Today on my walk

[Celebration]

[Mira]

1. These are stunning, if you pardon the expression,

I especially think the first one is a perfect composition. The deer = great catch. And the last two simply rock. The dragon fly especially looks so precariously perched it tells more of a story than simply a great photo. A true keeper, bokeh and all.

[Celebration]

3. Thanks Mira

I'm glad to get *any* photo of a deer in Shelby Farms. I see them now and again and even have a few photos of them but they never ever pose! It is harder to get a photo of a deer than a heron. As you know, I love the challenge of it more than the photography of it.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Very nice.

I really like the first one, and hte dragonfly reminds me of my mother, who always wore one of her several dragonfly pins wherever she went. This one is a beauty.

[Celebration]

4. you know what?

I think I have a dragonfly pin somewhere, most likely from my mom..........never have worn it that I can remember. You are taking me back to the days when I was a kid, wore hats to church on Sunday, and often a pin of some type on my dress. Pins seem so foreign to me now. Strange!

[Solly Mack]

5. What a great walk!

As evidenced by such wonderful photos!

Love the bug. :)

[Celebration]

6. Thanks!

I like the bug too. I see it much more detailed in the photo than I did in real life (although I did notice all the blue). I never know what I will run into at Shelby Farms.

[CC]

7. They are all great and each in its

own way. The first one is the "the epitome of bucolic beauty" to steal the DH's wording. Great capture of the dragonfly. I know how hard it can be to do. Hard to pick a favorite out of this set since they each have so much going for them.

[Celebration]

8. Thanks

The first one required the most fiddling around with settings. I had to hit a happy medium between sky and ground. This is actually cropped quite a bit too because of lens flare, as I was facing the light. It is backlit even though it doesn't necessarily show it. I have another version of this where the fisherman is lightened by my new Photo Director software. If there is ever another Shelby Farms photo contest, this is one to submit, I feel. It is one of the more interesting lakes, and the deer was about fifty yards to the left of this, on dry ground but part of the lake when the water is high.

The dragonfly I love but as far as I am concerned was pure luck. However I love lucky captures. That, in fact, is most of the thrill of photography for me--not the planned stuff. I'm not that interested in planning ANYTHING--including what I need to get at the grocery store. Call me an anti planner!