Several days ago I posted how on a recent trip to Washington State I traveled out to Whidbey Island, which is several miles off the coast, near Seattle. In that post I showed you some photos of a baby seal that I had come across, however that wasn't the only animal inhabiting these rocky beaches. There are several species of small shore crabs in the area, and watching them scurry around the beach is very entertaining. Photographing them posed to be somewhat of a challenge as they don't sit still for very long . Though there are some larger species of crabs living along the coast of the Pacific Northwest these little crustaceans are my personal favorite due to their unique behaviors and "attitudes".
Hey everyone! If you've been following WP Nature Photography you'll notice the new layout that I have. With that said, not everything looks 100% "normal" on it yet (the right hand side of the images in my posts are cut off, along with all sorts of problems on the sidebar). However in the next couple of days I'll be working on it and adjusting it so that it will look better then ever! Just thought I'd fill you guys in!
Nonetheless this is a nature photography blog, so here is a picture of a North American River Otter that was swimming around in his exhibit at a zoo that I recently visited.
This Sphinx Moth caterpillar obviously has quite the burden on its shoulders - unwanted baby wasps. This gruesome tale all starts when a female parasitic wasp (from the wasp family "Braconidae") uses a syringe-like tool to lay her eggs beneath the surface of a caterpillar's skin. The eggs will eventually hatch and the baby wasps will eat their way out of the caterpillar's body. Once they have emerged from the caterpillar's innards they form white cocoons (shown in the picture above) where they will stay until they finish developing into little wasps. When ready, they will break open the tops of the cocoons and fly away. Bad news for the victim caterpillars however, as they perish in the process.
I found this guy munching on some leaves a couple of summers ago and was intrigued to photograph something so unique. Though it may seem sad from the Sphinx Moth's point of view, it is almost impossible to not be fascinated by the wasps and their strange way of hatching and growing.
While walking along a beach on Whidbey Island (which is off the coast of Washington State) I came across this cute little fellow. This is an infant Harbor Seal(Phoca vitulina) whom was resting among the rocks. I have to admit the his camouflage was superb and I didn't spot him until I was some 30 feet away. I quickly attached my telephoto lens to my camera (since approaching these marine mammals will stress the animal) and took these shots from a distance. The appropriate park/wildlife service was phoned and a marine mammal specialist came to observe what we had found, and to ensure that this lone little pup was kept safe from other tourists. This is hands down one of the cutest creatures I have ever seen!
I am going to briefly turn away from the "nature" part of this photography blog and show you some photos that I captured last summer during my trip to Poland. Krakow is one of Poland's largest cities (second only to Warsaw) and I had the chance to stay there for several days. I took these photos while the sun was setting on the beautiful town square one evening.
Also during my stay in Krakow, I got to travel the surrounding area. The city itself is beautiful (with the town square taking the cake as the most beautiful part of the city in my opinion) but there are many things to travel to elsewhere. An old (and MASSIVE) palace was extraordinary to walk through and also did a great job at making my house feel super small!
Poland played a huge role in the second World War and I also got to see many places still remaining from the war. The most memorable was going through Auschwitz concentration camp. Walking through the halls and streets where so many people died was both horrific and distressing. Nonetheless, it was truly life changing. The camp was liberated by the Soviet Union on January 27, 1945.
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There are several species of small shore crabs in the area, and watching them scurry around the beach is very entertaining. Photographing them posed to be somewhat of a challenge as they don't sit still for very long . Though there are some larger species of crabs living along the coast of the Pacific Northwest these little crustaceans are my personal favorite due to their unique behaviors and "attitudes".
