BillGates

This message does not really have to do with backyard wildlife management. However, it is an interesting note about a species you may run into in your backyard one day. About a week ago an Office Assistant (basically a secretary) where I work asked me to come to the back door to see something. What I saw surprised and, to some extent, frightened me. I had never seen this creature in the past. It was a Hickory Horned Devil! The Hickory Horned Devil is the caterpillar of the Regal Moth. The... Read Full Story

Unless they're trying to be creative, most photographers don't want their pictures to look fuzzy or like their out of focus. Early on I did not realize why my photos looked like they were out of focus when I knew I clearly focused on the subject. I eventually found out it was camera shake. As usual, there are some general rules which will help you avoid this situation. The best way to get a very sharp picture is to use a tripod. Not only will it make for very sharp pictures, it basically... Read Full Story

You woke up, got out of bed, and wiped a comb across your head. Then danced outside into the sun and took out your camera and had some fun. Took a look at your image and what a site! Something that looked, well, totally white? Oh, my gosh, what a fright! I wish I could, I wish I might, be able to take a better photo tonight. I've had these thoughts a lot when I first began photography. However, they did not come out in a rhyme. More like zxbhg! Who in the heck ever set up f stops so a higher... Read Full Story

You've probably seen a picture of a winding path or road leading to a distant house. The photographer, if the elements were right, put mountains or hills in the background with a "V" just behind the house. Your eye follows the path to the house without you even realizing it. As your eye quickly surveys the scene it seems to eventually return to the house. This is the power of leading lines. The winding path is called a leading line because it leads you to the house. So are the lines of the... Read Full Story

Honey bees provide an invaluable service to nature and, of course, their honey is wonderful. Bees in general provide this service (as well as flies that visit flowers and other creatures, such as bats). What is it? Pollination of plants. You likely know that the structures like hairs on bees pick up pollen when they visit flowers and transfer it to other individuals of the same plant species, thus fertilizing the female reproductive parts of these plants. Results are fruits and seeds. This... Read Full Story

See the note with this illustration. There is a poll on the right side of this page to determine how many people see her moving in each direction. Be sure to provide input. Concentrate on the woman's movement. If you see her spinning clockwise, that means you're using the right side, or more creative side, of your brain. If she appears to be moving counter-clockwise, then that means the left side, or more logical side, of your think muscle is superior. Read Full Story

Color is another important feature of photographs. Color affects the mood of people and has different meanings. Look at this website to get a quick view of its affects- http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html . Thus, you can invoke different emotions in your viewer by the use of color. This includes the blacks and whites. How does the combination of colors in this picture of the Chincoteague Island lighthouse make you feel? If you were a mariner, you could probably see this lighthouse... Read Full Story

Getting the correct exposure can be difficult in some situations, especially where the subject or the background is light or dark. The 18% gray card will help if you can use it, such as when you are taking a picture of a stationary subject. An 18% gray card (may not be 18% gray on the screen and the white border is not part of the card). Meters in cameras are set up to make everything an 18% gray. This is a standard in photography. Many subjects are about this color. If you point your lense... Read Full Story

The first camera I owned in the early 1980's had only a spot meter. This type of camera meter measures the light entering the lense from basically one point. Typically, the place it takes the reading is wherever the center of the viewfinder was pointed. Usually the photographer pointed the indicator at his main subject, take an exposure reading, and set the aperature and shutter speed to give this exposure. This is to try to make the main subject properly exposed. However, as noted above, the... Read Full Story

When someone is walking down the street the direction of his next step is usually forward or in front of him. The same is true of a flying bird - it is likely flying forward and not backward (even if a hummingbird can fly backward, most people will assume it is flying forward unless something in the picture implies otherwise). So, the action that is implied is that this person and the bird will move forward. Thus, when you take a picture of the person or the bird you should have more space in... Read Full Story