The Excitement and Beauty of Insect Photography!

My photo obsession with insects began early in my agriculture degree program while taking a course called AGRI 247 Economic Entomology at Southern State Community College. This course was specifically designed with an insect pest management emphasis, but what I acquired from this course was a new found love of the "little buggers". We hardly take notice of the beauty they present, but to those who would take the time to patiently study their behaviors may find a mystical world all in its own worth diving in to!

 A friendly face in my home vegetable garden! Praying Mantids are a hoot to watch and photographing them sometimes proves a challenge! They demonstrate a boxing type motion when they feel threatened and then they pounce! My son LOVES them!

Our class took a field trip to The Ohio State University's Museum of Biodiversity to speak with Dr. Norm Johnson the Director of the C.A Triplehorn Insect Collection. This was the moment that my heart went all aflutter and I fell in love with learning more about all insect families and species. The best way I figured to do this would be photographing as many insects as possible through macro functions on my camera and then archiving the best shots for future indentification.

Above: Actias luna or better known as the Luna Moth a member of the family Saturniidae. I photographed this gorgeous species while attending one of Edge of Appalachia's Advanced Naturalist workshops at the Eulett Center in Adams County, Ohio. One of my FAVORITE moth species!

Here I am today trying to balance all interests while making my way through the numerous photographs I've collected these last three years. This is still an adventure of mine in the early stages of flourishing into what I hope will become a more focused hobby. In the near future, I hope to offer prints for purchase to those interested in the beauty of the small and diverse creatures that we overlook from day to day. This is just another one of Dora's Quests, my ongoing pursuit of purpose, balance, life and creativity!