My dream-job list lends support to my husband's characterization of me: he says I'm complicated*
- OPI Color Namer
- Food stylist
- Photo journalist (aren't bloggers amateurs in training?)
- Sommelier
- Sex therapist
- Sea World dolphin handler
- Restaurant magnate
- Specialty candy maker
- Professional beach reviewer (let's tack on "travel writer" while I'm at it)
- Greeting card writer (I recently let an opportunity slip through my fingers…:( )
Interesting that several of them revolve around food, a fact I'm only just now noticing. Hmmm….
In any event, based on my fascination with bugs, I clearly should add entomology to the list.
Take yesterday: I rescued a GIGANTIC praying mantis dangling upside down in a spider web outside our kitchen window.
Doesn't he look mad? Guess I would be, too, if I found myself upside-down in a spider web. Especially if a potential rescuer found the need to take pictures before, you know, RESCUING ME!
It was hard for me to get a picture with his full body in focus; plus, he wasn't exactly holding still and I was freaking out from his alien-eyed glare.
Are you lookin' at me? I s a i d, "ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!"
Thing is, my entomologist inclination didn't start yesterday; I've been snapping bugs all summer…
It's difficult to distinguish here, but the furry spider is sucking out the brains of some unfortunate creature who made the tragic mistake of saying "Okay" when Spidey said, "Step into my parlour…."
Using a different setting and angle, another view–
It was disappointing when a summer storm wreaked havoc on my friend's web; no more spider-cannibal shows for me!
This reminded me of David and Goliath. I think we know who won that one!
Just once, I would love to see a cicada emerge from its shell! I always find these guys after they've hatched.
This guy? He's definitely Japanese film and/or nightmare material.
I've never seen a bee with orange saddle bags before; does anyone know if it's pollen or is that part of his actual legs??
The best thing about photographing bugs? They're much more cooperative than my children, whose greatest joy is to get a rise out of their mama when she's trying to take a sibling picture! Go figure…. 🙂
YOUR TURN: Do you think I'm crazy or can you relate? Is there something out of the ordinary you like to photograph? Or…going back to the beginning of my post, what is your dream job?
* as opposed to High Maintenance. There IS a difference 😉
Two years ago I posted a picture of a cicada emerging from its shell. It was FREAKY.
http://jeniallen.blogspot.com/2008/08/cicada-weirdness.html
I got some cool shots a couple of weeks ago of a huge banana spider eating a beetle that was equally huge. It was fun to photograph those. I like photographing bugs because they sometimes move so fast, you don’t know what your picture looks like until you get it off the camera. When you get a good one, it’s worth the time!
Yes, I believe what you’re seeing is the pollen baskets on the bees legs. Here’s a pic with a closer view: http://www.vegetus.org/honey/pollen.htm
Love the bug photos!
those praying mantis pics are really cool, Robin. But those spider pics kinda freak me out! I had a weird bug experience this week…but no pics. I just might have to post about it today…
Pollen, I believe.
I love praying mantis. Had to give up my fear of spiders so my kids wouldn’t pick up on it, kwim?
Dream job? Not sure. Probably travel writer.
Bugs are kind of fascinating to photograph but I haven’t done that YET anyway.
Dream job – OPI nail color tester (or any nail polish) along with a person to put it on for me for FREE LOL
Cake maker/deliverer – love seeing the people’s faces when they see it
I so relate. It wigs my wife out when I go macro on a bug’s life, but I grab the moment anyway because you never want to wonder what if.
I’m learning, albeit slowly, that life’s all about not missing those little opportunities to push the bounds a little and leave a somewhat bigger mark than we otherwise would have.
So cool that you obviously learned that lesson long ago, and are busy applying it in all sorts of incredible ways.
Bugs rule, especially through your lens.
Oops, sorry for the second comment. Wanted to touch on your third bullet. I’ve got a bit of first-hand knowledge on that one (sidebar: just started publishing biz-tech pieces in Canada’s largest newspaper.)
With one foot in career-driven mainstream media and the other in life-infused social media, I speak from the heart when I say a blogger is just as, if not more capable of, moving me to tears or any other emotional state relative to a professional writer.
The paycheck has little to do with the power of the words, though it certainly doesn’t hurt to be able to build a career around something you love so much that you’d do it for free.
Jeni,
That was freakin' awesome. I wanna see! I wanna see! 🙂
Rachel, you reminded me about some FANTASTIC bee and butterfly shots I got shortly after purchasing my SLR. They were amazing! I couldn't believe I could "do" that, lol. But the pics you got a few weeks ago…while freaky, I would have totally eaten that seen up ;). Spiders amaze me. They're brilliant.
Jenni, THANKS for confirming what I suspected; pollen BASKETS is much cuter than my word for 'em, lol. Guess I was thinking about what's on MY thighs ;).
Dawn,
It's kinda nuts, but when my camera is between me and ANY bug, I'm not freaked out; without my camera? Well…I kinda act like a girl ;). Did you post about your experience?
Monica, where I'm a word glutton, you're a word economist. I *envy* that about you (in the nice sense). I totally get suppressing our fear-tendencies so our kids won't learn them. Parenting requires such great intention, huh?
Ahhh, Gerri, you're a girl after my own heart. Why didn't I think of free mani's as part of my OPI job? lol Also, YES! Pretty cakes DO light up faces! Even without candles! 🙂
Carmi!!
If you lived in Chattanooga, we would have the BEST time starting a photography group and going on photo walks! You see life in "story" and I've always appreciated the way you express that. I think you've even "mentored" me in a sense; early on when I saw your photography and read your expression of what you saw, you compelled me to think similarly. Isn't that cool to know? Leading by example.
KUDOS to you for your writing gig; they're fortunate to have you as a regular contributor. I'm inclined to agree with you, though. "Paychecks" sometimes have very little to do with dollars and cents; those people who understand this are among the wealthiest people on earth.
Always glad to see you in Pensieve Land; I need to find Written, Inc. soon 😉 :).
Thanks so much, Robin! There are days when I wish geography didn’t have to be such an impediment to collaboration, and this is one of them. There are so many people I want to spend time with, to talk to, to learn from…and I don’t have enough time or travel-capacity to manage it all.
Maybe when this writing snowball is a little further down the hill. That’s the dream, after all, and I’ll be the one over here, repeatedly sharpening my virtual pencil and filling the virtual page so that I can afford to spend the kind of time I need to fill my and my community’s creative soul.
Which reminds me…the page beckons. More soon.
(And I think you’ll particularly appreciate what I wrote this morning.)
I’ve been taking pictures of bugs all summer!!
I should add entomology to MY list, too!!
http://www.classichousewife.com/tag/insects/
These insect’s pictures are really great and I have read bout that , it was really interesting to read about that, thanks for share it.