macro photography

Friday Flower – Blooming Cactus

~ laura lecce ~ 10 Comments
Cactus Flowers - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Cactus Flowers – Photograph by Laura Lecce

This photo was taken at the New York Botanical Gardens in the desert section of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Cacti produce some of the most stunningly beautiful flowers in the world. These brilliantly colored pink flowers were on the top of a teeny little barrel-shaped cactus. A cactus must be mature to flower and this can take more than 30 years for some cacti, and 40-55 years for the saguaro cactus! A word of warning though, not all cactus flowers are real. I have seen flowering cacti becoming more popular at grocery stores and corner stores, and the same cactus comes in a variety of brightly colored flowers from purples and pinks to oranges and yellows. Wondering how this could be possible, I have felt the flowers to assure myself that they are real. They are technically “real” flowers, just not real cactus flowers. My friend recently purchased one, and was kind enough to provide me a photo (below). These flowers are actually a strawflower (or everlasting flower) which have been glued to the cactus. These flowers can stay in perfect condition long after removal from the plant, and for marketing convenience make a very pretty addition to a cactus.

In a perfect world - Photographed by a good friend
In a perfect world – Photographed by a good friend

Friday Flower – New England Aster

~ laura lecce ~ 14 Comments
New England Aster - Photograph by Laura Lecce
New England Aster – Photograph by Laura Lecce

New England Aster is North American native plant, and is a great way of adding some bright color to your Autumn garden. Another fantastic perk is that these flowers are a great source of nectar for bees and butterflies, which can keep macro photographers busy for hours, and I also discovered that some butterflies have baby blue colored eyes. Not only are these flowers edible for insects, they are also a great way to add some color to your salads. This plant (mostly extract from the roots) has been used by many cultures (including Native Americans and Chinese) as a herbal remedy for fever, inflammation, and gut-related irritations. Planting some New England Aster is not only great for your garden, but can become so much more than just a pretty flower.

Red-Banded Leafhopper

~ laura lecce ~ 11 Comments
Leafhopper - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Leafhopper – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Gary I found one!!! Australia definitely doesn’t have such boldly colored leafhoppers, they are mostly a boring green color, making them very hard to spot amongst the leaves. In contrast, this red-banded leafhopper I found in Central Park is incredibly colorful, and doesn’t blend in at all. Native to North and Central America, this insect is so teeny tiny, it makes some ants look big! I wouldn’t have even known what I was looking at if it wasn’t for a post by Gary on his blog called krikitarts showcasing this spectacular insect (click here for post), with a fantastic photo as well. As soon as I spotted it, I was so excited to see one for myself. It was incredibly hard to photograph as the breeze kept moving the leaf, and the little critter wouldn’t stay still at all, and he’s so tiny I kept losing him, so this is as good a photo as I could get. This colorful insect certainly brightened up my overcast and dreary Sunday afternoon.

A lucky Lady

~ laura lecce ~ 5 Comments
A Lucky Lady - Photograph by Laura Lecce
A Lucky Lady – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Life is supposedly based on a simple equation… Work hard and you will be successful. This may be somewhat true, but I believe that a whole heap of luck is also involved. There are many things you can do in life to increase your chances at being lucky – optimism, open mindedness and determination will go far in helping you live the life you consider successful, which of course, is very different for all of us. So today I offer you this lady beetle, which is considered a sign of good luck by many cultures. My grandmother strongly believes in luck, and would tape four-leaf clovers to all of the framed photos she had around the house. When I was a young child I would go hunting in the garden to find shiny red, yellow or orange lady beetles. After returning from the garden with one in my hand, my grandmother used to recite a nursery rhyme in Italian as she was tracing circles around the lady beetle on my palm. I no longer remember the words of the rhyme, but it was telling the lady beetle to fly away and find me a husband. As it turns out, a month after my husband and I started dating he went to Italy with his parents for 2 months. On his return he gifted me a necklace with a beautiful lady beetle charm attached, and 5 years on we were married. So, sometimes in life working hard doesn’t mean anything at all, you just need a little luck and a lady beetle.

Flower Friday – Skipper Butterfly on a Dahlia Bud

~ laura lecce ~ 9 Comments
Skipper Butterfly - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Skipper Butterfly – Photograph by Laura Lecce

No science today, no facts, and no biology, just an adorable little butterfly on a plump dahlia bud. Why? Because todays post is dedicated to a very dear friend of mine. This post marks a moment in time when our friendship became greater than science. We will always find science in our lives because that is what we are trained to do, and biology will continue to exist around us. Friendships however, can sneak up on us gradually without any realization that it is happening, and will truly blossom when we face moments of hardship together. Together we will survive Winter and Spring will always follow.

The Magic of a Hoverfly

~ laura lecce ~ 25 Comments
Hoverfly - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Hoverfly – Photograph by Laura Lecce

This weekend I met a magical hoverfly. Why magical? Because this is by far the most magical and festive photograph I have ever taken. As soon as I saw the result, I imagined this fly to be a character out of Alice in Wonderland. Those giant round eyes and delicate transparent wings are perfect compliments to the whimsical pattern of his yellow behind – hovering above a background of delicate pinks and greens, punctuated with bright yellow stars which complete this beautiful world. A snapshot of the most perfect moment in time and space.

Blue Eyed Grasshopper

~ laura lecce ~ 20 Comments
Blue Eyed Grasshopper - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Blue Eyed Grasshopper – Photograph by Laura Lecce

This past weekend I went to Mexico and had some amazing experiences that I will share with you next week. However, of all of my photographs, this one was quite unexpectedly the most beautiful (and I never thought I would say that about a giant grasshopper!). This almighty insect which visited my balcony was an incredible lime green color with striking blue eyes. It happily sat still while I took my time getting the photo just right. Later that same night as I was walking along the beach, I spotted a few more (even bigger ones!) which I almost stepped on in the dark. One of them was in the direct path of a crowd of people coming down the beach and in need of rescuing. I decided to carefully nudge the insect onto the book I was holding so that I could safely relocate it (mind you, the book was no bigger than the bug itself). However, rather than happily complying with my request, it instead took a flying leap onto my knee, and although I am not at all afraid of insects, this was still a most unpleasant surprise! After a successful second attempt, I moved the big guy out of harms way, and I’m sure he will make a very large and tasty breakfast for some bird in the morning.

Flower Friday – Pink Perfection

~ laura lecce ~ 9 Comments
Pink Water Lily Perfection - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Pink Water Lily Perfection – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Considering there are about 70 known species of water lily in five different genera, it’s easy to see how there is such a range of colors, shapes and sizes. This image was taken at the Nan Tien Temple, a Buddhist temple in Wollongong (80km south of Sydney). It is a very beautiful and tranquil place to visit, with lovely gardens and many water lilies silently floating in their ponds. Although both pink, this water lily is quite subtle and is very different to seemingly intense one that I have posted previously (click here to see). Have a pretty pink weekend everyone!

Flower Friday – Euphorbia Didieriodes

~ laura lecce ~ 19 Comments
Euphorbia Didieriodes - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Euphorbia Didieriodes – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Last month at the New York botanic gardens I went to see the orchid display, when in fact these non-orchid photos turned out to be my favorites. In the dessert section was this beautiful plant native to Madagascar called Euphorbia didieriodes. The plant itself isn’t widely known, and I found little information on it, although other Euphorbias are common house/garden plants. I love these photos mainly because it surprised me that such delicate, cute little red flowers were poking out of a formidably thorny plant!

Happy weekend everyone!

Euphorbia Didieriodes Flower - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Euphorbia Didieriodes Flower – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Garden Orb Weaver

~ laura lecce ~ 15 Comments
Garden Orb Weaver - Photograph by Laura Lecce
Garden Orb Weaver – Photograph by Laura Lecce

I thought it about time for another spider, also a very common species on the east coast of Australia. Don’t worry, just like the St Andrews Cross spider, this is also one of Australia’s friendly spiders which wont kill you. The garden orb weaver is a beautiful arachnid, easily identified by its signature plump belly. It spends the early evening making a magnificent web and spends the night sitting in the center, waiting for an unsuspecting winged insect to fly into this brilliantly formed trap. During the day, the spider will leave the web and tuck itself away in a rest spot, often a leaf very close to edge of the web. If you are walking around and get a face full of spider web, its usually from these guys, thankfully its most often without the spider on your face too!