Wilderness Portraits by Lloyd Paul Aiello

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  • The true Daddy-Longlegs (Phalangium opilio) shown here on an Eastern Redbud tree leaf (Cercis canadensis ) is actually not a spider but a type of arachnid in their own Order Opiliones. Composit of 7 individual images for depth of focus.
    _LPA7310-daddy-longlegs-spider-redbu...tif
  • The true Daddy-Longlegs (Phalangium opilio) shown here on an Eastern Redbud tree leaf (Cercis canadensis ) is actually not a spider but a type of arachnid in their own Order Opiliones. Composit of 7 individual images for depth of focus.
    _LPA7310-daddy-longlegs-spider-redbu...tif
  • Multiple flocks of migrating Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are silhouetted against the evening sky as the sun sets over Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern shore of Maryland, Halloween night, October 31, 1990.  Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, encompassing over 27,000 acres of wetlands, is a major stop on the Atlantic Flyway for many types of waterfowl and other birds.  The refuge, established in 1933 as a waterfowl sanctuary, has been designated of “International Importance" by the Ramsar Convention as it supports over 250 bird species, 35 species of reptiles and amphibians, 165 species of threatened and endangered plants, and numerous mammals.  During winter migration, Blackwater Refuge is home to approximately 35,000 geese and 15,000 ducks. Fed by the Blackwater River and the Little Blackwater River, it consists of numerous freshwater impoundments, brackish tidal wetlands, open fields, and mixed evergreen and deciduous forests. The Blackwater name refers to the tea-colored waters darkened by tannins leached from the marsh peat soil through which they drain.
    P-000215-Edit-goose-sunset-bird-blac...tif
  • Although not a true spider, Daddy longlegs (order Opiliones) go by many names including harvestman, cellar spiders, granddaddy long-legs, carpenter spider, daddy long-legger, vibrating spider and skull spider.  Daddy longlegs are closely related to scorpions (order Scorpiones) but, because of their appearance, are often mistaken as spiders (order Araneida or Araneae). However, unlike true spiders, in which the body is divided into two distinct segments, daddy longlegs look as though they have only one segment because of a broad fusion that makes the juncture between the two segments almost indiscernible.  They are widely distributed and abundant in both temperate and tropical climates of both hemispheres.<br />
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The body of a daddy longlegs is 0.6 to 23 mm (0.02 to 0.9 inch) long, although the bodies of most species are between 3 and 7 mm (0.12 and 0.28 inch). The legs can exceed 15 cm (5.9 inches) in length.  Many species of daddy longlegs are omnivorous, feeding on small insects, mites, spiders, snails, and vegetable matter.  Daddy longlegs typically have two eyes located on a central knob on the front of the body although certain types lack eyes. Eggs are laid in the soil in autumn and hatch with the warmth of spring. Many species of daddy longlegs live less than one year, although some may survive for several years.<br />
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This individual was photographed on a screen door retroilluminated by the early morning sunlight where over 100 daddy longlegs had congregated to feed on small insects attracted to a nearby light left on overnight.
    _1LA9448-Edit-daddy-longlegs-spider-...tif
  • These young mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain Goats, are resting on their way up a steep slope in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  Mountain goats are sure-footed cliff climbers that are endemic to subalpine to alpine areas of North America.  They are the largest mammal in these high-altitude environments often exceeding 3,900 meters (13,000 ft). In summer, they generally stay above tree line, but occasionally migrate to lower elevations in the winter. Despite its common name, they are not a member of Capra, the genus that includes all other goats, but rather related to antelopes, gazelles, and cattle. <br />
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Mountain goats are about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall at the shoulder and males are larger than females. Mountain goats can weigh between 45 and 140 kg (99 and 309 lb) with a length of 10–179 cm (4 to nearly 6 ft.).  Both male and female mountain goats grow black horns reaching 15–28 cm (5.9–11.0 in) in length.  After they are about 22 months old, the horns are visible and it is possible to tell the age of a mountain goat by counting the number of rings on its horns.  Two of the individuals in this image are too young to have grown horns yet.<br />
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There are an estimated 100,000 Mountain Goats in North America. They are protected from the elements by long woolly white double coats that they shed in spring. Their coats are highly specialized consisting of fine, dense wool undercoats covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. Their coats help mountain goats survive winter temperatures as low as −50 °F (−46 °C) and winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph).  The average lifespan of a mountain goat is 9 to 12 years.<br />
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This is a single color image that has been converted digitally to sepia.
    _1LA9417-Edit-antique-sepia-mountain...tif
  • A digitally derived golden rendition of an actual photograph of a Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) from Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
    P-000207-rainbow-lorikeet-gold-digit...tif
  • The northern green frog (Lithobates clamitans melanota) is a subspecies of the green frog, Lithobates clamitans and has been introduced to British Columbia.  This frog grows up to 86 mm (3.5 in) and is darker when young.  The northern green frog dwells in marshes, swamps, ponds, lakes, springs, and other aquatic environments. They are active both day and night. This individual was photographed in the Carrabassett River in northern Maine in August.<br />
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The image is a focus stack of 11 handheld exposures.
    _1LA9810-Edit-northern-green-frog-Ki...tif
  • The Rusty Tussock Moth or Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua) is native to Europe, but now has a transcontinental distribution.  A striking dimorphism exists between the male and the female moths of this species. The male moth shown here typically has orange to red-brown wings.  Each fore wing has a white comma-shaped (tornal) spot. He has marked plumose (short, bipectinate) antennae and a wingspan between 35 and 38 mm (~1.5 in). The female moth has vestigial wings and is flightless.  Several hundred eggs are laid on the outside of the female's empty cocoon, usually attached to a host plant.  The species overwinters in the egg stage. <br />
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The adult moths do not feed, so only live a short time. In North America, only one generation occurs in a year and fly between May and October.  The males are diurnal, flying during the day, but are occasionally attracted to light.  This individual was photographed during the day in August in Kingfield, Maine.<br />
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The image is a focus stack of 34 exposures.
    _1LA9545-Edit-Rusty-Tussock-Moth-Vap...tif
  • The Rusty Tussock Moth or Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua) is native to Europe, but now has a transcontinental distribution.  A striking dimorphism exists between the male and the female moths of this species. The male moth shown here typically has orange to red-brown wings.  Each fore wing has a white comma-shaped (tornal) spot. He has marked plumose (short, bipectinate) antennae and a wingspan between 35 and 38 mm (~1.5 in). The female moth has vestigial wings and is flightless.  Several hundred eggs are laid on the outside of the female's empty cocoon, usually attached to a host plant.  The species overwinters in the egg stage. <br />
<br />
The adult moths do not feed, so only live a short time. In North America, only one generation occurs in a year and fly between May and October.  The males are diurnal, flying during the day, but are occasionally attracted to light.  This individual was photographed during the day in August in Kingfield, Maine.<br />
<br />
The image is a focus stack of 34 exposures.
    _1LA9545-Edit-Edit-Rusty-Tussock-Mot...tif
  • The Rusty Tussock Moth or Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua) is native to Europe, but now has a transcontinental distribution.  A striking dimorphism exists between the male and the female moths of this species. The male moth shown here typically has orange to red-brown wings.  Each fore wing has a white comma-shaped (tornal) spot. He has marked plumose (short, bipectinate) antennae and a wingspan between 35 and 38 mm (~1.5 in). The female moth has vestigial wings and is flightless.  Several hundred eggs are laid on the outside of the female's empty cocoon, usually attached to a host plant.  The species overwinters in the egg stage. <br />
<br />
The adult moths do not feed, so only live a short time. In North America, only one generation occurs in a year and fly between May and October.  The males are diurnal, flying during the day, but are occasionally attracted to light.  This individual was photographed during the day in August in Kingfield, Maine.<br />
<br />
The image is a focus stack of 34 exposures.
    _1LA9545-Edit-Edit-Edit-Rusty-Tussoc...tif
  • The Hemlock Looper or Mournful Thorn (Lambdina fiscellaria) is a moth found in North America, from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast and from Canada south to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and California.  The wingspan is about 35 mm (1.4 in) and the moth flies from August to early October depending on the location.  The larvae feed on hemlock, balsam fir, white spruce, oak and other hardwoods.  This individual was photographed in Kingfield Maine in August.<br />
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The image is a focus stack of 6 exposures.
    _1LA9738-Edit-hemlock-looper-mournfu...tif
  • The headlamps of four mountaineering groups are seen ascending Mount Bierstadt in the predawn light under a star-filled Colorado sky streaked by the annual Perseid meteor shower.  Mount Bierstadt at 14,068 feet (4287 m) was first climbed in 1863 and is the 38th tallest peak in Colorado and the 44th tallest in the continental United States.  Groups typically begin their ascent in the early morning so as to complete the 6.9 mile trail and be off the mountain before the danger of afternoon thunderstorms common in this area.<br />
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Best observed in the Northern Hemisphere and down to the mid-southern latitudes, the annual Perseid meteor shower occurs each summer when the earth passes through a stream of dust from comet Swift-Tuttle.  Comet Swift-Tuttle is the largest object known to repeatedly pass by earth and has a nucleus 16 miles (26 kilometers) wide. It last passed by earth during its orbit around the sun in 1992 and will next do so in 2126.<br />
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This image is a composite of 10 photographs over a total of 171 seconds between 3:21am and 3:30am which captured a total of 34 meteors.
    _1LA9361-2-perseid-meteors-predawn-a...tif
  • The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird in the world exceeded only by the ostrich. Emus are endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and is found throughout most of mainland Australia.  <br />
<br />
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in height. Emus range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in).  They are the fifth heaviest living bird in the world after the two species of ostrich and two larger species of cassowary.  Adult emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.<br />
<br />
Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary they can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph).  They flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilizing themselves when moving fast.  Emus can run at speeds of 48 km/h (30 mph) due to their highly specialized pelvic limb musculature.  When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Emus have good eyesight and hearing.<br />
<br />
Emus primarily eat plants and insects but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently but ingest large amounts of water when they do.  Emus breed in May and June.  The male incubates the eggs and hardly eats or drinks during that time, losing a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after about eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. Emus reach full size after about six months.  The emu plumage varies in color due to environmental factors.  Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months with the head and neck being especially dark. The adult plumage has developed by about fifteen months.
    _1LA0727-Edit-emu-head-feathers.tif
  • The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird in the world exceeded only by the ostrich. Emus are endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and is found throughout most of mainland Australia.  <br />
<br />
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in height. Emus range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in).  They are the fifth heaviest living bird in the world after the two species of ostrich and two larger species of cassowary.  Adult emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.<br />
<br />
Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary they can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) due to their highly specialized pelvic limb musculature.  They flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilizing themselves when moving fast.  When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Emus have good eyesight and hearing.<br />
<br />
Emus primarily eat plants and insects but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently but ingest large amounts of water when they do.  Emus breed in May and June.  The male incubates the eggs and hardly eats or drinks during that time, losing a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after about eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. Emus reach full size after about six months.  The emu plumage varies in color due to environmental factors.  Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months with the head and neck being especially dark. The adult plumage has developed by about fifteen months.
    _1LA0720-Edit-emu-feathers.tif
  • The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird in the world exceeded only by the ostrich. Emus are endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and is found throughout most of mainland Australia.  <br />
<br />
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in height. Emus range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in).  They are the fifth heaviest living bird in the world after the two species of ostrich and two larger species of cassowary.  Adult emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.<br />
<br />
Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary they can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) due to their highly specialized pelvic limb musculature.  They flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilizing themselves when moving fast.  When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Emus have good eyesight and hearing.<br />
<br />
Emus primarily eat plants and insects but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently but ingest large amounts of water when they do.  Emus breed in May and June.  The male incubates the eggs and hardly eats or drinks during that time, losing a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after about eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. Emus reach full size after about six months.  The emu plumage varies in color due to environmental factors.  Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months with the head and neck being especially dark. The adult plumage has developed by about fifteen months.
    _LPA7334-Edit-emu-head-smile-laugh.tif
  • The Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a common species of wren found in the eastern half of the United States, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico. Their preferred habitat is in dense cover in forests, farm edges and suburban areas. However, Carolina wrens are wary, and are more often heard than seen This wren is the state bird of South Carolina.<br />
There are seven recognized subspecies of the Carolina wren each with slight differences in song and appearance. The Carolina wren is 12.5 to 14.0 cm (4.9 to 5.5 in) long, with a 29 cm (11 in) wingspan and a weight of about 18 to 23 g (0.63 to 0.81 oz).  It is the second largest wren in the United States after the cactus wren.  Carolina wrens raise multiple broods during the summer breeding season.  This photograph captures the elusive wren enduring a winter snowstorm in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2272-Edit-carolina-wren-bird-sno...tif
  • The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, nonmigratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. The chickadee is the state bird of Massachusetts, USA.  Its familiar call of chick-a-dee-dee-dee gave this bird its name.  The chickadee total body length is 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in), with a wingspan is 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in) and a body mass of 9–14 g (0.32–0.49 oz).   Sexes look alike, but males are slightly larger and longer than females.<br />
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The chickadee has fascinating eating habits.  Insects (especially caterpillars) form a large part of their diet in summer. Seeds and berries become more important in winter.  Like many other species in the family Paridae, black-capped chickadees commonly cache their food, mostly seeds but sometimes insects also.  Items are stored singly in various sites such as bark, dead leaves, clusters of conifer needles, or knotholes. The chickadee can remember the location of caches up to 28 days.   Within the first 24 hours, the birds can even remember the relative quality of the stored items. <br />
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The chichadee is also well known for its uncommon capability to lower its body temperature.  During cold winter nights, these birds can reduce their body temperature by as much as 10 to 12 °C (from their normal temperature of about 42 °C) to conserve energy.
    _LPA2360-Edit-chickadee-bird-snow-bl...tif
  • The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird also known colloquially as redbird or common cardinal. It can be found from southern Canada, through the eastern United States and south to Mexico. It prefers woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps.  The Northern Cardinal has a body length of 8-9 inches and a wingspan of 10-12 inches.  The male is a vibrant red, while the female has a dull red-brown splotchy plumage. The Northern Cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on fruit or insects.  The cardinal was once prized as a pet, but its sale as cage birds is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.  This particular female Northern Cardinal is enduring a winter blizzard in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2234-Edit-female-cardinal-winter...tif
  • The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird also known colloquially as redbird or common cardinal. It can be found from southern Canada, through the eastern United States and south to Mexico. It prefers woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps.  The Northern Cardinal has a body length of 8-9 inches and a wingspan of 10-12 inches.  The male is a vibrant red, while the female has a dull red-brown splotchy plumage. The Northern Cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on fruit or insects.  The cardinal was once prized as a pet, but its sale as cage birds is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.  This particular female Northern Cardinal is enduring a winter blizzard in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2694-Edit-female-cardinal-snow-w...tif
  • This female Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) is hunting near the edge of a marsh.  Northern Water Snakes are found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south.  They can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length.  Adult females can weigh up to 408 g (14.4 oz) in average body mass while the smaller males average up to 151 g (5.3 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males are 370 g (13 oz). <br />
<br />
The northern water snake is nonvenomous but can give a painful bite.  They superficially resemble the venomous cottonmouth and are often misidentified. Being active during the day and night, they hunt using both smell and sight. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water.
    _1LA8614-Edit2-snake-water-black-hor...tif
  • This female Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) is hunting near the edge of a marsh.  Northern Water Snakes are found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south.  They can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length.  Adult females can weigh up to 408 g (14.4 oz) in average body mass while the smaller males average up to 151 g (5.3 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males are 370 g (13 oz). <br />
<br />
The northern water snake is nonvenomous but can give a painful bite.  They superficially resemble the venomous cottonmouth and are often misidentified. Being active during the day and night, they hunt using both smell and sight. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water.
    _1LA8614-Edit-snake-water-black-hori...tif
  • This female Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) is basking on warm rocks in the morning sun.  Northern Water Snakes are found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south.  They can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length.  Adult females can weigh up to 408 g (14.4 oz) in average body mass while the smaller males average up to 151 g (5.3 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males are 370 g (13 oz). <br />
<br />
The northern water snake is nonvenomous but can give a painful bite.  They superficially resemble the venomous cottonmouth and are often misidentified. Being active during the day and night, they hunt using both smell and sight. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water.
    _1LA8614-Edit-2-snake-water-black-ho...tif
  • An autumn Japanese Maple leaf (Acer palmatum) has fallen on a lichen and moss covered rock in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _1LA1579-Edit-Japanese-maple-leaf-ro...tif
  • A yellow Norway Maple leaf (Acer platanoides) has fallen onto a bed of moss in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _1LA1595-Edit-leaf-maple-yellow-moss...tif
  • As autumn leaves fall, a yellow Norway Maple leaf (Acer platanoides) comes to rest naturally on the branches of a Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _1LA1530-Edit-leaf-maple-yellow-red-...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  With the moon blocking the solar disk during totality, red flares called solar prominences become visible at the edge of the dark disk.  The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. These prominences look small in relation to the size of the sun, but typically extend over many thousands of kilometers with the largest on record being estimated at over 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles).  A prominence forms over timescales of about a day and may persist for several weeks or months.<br />
<br />
During the total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona becomes visible as it extends millions of miles into space.  The corona consists of extremely hot ionized gases which exceed 1 million degrees Kelvin – 150- to 450-times hotter than the surface of the sun.  Being over 1 million million times less dense and much hotter than the sun’s surface and the solar prominences, the corona actually produces about one-millionth as much visible light, thus becoming visible from earth typically only during a total solar eclipse. The sun’s magnetic fields bend the corona into its remarkable shapes.<br />
<br />
In this image, 10 different photographic exposures of the solar eclipse were composited to show the eclipsing moon, solar prominences and the corona.  The image was then manipulated by a process involving radial blur subtraction and image offset overlay to accentuate the pattern of the corona. The coloration of the eclipsing moon and the solar prominences were retained in this rendition.  (exposure stack of 10 images)
    total-solar-eclipse-sun-corona-overl...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  With the moon blocking the solar disk during totality, red flares called solar prominences become visible at the edge of the dark disk.  The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. These prominences look small in relation to the size of the sun, but typically extend over many thousands of kilometers with the largest on record being estimated at over 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles).  A prominence forms over timescales of about a day and may persist for several weeks or months.<br />
<br />
During the total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona becomes visible as it extends millions of miles into space.  The corona consists of extremely hot ionized gases which exceed 1 million degrees Kelvin – 150- to 450-times hotter than the surface of the sun.  Being over 1 million million times less dense and much hotter than the sun’s surface and the solar prominences, the corona actually produces about one-millionth as much visible light, thus becoming visible from earth typically only during a total solar eclipse. The sun’s magnetic fields bend the corona into its remarkable shapes.<br />
<br />
In this image, 10 different photographic exposures of the solar eclipse were composited to show the eclipsing moon, solar prominences and the corona.  The image was then manipulated by a process called embossing where each pixel is replaced either by a highlight or a shadow, depending on light/dark boundaries on the original image.  The final image represents the rate of color change at each location of the original. This approach accentuates the pattern
    total-solar-eclipse-sun-corona-solar...tif
  • An American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) waits motionless in a small pond completely covered in Duckweed (Lemnaceae) in hopes of catching a small fly (Drosophilidae) walking along the edge of its mouth.  <br />
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The bullfrog is native to eastern North America with a natural range from the Atlantic Coast to as far west as Oklahoma and Kansas.  However, it has been introduced elsewhere where it is considered an invasive species, including Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Jamaica, Italy, Netherlands, France, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Colombia, China, South Korea and Japan.  In some areas, the bullfrog is used as a food source.  <br />
<br />
Bullfrogs are voracious, ambush predators that eat any small animal they can stuff down their throats. Bullfrog stomachs have been found to contain rodents, reptiles, amphibians, crayfish, birds, bats, fish, tadpoles, snails and their usual food – insects.  Bullfrogs are able to jump a distance 10x their body length.  The female lays up to 20,000 eggs at a time that form a thin, floating sheet which may cover an area of 0.5 -1 m2 (5.4 - 10.8 sq ft). The embryos hatch in 3 - 5 days. Time to metamorphize into an adult frog ranges from a few months in the southern part of their range to 3 years in the north where the colder water slows development.  Maximum lifespan in the wild is 8 - 10 years, but one bullfrog lived for almost 16 years in captivity.<br />
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Duckweed (Lemnoideae) are small flowering aquatic plants which float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water. These plants lack obvious stems or leaves, and depending on the species, each plant may have no root or one or more simple rootlets.  Reproduction is mostly by asexual budding, however, occasionally three tiny flowers are produced for sexual reproduction.  The flower of the duckweed measures a mere 0.3 mm (1/100th of an inch) long.<br />
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The fly escaped unharmed.
    _LPA8258-Edit-bullfrog-frog-fly-duck...tif
  • A young Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) perches amongst common cattails (Typha latifolia) at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. <br />
<br />
The red-winged blackbird is found throughout most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States. <br />
<br />
The red-winged blackbird has been considered the most abundant living land bird in North America, with more than a million birds per flock and the total number of breeding pairs across North and Central America exceeding 250 million in peak years. <br />
<br />
The red-winged blackbird is sexually dimorphic with the male being all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Red-winged blackbirds are polygynous, with territorial males defending up to 10 females. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the red-winged blackbird's diet.<br />
<br />
Male red-wing blackbirds are 22–24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) long and weigh 64 g (2.3 oz).  Females are smaller.  They build their nests in cattails, rushes, grasses, sedge, or in alder or willow bushes. The nest is constructed entirely by the female over the course of three to six days. A clutch consists of three or four, rarely five, eggs. Eggs are oval, smooth and slightly glossy, and measure 24.8 mm × 17.55 mm (0.976 in × 0.691 in). They are incubated by the female alone, and hatch in 11 to 12 days both blind and naked.  However, they are ready to leave the nest 11 to 14 days after hatching.
    _LPA8206-Edit-red-winged-blackbird-c...tif
  • A young Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) perches amongst common cattails (Typha latifolia) at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. <br />
<br />
The red-winged blackbird is found throughout most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and northwestern Costa Rica. It may winter as far north as Pennsylvania and British Columbia, but northern populations are generally migratory, moving south to Mexico and the southern United States. <br />
<br />
The red-winged blackbird has been considered the most abundant living land bird in North America, with more than a million birds per flock and the total number of breeding pairs across North and Central America exceeding 250 million in peak years. The red-winged blackbird is sexually dimorphic with the male being all black with a red shoulder and yellow wing bar, while the female is a nondescript dark brown. Red-winged blackbirds are polygynous, with territorial males defending up to 10 females. Seeds and insects make up the bulk of the red-winged blackbird's diet.<br />
<br />
Male red-wing blackbirds are 22–24 cm (8.7–9.4 in) long and weigh 64 g (2.3 oz).  Females are smaller.  The build their nests in cattails, rushes, grasses, sedge, or in alder or willow bushes. The nest is constructed entirely by the female over the course of three to six days. A clutch consists of three or four, rarely five, eggs. Eggs are oval, smooth and slightly glossy, and measure 24.8 mm × 17.55 mm (0.976 in × 0.691 in). They are incubated by the female alone, and hatch in 11 to 12 days both blind and naked.  However, they are ready to leave the nest 11 to 14 days after hatching.
    _LPA8205-Edit-red-winged-blackbird-c...tif
  • Phaleanopsis orchid bloomed by the photographer.  Phalaenopsis are also known as Moth Orchids and are native throughout southeast Asia from the Himalayan mountains to the islands of Polillo, Palawan and Zamboanga del Norte in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines and northern Australia.
    _LPA6359-orchid-phaleanopsis-white-b...tif
  • Mini Cattleya orchid bloomed by the photographer.  The cattleya is a genus containing 113 species of orchids that are indigenous from Costa Rica to tropical South America, growing throughout the Amazon region and to the south of Brazil..  The cattleya  is an epiphyte (air plant),  which stores water in expanded stems called pseudobulbs.
    _LPA6352-cattleya-mini-yellow-red-or...tif
  • Miltoniopsis orchid grown and bloomed by the photographer.  Miltoniopsis is a genus of orchids that consists of 6 species, native to Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia. They grow in locations that range from hot, humid lowlands  to relatively cool, humid cloud forests. They were named after Lord Fitzwilliam Milton, an English orchid enthusiast.
    _LPA6346-orchid-miltonia-flower-pans...tif
  • The colors of Eucalyptus tree bark (Eucalyptus botryoides) become vividly evident when moistened by the frquent passing mists along the flanks of Mount Haleakala, a 10,023 foot high volcano in Maui, Hawaii.  Panorama composed of 2 individual images.
    _LPA1101-eucalyptus-bark-haleakala-p...tif
  • These young mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain Goats, are resting on their way up a steep slope in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.  Mountain goats are sure-footed cliff climbers that are endemic to subalpine to alpine areas of North America.  They are the largest mammal in these high-altitude environments often exceeding 3,900 meters (13,000 ft). In summer, they generally stay above tree line, but occasionally migrate to lower elevations in the winter. Despite its common name, they are not a member of Capra, the genus that includes all other goats, but rather related to antelopes, gazelles, and cattle. <br />
<br />
Mountain goats are about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall at the shoulder and males are larger than females. Mountain goats can weigh between 45 and 140 kg (99 and 309 lb) with a length of 10–179 cm (4 to nearly 6 ft.).  Both male and female mountain goats grow black horns reaching 15–28 cm (5.9–11.0 in) in length.  After they are about 22 months old, the horns are visible and it is possible to tell the age of a mountain goat by counting the number of rings on its horns.  Two of the individuals in this image are too young to have grown horns yet.<br />
<br />
There are an estimated 100,000 Mountain Goats in North America. They are protected from the elements by long woolly white double coats that they shed in spring. Their coats are highly specialized consisting of fine, dense wool undercoats covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. Their coats help mountain goats survive winter temperatures as low as −50 °F (−46 °C) and winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph).  The average lifespan of a mountain goat is 9 to 12 years.<br />
<br />
This is a single color image that has been converted digitally to black and white.
    _1LA9417-Edit-Edit-mountain-goat-col...tif
  • The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird in the world exceeded only by the ostrich. Emus are endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and is found throughout most of mainland Australia.  <br />
<br />
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in height. Emus range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in).  They are the fifth heaviest living bird in the world after the two species of ostrich and two larger species of cassowary.  Adult emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.<br />
<br />
Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary they can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) due to their highly specialized pelvic limb musculature.  They flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilizing themselves when moving fast.  When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Emus have good eyesight and hearing.<br />
<br />
Emus primarily eat plants and insects but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently but ingest large amounts of water when they do.  Emus breed in May and June.  The male incubates the eggs and hardly eats or drinks during that time, losing a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after about eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. Emus reach full size after about six months.  The emu plumage varies in color due to environmental factors.  Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months with the head and neck being especially dark. The adult plumage has developed by about fifteen months.
    _1LA1020-Edit-adult-emu-eye.tif
  • The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird in the world exceeded only by the ostrich. Emus are endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and is found throughout most of mainland Australia.  <br />
<br />
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in height. Emus range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in).  They are the fifth heaviest living bird in the world after the two species of ostrich and two larger species of cassowary.  Adult emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.<br />
<br />
Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary they can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) due to their highly specialized pelvic limb musculature.  They flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilizing themselves when moving fast.  When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Emus have good eyesight and hearing.<br />
<br />
Emus primarily eat plants and insects but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently but ingest large amounts of water when they do.  Emus breed in May and June.  The male incubates the eggs and hardly eats or drinks during that time, losing a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after about eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. Emus reach full size after about six months.  The emu plumage varies in color due to environmental factors.  Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months with the head and neck being especially dark. The adult plumage has developed by about fifteen months.<br />
<br />
This image of a juvenile emu is derived from a two photograph focus stack.
    _1LA0695-Edit-Edit-emu-stare-head.tif
  • The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird in the world exceeded only by the ostrich. Emus are endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and is found throughout most of mainland Australia.  <br />
<br />
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in height. Emus range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in).  They are the fifth heaviest living bird in the world after the two species of ostrich and two larger species of cassowary.  Adult emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.<br />
<br />
Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary they can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) due to their highly specialized pelvic limb musculature.  They flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilizing themselves when moving fast.  When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Emus have good eyesight and hearing.<br />
<br />
Emus primarily eat plants and insects but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently but ingest large amounts of water when they do.  Emus breed in May and June.  The male incubates the eggs and hardly eats or drinks during that time, losing a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after about eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. Emus reach full size after about six months.  The emu plumage varies in color due to environmental factors.  Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months with the head and neck being especially dark. The adult plumage has developed by about fifteen months.
    _LPA7335-Edit-emu-smile-laugh.tif
  • The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird also known colloquially as redbird or common cardinal. It can be found from southern Canada, through the eastern United States and south to Mexico. It prefers woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps.  The Northern Cardinal has a body length of 8-9 inches and a wingspan of 10-12 inches.  The male is a vibrant red, while the female has a dull red-brown splotchy plumage. The Northern Cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on fruit or insects.  The cardinal was once prized as a pet, but its sale as cage birds is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.  This particular male Northern Cardinal is enduring a winter blizzard in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2396-Edit-cardinal-male-snow-bra...tif
  • The tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small, common songbird found throughout the east coast of the United States, to southern Ontario, Canada and westward to the plains of central Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.  They are 5.9–6.7 inches long, weigh 0.6–0.9 ounces and have a lifespan of 2–13 years.  The highest population densities of tufted titmice occur along the Ohio, Cumberland, Arkansas, and Mississippi rivers where they prefer deciduous and mixed-deciduous forests, especially those with a dense canopy or tall vegetation. Tufted titmice feed on insects and seeds.
    _LPA2623-Edit-tufted-titmouse-bird-s...tif
  • The tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small, common songbird found throughout the east coast of the United States, to southern Ontario, Canada and westward to the plains of central Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.  They are 5.9–6.7 inches long, weigh 0.6–0.9 ounces and have a lifespan of 2–13 years.  The highest population densities of tufted titmice occur along the Ohio, Cumberland, Arkansas, and Mississippi rivers where they prefer deciduous and mixed-deciduous forests, especially those with a dense canopy or tall vegetation. Tufted titmice feed on insects and seeds.
    _LPA2245-Edit-tufted-titmouse-winter...tif
  • The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) is a small, nonmigratory, North American songbird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. The chickadee is the state bird of Massachusetts, USA.  Its familiar call of chick-a-dee-dee-dee gave this bird its name.  The chickadee total body length is 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in), with a wingspan is 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in) and a body mass of 9–14 g (0.32–0.49 oz).   Sexes look alike, but males are slightly larger and longer than females.<br />
<br />
The chickadee has fascinating eating habits.  Insects (especially caterpillars) form a large part of their diet in summer. Seeds and berries become more important in winter.  Like many other species in the family Paridae, black-capped chickadees commonly cache their food, mostly seeds but sometimes insects also.  Items are stored singly in various sites such as bark, dead leaves, clusters of conifer needles, or knotholes. The chickadee can remember the location of caches up to 28 days.   Within the first 24 hours, the birds can even remember the relative quality of the stored items. <br />
<br />
The chichadee is also well known for its uncommon capability to lower its body temperature.  During cold winter nights, these birds can reduce their body temperature by as much as 10 to 12 °C (from their normal temperature of about 42 °C) to conserve energy.
    _LPA2462-Edit-chickadee-winter-snow.tif
  • The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird also known colloquially as redbird or common cardinal. It can be found from southern Canada, through the eastern United States and south to Mexico. It prefers woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps.  The Northern Cardinal has a body length of 8-9 inches and a wingspan of 10-12 inches.  The male is a vibrant red, while the female has a dull red-brown splotchy plumage. The Northern Cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on fruit or insects.  The cardinal was once prized as a pet, but its sale as cage birds is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.  This particular female Northern Cardinal is enduring a winter blizzard in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2421-Edit-female-cardinal-snow-b...tif
  • The tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small, common songbird found throughout the east coast of the United States, to southern Ontario, Canada and westward to the plains of central Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.  They are 5.9–6.7 inches long, weigh 0.6–0.9 ounces and have a lifespan of 2–13 years.  The highest population densities of tufted titmice occur along the Ohio, Cumberland, Arkansas, and Mississippi rivers where they prefer deciduous and mixed-deciduous forests, especially those with a dense canopy or tall vegetation. Tufted titmice feed on insects and seeds. This angry-looking tufted titmouse is waiting out a winter blizzard in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2344-Edit-tufted-titmouse-blizza...tif
  • The tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small, common songbird found throughout the east coast of the United States, to southern Ontario, Canada and westward to the plains of central Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.  They are 5.9–6.7 inches long, weigh 0.6–0.9 ounces and have a lifespan of 2–13 years.  The highest population densities of tufted titmice occur along the Ohio, Cumberland, Arkansas, and Mississippi rivers where they prefer deciduous and mixed-deciduous forests, especially those with a dense canopy or tall vegetation. Tufted titmice feed on insects and seeds. This angry-looking tufted titmouse is waiting out a winter blizzard in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2344-Edit-tufted-titmouse-bird-c...tif
  • A male and female Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) bask on warm rocks in the morning sun.  As is usuall for this species, the female is far larger than the male.<br />
<br />
These snakes can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length.  Adult females can weigh up to 408 g (14.4 oz) in average body mass while the smaller males average up to 151 g (5.3 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males are 370 g (13 oz). <br />
<br />
Northern Water Snakes are found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south.  <br />
<br />
The northern water snake is nonvenomous but can give a painful bite.  They superficially resemble the venomous cottonmouth and are often misidentified. Being active during the day and night, they hunt using both smell and sight. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water. <br />
<br />
This photograph is a two image focus stack.
    _1LA8658m-snake-water-black-pair- ba...tif
  • This female Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) is basking on warm rocks in the morning sun.  Northern Water Snakes are found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south.  They can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length.  Adult females can weigh up to 408 g (14.4 oz) in average body mass while the smaller males average up to 151 g (5.3 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males are 370 g (13 oz). <br />
<br />
The northern water snake is nonvenomous but can give a painful bite.  They superficially resemble the venomous cottonmouth and are often misidentified. Being active during the day and night, they hunt using both smell and sight. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water.
    _1LA8658m-Edit-Edit-snake-water-blac...tif
  • This female Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) is basking on warm rocks in the morning sun.  Northern Water Snakes are found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south.  They can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length.  Adult females can weigh up to 408 g (14.4 oz) in average body mass while the smaller males average up to 151 g (5.3 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males are 370 g (13 oz). <br />
<br />
The northern water snake is nonvenomous but can give a painful bite.  They superficially resemble the venomous cottonmouth and are often misidentified. Being active during the day and night, they hunt using both smell and sight. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water.
    _1LA8610-Edit-snake-water-black-hori...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  With the moon blocking the solar disk during totality, red flares called solar prominences become visible at the edge of the dark disk.  The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. These prominences look small in relation to the size of the sun, but typically extend over many thousands of kilometers with the largest on record being estimated at over 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles).  A prominence forms over timescales of about a day and may persist for several weeks or months.<br />
<br />
During the total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona becomes visible as it extends millions of miles into space.  The corona consists of extremely hot ionized gases which exceed 1 million degrees Kelvin – 150- to 450-times hotter than the surface of the sun.  Being over 1 million million times less dense and much hotter than the sun’s surface and the solar prominences, the corona actually produces about one-millionth as much visible light, thus becoming visible from earth typically only during a total solar eclipse. The sun’s magnetic fields bend the corona into its remarkable shapes.<br />
<br />
In this image, 10 different photographic exposures of the solar eclipse were composited to show the eclipsing moon, solar prominences and the corona.  The image was then manipulated by a process called embossing where each pixel is replaced either by a highlight or a shadow, depending on light/dark boundaries on the original image.  The final image represents the rate of color change at each location of the original. This approach accentuates the pattern
    total-solar-eclipse-sun-corona-embos...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  With the moon blocking the solar disk during totality, red flares called solar prominences become visible at the edge of the dark disk.  The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. These prominences look small in relation to the size of the sun, but typically extend over many thousands of kilometers with the largest on record being estimated at over 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles).  A prominence forms over timescales of about a day and may persist for several weeks or months.<br />
<br />
During the total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona becomes visible as it extends millions of miles into space.  The corona consists of extremely hot ionized gases which exceed 1 million degrees Kelvin – 150- to 450-times hotter than the surface of the sun.  Being over 1 million million times less dense and much hotter than the sun’s surface and the solar prominences, the corona actually produces about one-millionth as much visible light, thus becoming visible from earth typically only during a total solar eclipse. The sun’s magnetic fields bend the corona into its remarkable shapes.<br />
<br />
In this image, 10 different photographic exposures of the solar eclipse were composited to show the eclipsing moon, solar prominences and the corona.  The image was then manipulated by a process involving radial blur subtraction and image offset overlay to accentuate the pattern of the corona. The coloration of the eclipsing moon and the solar prominences were retained in this rendition.  (exposure stack of 10 images)
    total-solar-eclipse-sun-corona-overl...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  With the moon blocking the solar disk during totality, red flares called solar prominences become visible at the edge of the dark disk.  The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. These prominences look small in relation to the size of the sun, but typically extend over many thousands of kilometers with the largest on record being estimated at over 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles).  A prominence forms over timescales of about a day and may persist for several weeks or months.<br />
<br />
During the total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona becomes visible as it extends millions of miles into space.  The corona consists of extremely hot ionized gases which exceed 1 million degrees Kelvin – 150- to 450-times hotter than the surface of the sun.  Being over 1 million million times less dense and much hotter than the sun’s surface and the solar prominences, the corona actually produces about one-millionth as much visible light, thus becoming visible from earth typically only during a total solar eclipse. The sun’s magnetic fields bend the corona into its remarkable shapes.<br />
<br />
In this image, 10 different photographic exposures of the solar eclipse were composited to show the eclipsing moon, solar prominences and the corona.  The image was then manipulated by a process called embossing where each pixel is replaced either by a highlight or a shadow, depending on light/dark boundaries on the original image.  The final image represents the rate of color change at each location of the original. This approach accentuates the pattern
    total-solar-eclipse-sun-corona-solar...tif
  • Dew drops reflecting the natural colors of the surrounding  foreest floor cling to a Funnel Weaver Spider (Agelenidae) web.  The background has been digitally converted to black and white.
    _LPA2023-dew-reflecting-moss-spider-...tif
  • A colorful cut flower bouquet adorns a vase atop a marble pedestal at the annual Boston Flower show.
    IMG_0139-flower-bouquet-vase-pedesta...tif
  • The blue sky and white snow are reflected in the crystal contours of an icicle at Drumlin Farm, Lincoln, Massachusetts.  (Maco panorama composed of 5 individual images.)
    ice-icicle-blue-white-winter.tif
  • The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird in the world exceeded only by the ostrich. Emus are endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and is found throughout most of mainland Australia.  <br />
<br />
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in height. Emus range in length from 139 to 164 cm (55 to 65 in).  They are the fifth heaviest living bird in the world after the two species of ostrich and two larger species of cassowary.  Adult emus weigh between 18 and 60 kg (40 and 132 lb), with an average of 31.5 and 37 kg (69 and 82 lb) in males and females, respectively.<br />
<br />
Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary they can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph) due to their highly specialized pelvic limb musculature.  They flap their wings when running, perhaps as a means of stabilizing themselves when moving fast.  When walking, the emu takes strides of about 100 cm (3.3 ft), but at full gallop, a stride can be as long as 275 cm (9 ft). Emus have good eyesight and hearing.<br />
<br />
Emus primarily eat plants and insects but can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently but ingest large amounts of water when they do.  Emus breed in May and June.  The male incubates the eggs and hardly eats or drinks during that time, losing a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after about eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. Emus reach full size after about six months.  The emu plumage varies in color due to environmental factors.  Feathers of emus in more arid areas with red soils have a rufous tint while birds residing in damp conditions are generally darker in hue. The juvenile plumage develops at about three months with the head and neck being especially dark. The adult plumage has developed by about fifteen months.
    _1LA0716-Edit-emu-head.tif
  • The tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small, common songbird found throughout the east coast of the United States, to southern Ontario, Canada and westward to the plains of central Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.  They are 5.9–6.7 inches long, weigh 0.6–0.9 ounces and have a lifespan of 2–13 years.  The highest population densities of tufted titmice occur along the Ohio, Cumberland, Arkansas, and Mississippi rivers where they prefer deciduous and mixed-deciduous forests, especially those with a dense canopy or tall vegetation. Tufted titmice feed on insects and seeds. This tufted titmouse is waiting out a winter blizzard in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _LPA2526-Edit-tufted-titmouse-bird-v...tif
  • An autumn Japanese Maple leaf (Acer palmatum) has fallen on a lichen and moss covered rock in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _1LA1570-Edit-Japanese-maple-rock-re...tif
  • A sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) hides amongst brown Rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) and green Sea Lettuce (Ulva) in 25 feet of water off Folly Cove in Rockport, Massachusetts. Although also commonly known as "sand eels", the sand lance is not related to true eels. The family and genus name (Ammodytes) means "sand burrower", a reference to the sand lance's habit of burrowing into sand to avoid tidal currents.<br />
<br />
Sand lances are most common in the North Pacific and North Atlantic, but are found in oceans throughout the world. These fish do not have pelvic fins and do not develop swim bladders, being bottom-dwelling as adults. The larval form of the Sand Lance may be the most abundant of all fish larvae in areas such as the northwest Atlantic, serving as a major food for cod, salmon, whales and diving birds such as puffins, auks, terns, and cormorants. Sand lances can control the movement of each eye independently.
    Scan-101211-0010-Edit-fish-sand-lanc...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  With the moon blocking the solar disk during totality, red flares called solar prominences become visible at the edge of the dark disk.  The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. These prominences look small in relation to the size of the sun, but typically extend over many thousands of kilometers with the largest on record being estimated at over 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles).  A prominence forms over timescales of about a day and may persist for several weeks or months.<br />
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During the total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona becomes visible as it extends millions of miles into space.  The corona consists of extremely hot ionized gases which exceed 1 million degrees Kelvin – 150- to 450-times hotter than the surface of the sun.  Being over 1 million million times less dense and much hotter than the sun’s surface and the solar prominences, the corona actually produces about one-millionth as much visible light, thus becoming visible from earth typically only during a total solar eclipse. The sun’s magnetic fields bend the corona into its remarkable shapes.<br />
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In this image, 10 different photographic exposures of the solar eclipse were composited to show the eclipsing moon, solar prominences and the corona.  The image was then manipulated by a process called embossing where each pixel is replaced either by a highlight or a shadow, depending on light/dark boundaries on the original image.  The final image represents the rate of color change at each location of the original. This approach accentuates the pattern
    total-solar-eclipse-sun-corona-embos...tif
  • An autumn leaf from a nearby Japanese Maple tree (Acer palmatum) rests on the moss covered bark of a Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _1LA1490-Edit-Japanese-maple-leaf-no...tif
  • A flooded meadow reflects the early morning light illuminating Cathedral Spires in Yosemite National Park, California.
    cathedral-spires-reflection-meadow-y...tif
  • A winter setting sun illuminates the cliffs and monoliths of Upper Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef National Park,Utah.  Panorama composed of 11 individual images.
    _LPA63xx-upper-catherdral-valley-pan...tif
  • A brown moth (possibly Archips argyrospila) hides under an Asian Lilly leaf.
    _LPA7282-moth-asian-lilly-leaf-insec...tif
  • Dew drops cling to a Funnel Weaver Spider (Agelenidae) web spread over Sedum
    _LPA2016-dew-spider-web-moss-sedum.tif
  • A Funnel Weaver Spider (Agelenidae) tends his dew drop laden web spread across a Sedum groundcover.
    _LPA2009-spider-dew-drops-web.tif
  • A rare winter snow covers Balanced Rock in the desert of Utah's Arches National Park and the Unita Mountains in the distance.
    P-000165-arches-balanced-rock-utah.tif
  • AJ (age 7) and her new friend, a common toad  (Bufo bufo).
    2004-06-09-toad-girl-smile.tif
  • Phaleanopsis orchid bloomed by the photographer.  Phalaenopsis are also known as Moth Orchids and are native throughout southeast Asia from the Himalayan mountains to the islands of Polillo, Palawan and Zamboanga del Norte in the island of Mindanao in the Philippines and northern Australia.
    _1LA0797-Edit.tif
  • The Galactic Center of the Milky Way sets over the Carrabassett River of northern Maine in late August.  The Galactic Center is the rotational center of the Milky Way and where it appears brightest. It is 26,490 light years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. The Milky Way is the second-largest galaxy in our Local Group, with its stellar disk approximately 100,000 light years in diameter and, on average, approximately 1,000 light years thick. The Milky Way is approximately 1.5 trillion times the mass of the Sun. To compare the relative physical scale of the Milky Way, if our Solar System out to Neptune were the size of a US quarter (24.3 mm; 0.955 in), the Milky Way would be approximately the size of the entire contiguous United States.  The Milky Way It is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars and more than 100 billion planets.<br />
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This image is a focus stack of 3 photographs where the foreground was briefly illuminated with a headlamp during each 20 second exposure.
    _1LA0600-Edit.tif
  • The headlamps of four mountaineering groups are seen ascending Mount Bierstadt in the predawn light under a star-filled Colorado sky (3:30am).  Mount Bierstadt at 14,068 feet (4287 m) was first climbed in 1863 and is the 38th tallest peak in Colorado and the 44th tallest in the continental United States.  Groups typically begin their ascent in the early morning so as to complete the 6.9 mile trail and be off the mountain before the danger of afternoon thunderstorms common in this area.
    _1LA9361-predawn-ascent-Mount-Bierst...tif
  • Parrotfish owe their name to the shape of their mouth where instead of teeth they have two beak-like plates.  The Redband Parrotfish (Sparisoma aurofrenatum) grows to 28 cm (11 in) and is common to a depth of 20 m (66 ft) in Florida, Bahamas and the Caribbean.  Especially during younger stages, the fish’s color is highly variable and they can rapidly fade, intensify or change color and markings. Normally as seen here, an orangish-pink color band is present starting from below the eye and connecting to the corner of the mouth.  Redband parrotfish swim about reefs using their pectoral fins.  The tail is only used for bursts of speed. They use their 'beaks' to scrape algae and polyps from corals and rocks.<br />
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Even though the Parrotfish is colorful, they can still be well camouflaged on the reef as seen here nestled between the rust-colored encrusting sponge and green algae on the rock, and the brown tubulate sponge (Agelas tubulata) above.
    Image 005-Edit-redband-parrotfish.tif
  • Muhlenbergia capillaris, commonly known as Pink Muhly Grass is a perennial warm-season grass that grows to be about 30–90 cm (0.98–2.95 ft) tall and 60–90 cm (2.0–3.0 ft) wide. The plant flower spikes are double layered with green leaf-like structures and purple-pink flowers that outgrow them from the bottom up in the autumn. The flowers are very feathery and add a cloudlike appearance to the top of the grass. During the summer, the leaves stay green, but during the fall they take on a more copper color. It is native to eastern North America.
    _1LA0605-Edit.tif
  • This female Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) is basking on warm rocks in the morning sun.  Northern Water Snakes are found throughout eastern and central North America, from southern Ontario and southern Quebec in the north, to Texas and Florida in the south.  They can grow up to 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) in total length.  Adult females can weigh up to 408 g (14.4 oz) in average body mass while the smaller males average up to 151 g (5.3 oz). The largest females can weigh up to 560 g (20 oz) while the largest males are 370 g (13 oz). <br />
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The northern water snake is nonvenomous but can give a painful bite.  They superficially resemble the venomous cottonmouth and are often misidentified. Being active during the day and night, they hunt using both smell and sight. During the day, they hunt among plants at the water's edge, looking for small fish, frogs, worms, leeches, crayfish, salamanders, small birds and mammals. At night, they concentrate on minnows and other small fish sleeping in shallow water.
    _1LA8697-Edit-black-water-snake-bask...tif
  • Norway Maple leaves (Acer platanoides) lay scattered upon a bed of moss in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _1LA1582-Edit-leaves-moss-Norway-map...tif
  • Three autumn leaves from a nearby Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) have fallen onto the moss covered trunk of a Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) in Belmont, Massachusetts.  Moments later, a breeze blew the leaves off the trunk.
    _1LA1505-Edit-Japanese-maple-leaf-ba...tif
  • An autumn Japanese Maple Leaf (Acer palmatum) has fallen on a lichen and moss covered rock in Belmont, Massachusetts.
    _1LA1556-Edit-square-leaf-maple-japa...tif
  • Mom and Dad setting milkweed seeds free to fly upon the breeze on a perfect fall day at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, Massachusetts.
    _LPA0296-Edit-sunstar-sun-milkweed.tif
  • A flock of 16 Canada geese (Branta canadensis) fly south past the sun as they begin their migration to warmer climates for the winter. During migration, Canada geese often fly in a distinctive V-shaped flight formation, at a usual altitude of 1 km (3,000 feet). The maximum flight ceiling of Canada geese is unknown, but they have been reported at 9 km (29,000 feet).<br />
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(single image, no filter)
    _LPA0252-Edit-canada goose-geese-sun...tif
  • In the winter at Death Valley, the clear skies, cold nights and lack of nearby lights create one of the best viewing environments for the night sky.  Seen here in March, the many colors of the stars are clearly visible.  Centered in the image is the constellation Orion, with Orion’s Belt and sword clearly visible.  Orion is observable worldwide in the evening sky from January to March.  It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology.  The earliest depiction of the constellation of Orion is a prehistoric (Aurignacian) mammoth ivory carving found in a cave in the Ach valley in West Germany in 1979. Archaeologists have estimated it to have been fashioned approximately 32,000 to 38,000 years ago<br />
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Orion's Belt (or The Belt of Orion) consists of the three bright stars: Zeta (Alnitak), Epsilon (Alnilam), and Delta (Mintaka). Alnitak is approximately 800 light years away from earth and is 100,000 times more luminous than the Sun, although much of its radiation is in the ultraviolet range which the human eye cannot see. Alnilam is approximately 1,340 light years away from Earth and is 375,000 times more luminous than the Sun. Mintaka is 915 light years away and is 90,000 times more luminous than the Sun, and is a double star.  <br />
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The Pleiades star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters or M45) is visible from virtually every place on Earth and is one of the nearest star clusters. It can be seen from as far north as the north pole, and farther south than the southernmost tip of South America. It looks like a tiny misty dipper of stars, shown here 3/4 of the way to the right and halfway up in the sky.  In both myth and science, the Pleiades are considered sibling stars. The Pleiades stars were born from the same cloud of gas and dust about 100 million years ago. The cluster of several hundred stars is about 430 light-years distant, and the sibling stars drift through space together at about 25 miles per second. Many of these Pleiades stars shine hundreds of times mor
    _LPA3782-Edit-stars-orion-pleadeis-d...tif
  • A girl sits atop a fence contemplating the Andromeda galaxy and a faint display of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) while bathed by the warm light of a nearby cabin at Kestrel Ranch outside Cody Wyoming.  The Andromeda galaxy is visible as the tilted disk of stars to the upper right of the photograph.  Also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, it is a spiral galaxy approximately 780 kiloparsecs (2.5 million light-years) from Earth. It is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.   Andromeda is approximately 220,000 light years across, and it is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and other smaller galaxies. Andromeda contains one trillion stars, at least twice the number of stars in the Milky Way.  <br />
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(single image)
    _LPA9918-Edit-stars-milky-way-androm...tif
  • Under a moonless night sky in Death Valley California, headlights from a passing car light the barren landscape at Zambriske Point making it seem as though one is standing on another planet looking out into the universe.  The upper left star cluster is the Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters or Messier object 45) which is a 100 million year old formation approximately 130 parsecs (424 light-years) from earth.<br />
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Zabriskie Point is part of the Amargosa Range located on the eastern side of Death Valley.  The area is noted for its erosional landscape, composed of sediments from Furnace Creek Lake, which dried up 5 million years ago—long before Death Valley came into existence.  This ancient lake began forming approximately nine million years ago. During the several million years of the lake's existence, sediments composed of saline muds, mountain gravels, and ashfalls from the then-active Black Mountain volcanic field collected at the bottom of the lake.<br />
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Camels, mastodons, horses, carnivores, and birds left tracks in the lakeshore muds, along with fossilized grass and reeds. Borates were concentrated in the lakebeds from hot spring waters and decomposition of rhyolite in the nearby volcanic fields. Indeed, the location is named after Christian Brevoort Zabriskie, vice-president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company in the early 20th century. The company's twenty-mule teams were used to transport borax from its mining operations in Death Valley.
    _LPA3780-Edit-stars-death-valley-Zam...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  With the moon blocking the solar disk during totality, red flares called solar prominences become visible at the edge of the dark disk.  The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas composed of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. These prominences look small in relation to the size of the sun, but typically extend over many thousands of kilometers with the largest on record being estimated at over 800,000 kilometres (500,000 miles).  A prominence forms over timescales of about a day and may persist for several weeks or months.<br />
<br />
During the total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona becomes visible as it extends millions of miles into space.  The corona consists of extremely hot ionized gases which exceed 1 million degrees Kelvin – 150- to 450-times hotter than the surface of the sun.  Being over 1 million million times less dense and much hotter than the sun’s surface and the solar prominences, the corona actually produces about one-millionth as much visible light, thus becoming visible from earth typically only during a total solar eclipse. The sun’s magnetic fields bend the corona into its remarkable shapes.<br />
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In this image, 10 different photographic exposures of the solar eclipse were composited to show the eclipsing moon, solar prominences and the corona.  (exposure stack of 10 images)
    total-solar-eclipse-sun-corona.tif
  • Blooming beneath the stars, an Indian Blanketflower (Gaillardia pulchella) is bathed by the warm light of a nearby cabin at Kestrel Ranch outside Cody Wyoming.  The blossoms of Indian Blanketflower are up to about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) across There are 12 species of Blanketflower native to the United States, at least one species of which is found in every state.  Gaillardia pulchella is the most widespread of them all.  <br />
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The Andromeda galaxy is visible as the tilted disk of stars to the upper right of the photograph.  Also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, it is a spiral galaxy approximately 780 kiloparsecs (2.5 million light-years) from Earth. It is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.   Andromeda is approximately 220,000 light years across, and it is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and other smaller galaxies. Andromeda contains one trillion stars, at least twice the number of stars in the Milky Way.  <br />
<br />
(focus stack of 3 images)
    _LPA9869-Edit-indian-blanketflower-d...tif
  • A garden of Rudbeckia at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts as seen through an 8mm fisheye lens.  Rudbeckia, also commonly known as coneflowers and black-eyed-susans, are native to North America and a member of the sunflower family.  These perennial plants grow 0.5–3 meters (1.6 - 9.8 feet) tall depending on the species and are eaten by some caterpillars, including those of the Cabbage Moth and Dot Moth.  The 8mm fisheye lens used in this photograph provides 180 degrees of view in all directions.
    _LPA0235-Edit-daisy-coneflower-rudbe...tif
  • A garden of Rudbeckia at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts as seen through an 8mm fisheye lens.  Rudbeckia, also commonly known as coneflowers and black-eyed-susans, are native to North America and a member of the sunflower family.  These perennial plants grow 0.5–3 meters (1.6 - 9.8 feet) tall depending on the species and are eaten by some caterpillars, including those of the Cabbage Moth and Dot Moth.  The 8mm fisheye lens used in this photograph provides 180 degrees of view in all directions.
    _LPA0235-Edit-daisy-coneflower-rudbe...tif
  • A grasshopper sits on a young girl's shoulder as they gaze out over Boysen Reservior near Shoshoni, Wyoming.
    _LPA0293-Edit-girl-grasshopper-wyomi...tif
  • _LPA0097-Edit-boy-jump-teton-river-i...tif
  • LB catches a 19.5 inch Rainbow Trout on a dry fly while flyfishing on the Upper Narrows of the Teton River near Drggs, Idaho. The fish was released unharmed after the photograph.
    _LPA0035-Edit-Rainbow-Trout-Teton-Ri...tif
  • A bumblebee (genus Bombus) and black beetle gather nectar from amongst the stamens of a hibiscus flower (family Malvaceae) at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, Massachusetts.   Like their relatives the honeybees, bumblebees feed on nectar, using their long hairy proboscis which is folded under the head during flight. Numerous grains of pollen can be seen adherent to this bee’s legs, demonstrating why bumblebees are important agricultural pollinators.  Over 250 species of bumblebee are known, being found primarily at higher altitudes or latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, although they are also found in South America.  <br />
<br />
The hibiscus genus is comprised of several hundred species that are native to subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. They are renowned for their large, showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less commonly as rose mallow.
    _LPA9289-Edit-bumble-bee-beetle-hibi...tif
  • On August 21, 2017 the path of the first solar eclipses over the Unites States in 38 years traversed approximately 2,500 miles of the country from Newport, Oregon to McClellanville, South Carolina.  Just outside Shoshoni, Wyoming, the path passed over Boysen Reservoir and these Cotttonwoods (Populus deltoids), as seen here from the western shore.  At this location, totality lasted 2 minutes and 22 seconds, being at its maximum about 11:40 am.  During totality, there was approximately as much light as during a full moon night, and the sunset like appearance of the horizon extended for 360 degrees surrounding the area.  The totally occluded face of the sun surrounded by the sun’s corona can be seen in the upper right of this single exposure image.   <br />
<br />
Boysen Reservoir is located at 4,732 feet above sea level and was formed after the Wind River was dammed repeatedly in 1908, 1947 and 1952, ultimately creating a 20 mile long, 5.5 mile wide, 19,560 acre lake with 76 miles of shoreline.
    _LPA0362-Edit-total-solar-eclipse-bo...tif
  • The Milky Way rises above a field of wildflowers lit by the warm light of a nearby cabin at Kestrel Ranch, Cody, Wyoming. <br />
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(exposure stack of 2 images)
    _LPA9867-Edit-milky-way-wildflowers-...tif
  • The Milky Way rises above a field of wildflowers lit by the warm light of a nearby cabin at Kestrel Ranch, Cody, Wyoming. <br />
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(exposure stack of 2 images)
    _LPA9867-Edit-milky-way-wildflowers-...tif
  • The Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy rise above trees gently bathed in light from a nearby cabin at Kestrel Ranch, Cody, Wyoming.  The Andromeda galaxy is visible as the tilted disk of stars to the mid right area of the photograph.  Also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, it is a spiral galaxy approximately 780 kiloparsecs (2.5 million light-years) from Earth. It is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way.   Andromeda is approximately 220,000 light years across, and it is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and other smaller galaxies. Andromeda contains one trillion stars, at least twice the number of stars in the Milky Way.  <br />
<br />
(single exposure)
    _LPA9804-Edit.tif
  • An eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) basks on a lillypad eye-to-eye with an approaching emerald damselfly (Lestes sponsa) and it shadow in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.  <br />
<br />
The eastern painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. The adult painted turtle female is 10–25 cm (4–10 in) long while the male is smaller. Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks, or in this unusual case on a lillypad. During winter, these turtles hibernate, usually in the mud at the bottom of the pond. Adults in the wild can live for more than 55 years.<br />
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Damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are similar to dragonflies but have slender bodies and are weaker fliers.  Most damselfly species fold their wings over the abdomen when stationary, and the eyes are well separated on the sides of the head.  In contrast, dragonflies (suborder Anisoptera) are heavy-bodied, strong-flying insects that hold their wings horizontally both in flight and at rest.
    _LPA0107-Edit-turtle-dragonfly-damse...tif
  • An eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) basks on a lillypad not far from where a common housefly has alighted.<br />
<br />
The eastern painted turtle is the most widespread native turtle of North America. Fossils show that the painted turtle existed 15 million years ago. The adult painted turtle female is 10–25 cm (4–10 in) long while the male is smaller. Reliant on warmth from its surroundings, the painted turtle is active only during the day when it basks for hours on logs or rocks, or in this unusual case on a lillypad. During winter, these turtles hibernate, usually in the mud at the bottom of the pond. Adults in the wild can live for more than 55 years.
    _LPA0106-Edit-turtle-lillypad-fly-po...tif
  • A Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) feeds on a purple flower.  <br />
<br />
The Western or European honey bee is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bee worldwide, and one of the first domesticated insects.  It is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination activities. With human assistance, the western honey bee now occupies every continent except Antarctica. Because of its wide cultivation, this species is the single most important pollinator for agriculture globally. <br />
<br />
The Indian or Sacred Lotus has roots in the soil of the pond bottom, while the leaves float on top of the water surface or are held well above it. The flowers rise above the leaves and the plant normally grows to a height of about 150 cm (60 inches) and a horizontal spread of up to 3 meters (over 3 feet).  A single leaf may be as large as 60 cm (24 inches) in diameter, while the showy flowers can be up to 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter.  The lotus has a remarkable ability to regulate the temperature of its flowers to within a narrow range.  Lotus flowers have been shown to maintain a temperature of 30–35 °C (86–95 °F), even when the air temperature dropped to 10 °C (50 °F). The Lotus is one of only three species of known thermoregulating, heat-producing, plants. Lotus flowers, seeds, young leaves, and roots are all edible.  An individual lotus can live for over a thousand years and has the rare ability to revive into activity after stasis. In 1994, a seed from a sacred lotus, dated at roughly 1,300 years old ± 270 years, was successfully germinated.<br />
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In Buddhist symbolism, the lotus represents purity of the body, speech, and mind as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. In classical written and oral literature of many Asian cultures, the lotus represents elegance, beauty, perfection, purity and grace.
    _LPA8328-Edit-honey-bee-flower-purpl...tif
  • A Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) approaches an Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) Blossom.  <br />
<br />
The Western or European honey bee is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bee worldwide, and one of the first domesticated insects.  It is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both its honey production and pollination activities. With human assistance, the western honey bee now occupies every continent except Antarctica. Because of its wide cultivation, this species is the single most important pollinator for agriculture globally. <br />
<br />
The Indian or Sacred Lotus has roots in the soil of the pond bottom, while the leaves float on top of the water surface or are held well above it. The flowers rise above the leaves and the plant normally grows to a height of about 150 cm (60 inches) and a horizontal spread of up to 3 meters (over 3 feet).  A single leaf may be as large as 60 cm (24 inches) in diameter, while the showy flowers can be up to 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter.  The lotus has a remarkable ability to regulate the temperature of its flowers to within a narrow range.  Lotus flowers have been shown to maintain a temperature of 30–35 °C (86–95 °F), even when the air temperature dropped to 10 °C (50 °F). The Lotus is one of only three species of known thermoregulating, heat-producing, plants. Lotus flowers, seeds, young leaves, and roots are all edible.  An individual lotus can live for over a thousand years and has the rare ability to revive into activity after stasis. In 1994, a seed from a sacred lotus, dated at roughly 1,300 years old ± 270 years, was successfully germinated.<br />
<br />
In Buddhist symbolism, the lotus represents purity of the body, speech, and mind as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. In classical written and oral literature of many Asian cultures, the lotus represents elegance, beauty, perfection, purity and grace.
    _LPA8307-Edit-1-honey-bee-lotus-blos...tif
  • Ashlyn holds "Kisses" a female Peruvian guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) she raised from a young pup.
    _LPA3343-Edit-girl-guinea-pig.tif
  • Ashlyn holds "Kisses" a female Peruvian guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) she raised from a young pup.
    _LPA3342-Edit-girl-guinea-pig-smile.tif
  • This Red-tailed Hawk was stalking insects and small rodents in the grass at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  <br />
<br />
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), also sometimes known as a "chicken hawk", is one of the most common buteos in North America.  These hawks most commonly prey on small mammals such as rodents, but they will also consume birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.  Usually, they will eaither swoop down from an elevated location or attack in midair.  <br />
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These hawks breed throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies.  There are fourteen recognized subspecies, which vary in appearance and range. The Red-tail typically has a wingspan of 43 to 57 inches, being 18 to 26 inches in length and weighing 1.5 to 3.5 pounds, thus making it one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America.
    _LPA8028-Edit-red-tailed-hawk-stalki...tif
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