Mantis, with Iron Oxide

As promised, here's the in-focus mantis in all its water-droplet glory. A cooler photo than the original, but not exactly the right for the Photo Hunt.

Iron Oxide, with Mantis

I thought I'd have to hit the archives for a "Mineral" photo for this week's Photo Hunt , but the perfect shot was waiting for me this morning as I gassed up my car.
For another version of this shot with the mantis in focus, click here

Spider in the Sink...

...Who provided a good opportunity to test the Macro settings on New Camera. Figured it would make a good entry for this week's Photo Hunt.

Jersey Shore Night

The top 2 photos are from Wildwood's amusement piers. They were taken the same day as the Lighthouse photos below, that day's beautiful blue sky turning into a brilliant sunset.
Bottom: a view from the Washington St. Pedestrian Mall - coincidentally also the home of Tides of Time, a shop run by photographer Corey Gilbert (check out his online store in the "Links & Inspirations" section, top-right on this 'blog). His shop is one of our regular stops when in town, and his work definitely inspired me to try to get some better shots on this particular trip!

Cape May Lighthouse

As promised, more photos from last year's Cape May trip.
Bottom: the traditional postcard shot. Middle: the view from the base. Top: the actual lamps.

More from Cape May 2005 to come...

Cape May Footprint

This post is serving double-duty: both as another test post for the Photo Hunt, and the start of a series of posts from our Cape May vacation last year.

Blue Boat

A test post, for what will hopefully be a new and improved Photo Scavenger Hunt!
This is from the harbor in Oceanside, CA.

Insulators, and such...

To make up for the recent dearth of postings, I'm putting up a 2nd set tonight:

On a recent job-site visit, I found that several utility poles had been taken down and stacked. Not sure who actually did this, but it doesn't appear to have been the power company (!).
So I documented what I saw, taking a few extra shots for myself - it's not often you get a chance to see this type of stuff up close.
The 2nd shot from the top is my favorite of the day.

California at Sunset

Rounding out my postings from SoCal:
Top - Sunset as viewed from El Camino Real, San Clemente's main drag. Middle Two - more views from the Municipal Pier, a weathervane on top of Schleppy's Hot Dog Stand, and a surfer paddling out. Bottom - the San Fernando Valley, as seen from Universal Studios