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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum: These Bighorn Sheep are a bunch of posers.

One of the three Bighorn Sheep at the ASDM, posing as usual.  This image was taken at 170mm focal length with an exposure of 1/160 seconds at f/5, ISO 400.
Another pose....  This image was taken at 180mm focal length with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/5, ISO 400.
This male is getting ready to climb down the artificial rock face.  This image was taken at 180mm focal length with an exposure of 1/100 seconds at f/5, ISO 400.
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum has many creatures of all types including these Bighorn Sheep which occupy many of the mountains around Southern Arizona. They used to be (and might still) inhabit the Catalina Mountains north of town, especially around Pusch Ridge.  There are three individuals in this habitat.

Monday, August 19, 2013

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Some parts of it really bug me.

A pair of Tarantula Wasps work no this flower. This image was taken at 210mm focal length with an exposure of 1/320 seconds at f/5, ISO 800.

Another view of a Tarantula Wasp taken with an exposure of 1/250 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800 with my telephoto at 300mm focal length.

Another view of a Tarantula Wasp. There is a bee working near its tail and a small insect sitting on its wing that are just visible.  This image was taken at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/200 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800.

This spider had quite a large web and it sat partway down a funnel shaped section of it.  This exposure was taken with my 75-300 zoom at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/60 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800.
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum has all variety of plants and critters that inhabit our deserts and insects are amongst the most numerous residents of our desert.  These insects were found around the corner from one another in an area rich in flowers which attract many insects, including butterflies which I couldn't quite get a focused picture of as he sat on a nearby flower.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

An evening at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - first up, the hummingbird enclosure

This image was taken with my 75-300 zoom at 140mm focal length with an exposure of 1/125 seconds at f/5.0, ISO 800. This looks like a female Blue-throated Hummingbird.

This appears to be a male Calliope Hummingbird.  This was shot at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/160 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800.

This male Costa's Hummingbird was shot at 300mm focal length with an exposure of 1/160 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800.
We spent Saturday evening at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum last night while my sweetie participated in an education event.  After playing chauffeur, I got to wander through one of my favorite displays of the wildlife and plant life in the Sonoran Desert in the Southwestern U.S.  First stop was the hummingbird enclosure where you get to watch these wonderful little birds at point blank range. Photography was a bit of a challenge as it was nearing sunset and there were lots of clouds around to make it comparatively dark.  I set my exposure to manual and upped the ISO to 800.