Golden Paper Wasp Nest

This paper wasp made its nest right inside the alcove by my front door. It was fascinating to watch as the wasp would go around to each cell, in turn, and check on the egg inside. The wasp would form a drop of water on its mouth and apply it to the egg to keep it moist, and would then stand over the whole nest and beat its wings rapidly to cool the eggs down in the unseasonably warm weather. After retreating to the top of the nest for a couple of minutes it would go through the cycle again, making sure that each egg was safe and healthy.



Using a step stool I was able to watch the wasp dote on its eggs for quite a while, and I got quite a few good pictures with my 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. I keep the aperture wide open most of the time at ISO 400, but bumped it up to f/8 whenever I wanted to have more than about 1/4 inch depth of field.



Unfortunately the nest met its demise recently. I am not sure whether it was the strong winds of the last couple of days, or a UPS delivery driver that thought he was doing me a favor that did the deed, but I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for another nest this season to see how everything progresses.

Macro Photography in an Abandoned Corral

I have been driving by this abandoned corral for a few years and have been telling myself to stop and take pictures of it for nearly as long. I try to bring my GPS with me wherever I go so that I can mark interesting photo sites to come back to at a later date. This gives me a ready cache of photo sites to choose from whenever I go out.



Unfortunately on the day that I decided to stop the light was very harsh and it was very dusty, making any wide angle or landscape shots very difficult. I only managed to take one decent photo of the corral, and that was standing inside the chute shooting away from the sun.



Rather than wasting my time on photos that would not turn out due to poor conditions, I stuck mostly to my macro lens, a Canon 100mm f/2.8. The rotting wood, rusted barbed wire, and old nails provided great texture that really popped against the soft background.



This site was very fun to work around, but caution was needed to keep from stepping through rotting boards or getting caught on the barbed wire and cactus. I always wear tall hiking boots and jeans when out in the desert, regardless of how hot it is. They offer much needed protection from cactus spines, barbed wire, and critters.



This site is located on New River Road about 4 miles South of I-17, or 6.5 miles North of the Carefree Highway between New River and Lake Pleasant. Other great sites in the area are Lake Pleasant, the Carefree Highway, which is a designated scenic drive that is covered with saguaros, and the Hells Canyon Wilderness. With the ever expanding Phoenix Metro area, housing developments are already planned all the way up to and beyond the Carefree Highway, so enjoy the relative peace and quiet while you can.

Degrazia's Mission in the Sun

Ettore DeGrazia, 1909-1982, built the Mission in the Sun in honor of Father Kino,1644-1711, a Catholic priest thatestablished over 20 missions in the Southwestern US andMexico. The chapel is dedicate to our Lady of Guadalupe,patron saint of Mexico.







Both inside and outside the chapel you will find no shortage of photographic subjects, since DeGrazia has decorated it from head to toe with his own unique embilishments, from wallpaintings to flowers fashioned from old soda cans. Visitors have also left much to be photographed in the form of candles, pictures, crosses, and statues.





A short stroll from the chapel will lead you to the Galleryin the Sun, where the DeGrazia Foundation displays their15,000 DeGrazia works of art in rotating exhibits and six permanent displays. This building itself is a work of art,having been built by the artist with the help of Native Americans from local materials.





The Mission in the Sun and the Gallery in the Sun are both fantastic places to visit in the Tucson area if you arelooking for great photographic opportunities or simply wantto be inspired by one of the finest artists in the history ofthe Southwest. There is no entry fee to the chapel or the gallery. Driving directions and a map to the locations may be found on the following page. http://degrazia.org/Location.aspx