Beautiful sunset photographs

These are a couple of my favorite sunset photographs I have taken over the last few years.  The first one was taken in August from the dam on Lake Grapevine.  There was little to no editing done to the image.  This was the most impressive fiery orange sky I have ever seen.

The next sunset photograph was taken on Lake Fork in October.  Some editing was done in Adobe Lightroom.  The sunset was pretty impressive.

The last sunset photograph was taken over Lake Worth.  It is an HDR photograph and was heavily edited in Photomatix.  I love how the photograph turned out even though it is not very close to what the scene really looked like.

All of these photographs were taken on a Canon 5D Mark II.  A tripod was used for all three because of low light conditions and for the bracketing process for HDR in the third shot.

Sackens Bee Hunter Photograph

This is a Sackens Bee Hunter.  I came across this insect by accident one day.  I thought it was a Bumble Bee at first but I quickly realized it was a bee mimic.  I took a few photographs and began my search on the internet.  I have never seen one of these and I have lived in the same house for 25 years.
It turns out I took photographs of a Sackens Bee Hunter.  These bee mimic will capture and eat other bees.  They blend in and using the same color patterns are Bumble Bees.  They are stripped yellow and black but are not as wide bodied as a Bumble Bee.  They also stand differently in a different posture.
I have not been able to get much information on the internet as these seem to be elusive and not very common.  I found some articles that state they can bite of sting and that it is quite painful.  They are not aggressive and would only sting you if captured or maybe stepped on.  These insect are very good at mimicking bees.  If I wasn’t trained to notice details on insects because of my fascination with macro photography I would have dismissed this Sacken’s Bee Hunter as just another bee.

Macro photograph of Wolf Spider

These are some macro photographs of a Wolf Spider on a white background.  Wolf Spiders are not aggressive and are mostly harmless.  They will bite if harassed but in general they can be held if you are gentle.  A bite will be painful but otherwise it wont cause death, sickness or permanent damage.

These photographs of a Wolf Spider were shot on a Canon 5D Mark II and a Sigma 180mm macro lens.  I used a Canon MT-24EX twin flash unit.

Purple Flowers

These are two purple flowers I took some photographs of.  The first is a Cat Claw Sensitive Briar.  These are wild and grow all over the north Texas area.  When you touch the leaves they will close.  I lined my shots up and turned the lights off.  I used a Canon MT-24EX flash unit to get the light.  When the lights off the only area illuminated where the areas the flash hit so it created a nice black background.

I have no idea what this second flower is.  But I thought it would make for some interesting photography.

Baby in Monkey Outfit

My wife and I ordered some different knitted outfits for our new baby boy.  This one is a monkey outfit.  He wasn't happy when we started the photo shoot so I wasn't able to take the pictures I really wanted to.

We used a light blue blanket and a white sheet as backgrounds.  I used a Canon 5D Mark II camera and an Alien Bee 800 flash with a large octobox.

Macro Photographs of Red Harvester Ants

Texas is full of Red Harvester Ants.  In fact my guess would be that other than the invasive Fire Ants, Red Harvester Ants are the next most common species.  These insect love the heat.  Huge nest f Red Harvester Ants are often found in gravel fields and along road ways.

I took these macro photographs of Red Harvester Ants in Double Oak Texas.  The photographs were captured on a Canon 5D Mark II.  The nest has been here at least 2 seasons.  Last year the nest was in the same location.  This spring the nest re-appeared.  There were trails in the grass where these ants travelled so much.

I also took a few macro videos of Red Harvester Ants.  These videos were captured in HD on the same camera using a tripod.

If you would like to license any of these photographs or videos please email producttester999@gmail.com

Prairie Kingsnake photographs

I caught this Prairie Kingsnake in Troy Texas in April.  Prairie Kingsnakes are generally very docile snakes.  This snake did not bite and was not aggressive.  These reptiles are found in most of the southern states.  Prairie Kingsnakes eat mice and rats and will eat other snakes if they find them.  This is how they get the name Kingsnake.  Like all Kingsnakes they will eat other snakes even venomous ones.  They have an immunity to the venom which makes Rattlesnakes and others vulnerable.

These photographs of a Prairie Kingsnake were taken on a Canon Rebel T3I.

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Gray Treefrog photographs

These are some photographs of a Gray Treefrog.  Gray Treefrogs are amphibians that live in the southern United States.  This Gray Treefrog was caught outside of Austin Texas.

These are macro photographs of a Gray Treefrog.  I used a Sigma 180mm macro lens to get these photographs.  I used a Canon MT24-EX twin flash unit to get the light.  

Gray Treefrogs do not get very big.  They reach a size of about 2 inches.  They can change colors slighty from a pale gray to a tan to a dark gray and usually have molted patterns on their back.

Macro photographs of a wolf spider.

This is a group of macro pictures of a wolf spider with an egg sack. I took these pictures with a Canon 5d Mark II camera. I used an MP-E 65mm lens. Wolf spiders are not really aggressive but will bite if harassed. They are not dangerous to humans but will cause a painful bite.



I found this mother carrying her egg sack on the ground.  I took a few pphotographs and then released her on her way.  The Canon MP-E 65mm 2.8 1x-5x macro lens is one of my favorite lenses.  I get some really cool macro photography shots from it.


I am not sure what the red part in the above photograph is.  It may be a venom gland.




These arachnids are quite common in Texas.  I found a few of these each week it seems.  During the warmer months I find them crawling through the grass.