“And the Kingdom Fell” Photoshoot

I really enjoyed this photoshoot on 8-2-15. There was initial worry concerning the unpredictable weather, but it provided the perfect backdrop for the shoot.

I am always looking to integrate my subject(s) with the environment and I was pleased with this result.

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Photo shoot with "And the Kingdom Fell"

Night Lightning at Lake Worth Beach – 8-13-15

I was fortunate enough to photograph another storm recently. They are a daily occurrence in South Florida’s tropical savanna climate. The most ideal time for me is when I am able to take photos of lightning, at night, without actually getting rained on. This particular combination is not nearly as frequent. A perfect storm within a storm if you will.

I know my camera is weather sealed. I am just too paranoid about being outside in the rain with electronics. I suppose it’s about as crazy as someone putting plastic on their furniture. No offense to anyone who still subscribes to this practice…

I was able to find a few places at Lake Worth beach that allowed just enough cover to keep my gear dry while taking photos.

I made the mistake of going under the pier and there was a couple under it. A lot of giggling ensued and things were just entirely too creepy so that didn’t last long. I also found out that it’s not wise to try and take long shutter shots when the tide is able to reach your tripod. It makes for a rather unstable platform.

Luckily I was still able to come away with the following photo.

Lake Worth Beach - 8-13-15 - Lightning between Florida and Freeport Bahamas

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Magnolia Green Jumper – Lyssomanes viridis

This little jumper gave me just enough time to snap a couple photos before he jumped out of the frame.This was the smallest magnolia green jumper I have come across. I didn’t expect a worthwhile shot because I wasn’t using my extension tubes at the time, but am pleased with this effort.

Magnolia Green Jumper - Lyssomanes viridis

Background:

In Florida and other southeastern states, the Magnolia Green Jumper is one of the most easily recognized of all the jumping spiders. Its vibrant green coloring along with that stupendously orange cap and huge, forward-looking eyes give it an eerily cute appearance. But have no doubt, this little spider is a balls-to-the-wall predator, easily hunting and capturing prey many times its own size.

Jumping spiders are small to medium in size, stout-bodied and short-legged, with a distinctive eye pattern. The body is rather hairy (pubescent) and frequently brightly colored or iridescent. Some species are ant like in appearance. The jumping spiders forage for their prey in the daytime. They approach prey slowly and, when a short distance away, make a sudden leap onto the unfortunate animal. They are good jumpers and can leap many times their own body length.

Jumping spiders have excellent vision, with among the highest acuities in invertebrates. The eight eyes are grouped four on the face (the two big Anterior Median eyes in the middle, and two smaller Anterior Lateral eyes to the side), and four on top of the carapace (two medium-sized eyes toward the back, and two very small eyes in front of them). You can think of the Anterior Median eyes (AME) as acting like our fovea, with high acuity but small field of view, and the remaining six eyes acting like our peripheral vision, with lower resolution but broad field of view.
The AME’s are long and tubular, which helps their resolution (longer focal length, more magnification) but which means they have a narrow field of view. Since the AME’s have a narrow field of view, the spider needs to point them in different directions to see different things. To some extent this is done by moving the carapace, but the eyes can move as well. This is not done by moving the whole ‘eyeball’, since the lenses of the eyes are actually built into the carapace. Instead the retina moves around, while the lens stays fixed. This retinal movement is accomplished by extremely tiny muscles.

Source: http://www.cirrusimage.com/spider_magnolia_green_jumper.htm

Lake Worth Beach Night Lightning 7-30-15

Micaela and I were grocery shopping a few nights ago and I couldn’t help to notice the constant flashes of lightning just east of our location. We luckily live approximately a mile from the ocean and  I was long overdue for lightning photos. It was not raining at the moment so I was already considering the possibility of lightning photos. I quickly used my android lighting tracker titled Blitzortung Lightning Monitor. Really amazing and easy to use program to find out exactly where lighting is striking, it’s frequency, etc.

In a matter of seconds it was evident the lighting was situated between between Lake Worth, where I live, and the Bahamas which is a short distance away off our coast in South Florida.

I drove home to drop the groceries and Micaela off and then was at the beach within 2 minutes. Unfortunately by the time I arrived the flashes were no longer constant.

Luckily I will still able to pull of a couple shots.

Enjoy!

Lake Worth Beach Night Lightning 7-30-15

Lake Worth Beach Night Lightning 7-30-15