But – – it’s all right.  If I don’t practice I won’t improve.

I had to throw in a few shots of the shells I collected while on Sapelo Island.  That was so much fun.

It’s been a while since I’ve been in the swing of Macro Monday and I’ve missed it.  I love zeroing in on detail and seeing what the camera renders.  Last week, I was visiting Eagle Island and I was drawn to the lovely citronella candles and their wicks with flames…and of course, the sand dollars I collected on Sapelo Island. Our Eagle Island host Andy Hill took us there by boat and  we spent a delightful afternoon wandering the deserted beach and collecting pails full of sand dollars and conch shells.

What is this thing?  Anyway, I thought it was cool…like a ‘sea necklace’.

The end.

Queen Palm frond’s droplet.

Music to my ears for twenty years.

Liquid crystal.

Texture and lines.

Vertical and diagonal lines…in my favorite hues as reflected in my interior.  I love to bring the outside, in.

It grows where it grows.

Reflections in water.

She follows me.  What am I supposed to do but take her picture?

Water sticks.

Bud and bokeh.

My meager offerings for this week’s Macro Monday segment were from a trip to two parks in Atlantic Beach.

I was looking for inspiration without feeling inspired. It was the end of long week, filled with activity and emotion; highs and lows. So I went to my favorite little hideaway park in Atlantic Beach:

I wandered about but didn’t see anything of interest for macro photography but look! There were two owls together on the branch, high in the tree. A telephoto lens would have been useful but it was so fun to watch these birds interact with each other. One groomed the other and was generally more active than his counterpart, who occupied that limb so regally. I kept waiting for one of them to fly off so I could possibly capture the owl in flight but of course, neither did, not until I’d given up and moved away. So, while taken with a macro lens, I give you two owls, in Howell Park.

And finally, the lonely swing.  In Jack Russell Park it waits, expectantly, for someone to come along and put it to good use.

Lastly, a Pampas plume, with bokeh.

Not every Macro Monday means magnificence. But I shall persevere because practice makes magnificence.

When I was in college, I took a photography class.  A pedestrian student, I loved my camera but lacked inspiration.

The thing I loved to photograph was my cat.  Maybe that’s because he was always nearby, and I didn’t want to work that hard.  Whatever it was, I did take many photos of Frye, processing them in black and white, and happily mounting them for class exhibition.  That cat had the best disposition of any cat I’ve ever had (and I loved him the most, but don’t tell Angel or Pumpkin, because I really, really love them too).

My takeaway from that photography class –

Where Jeannie Made Boring Prints in Photography Class

where I toiled in the Kresge Art Center at Michigan State University on my cat masterpieces – was the professor’s critique of my work.

One day in class he said, “Miss Shmina, this is not a cat food commercial.”

Ouch.

I’ve never forgotten that comment.  I have always associated it with that photography class.

Today, I give you my cats, in macro. Perhaps the images are still ordinary, but since they are always around when I’m in the yard with my camera, I snapped a few of them during my ‘seeds and nuts’ shoot.  They are happy to dine on Purina, Meow Mix, and lizards, with the occasional baby bird if they get lucky.

Perhaps my work has not improved much.  That’s up to the viewer to decide.

At least I have a better lens, now.  But I must say, I did have a 50mm 1.4 on that beauty of a film camera.  They don’t make them like they used to; that’s for certain.

Pumpkin, the Calico, has the best fur, so soft.  She likes to jump onto my back, nuzzle my hair, and then she starts biting it.  Odd.

Angel, the black-and-white part Tiger, likes to drink water from the hose.

They are my yard pals, following me as I roam, looking for better subjects to shoot.  For today, though, this is all I have to offer for Macro Monday.

If I showed a partially eaten lizard stiff with rigor mortis, its eyes open and front legs extended as though the possibility of escape still existed,  its bottom half having been thoroughly enjoyed by one of my pals here, now that would have been a cat food commercial.

“Tastes like chicken, and high in protein.  Fresh, locally-sourced,  and no cost to you.  Serve lizard daily, with a clean bowl of water, and your cat will be happy for years to come.”