Death By Tumbling

Readers of this blog, (if there are any....) know that I am an avid photographer of wildlife, specifically of Butterflies. But, every now and then, I'll see an interesting bug and shoot it, too. At this point, I'd like to mention that there is this wonderful website out there where anybody can post a picture of an unknown insect and the good folks that frequent the place, all volunteers of course, will give it a name for you. This is especially good if you've just seen a weird-looking bug that has crawled into your house or one that flew by your head while you were in the backyard working on your tan. This website is called Bugguide.net. I have a page on that site where I post my Butterfly pictures, but it is also a repository of my other kinds of insects - beetles, moths, ants and bees, etcetera. I know you'll just want to click on this link and rush right over to see all the wonderful insects there, but please try to wait until the end of the blog. Here's the link to my page.

When you go there, just remember that the newest pictures I've posted show first and older ones are found by clicking on the page numbers.

One particular bug you'll see there is a beetle I was mighty proud of when it was first posted. It was eventually identified as a Tumbling Flower Beetle, and it's scientific name is Glipa hilaris. Here is what it looks like:

And another view:

The reason I was so proud of this particular insect over others I had photographed was because at the time I posted it, there were no other photographs of this elusive insect known to be in existence. That's anywhere in the world. It had been described a few times, but never photographed. Naturally, after I had posted the first one on Buguide.net, it caused quite a furor for a few days afterwards. Then, a couple weeks later, another photograph of one turned up, this one in Florida, and my euphoria was tempered somewhat. But, I like to think my picture was better because it was the first. So, if there are any Insect Guide Book publishers out there looking to purchase a good photo of this rare insect for your next textbook, you know who you have to see.

And to top it all off, I even saw another one of these beetles and got an even better shot of it. It is pictured below. Isn't it just the greatest beetle you ever saw? Now you can click on that link and go see all the wonderful insects that await!

Stop The Presses!

Back in my early career as a budding photographer, I got my start capturing newsworthy events around my area as they unfolded. To find out exactly how and why this began, one would have to recall that old program called Lou Grant, which was on television in the late 1970's/early 1980's. In it, there was one character, the staff news photographer, who was simply called Animal. It was also along about this time, 1978 or so, that I began freelancing and my pictures were used by most of the local papers around me. I even became intimately acquainted with a handful of different said local newspaper's darkrooms, too. So, naturally, I acquired the nickname of Animal, which suited me fine, and I started following my nose to any newsworthy events I could find.

Daryl Anderson as Animal

Something that will always liven up the front page of a small, hometown paper, is the sight of a burning house or automobile accident. Of which, there have always been, and forever will be, too many. I have scoured my files and chosen just a few of the noteworthy images that have made the front pages and that, to this day, has somebody somewhere still calling me Animal. Maybe in a future blog, I'll post some more recent events that I have captured with one or the other of my cameras I use and have sold to one of those same local newspapers.

Before.... (above) And after.... (below)

Random Buttefly Encounters

These are just a few quick photos of some of the different kinds of butterflies that I have come in contact with so far this season - literally! They just seem to like me. I thought my faithful readers might enjoy the wide variety that graces my person on a regular basis.

Travels With Charley (uh, Kenny)

Throughout my adult life, I have had the privilege to visit many of what is considered the great places in this nation of ours. At a young age, my family moved to Arizona and I came this close to seeing the Grand Canyon, but never did quite make it. If I could choose one thing to see that I haven't witnessed in person, that would probably be at the top of my list. But, the places already checked off my list run into double figures.
When I was a senior in high school, and at the ripe old age of 18, my graduating class had the pleasure of a trip to our nation's capital, Washington D.C. I have to tell you that seeing all those buildings our forefathers built and used was pretty awe-inspiring. Plus, it was the first real test of any consequence for my relatively new Minolta XD-11 camera. Here are a few of the places we saw:

Yes, we got to go inside the Capitol Building, the White House, The Lincoln Memorial, up the Washington Monument, the National Archives, The Supreme Court building and the Smithsonian Institute, among others. On a few side trips, we also got to take in George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg and the battlefield at Gettysburgh. A very sobering place, indeed. I don't think I'll ever forget the places we visited that year of 1979.

A few years later, my family, which by this time had moved back to Southern Illinois, took a vacation trip to Canada. The province we chose was Ontario. And if the rest of the country is as beautiful as that area, they are some very lucky citizens. Here are a couple scenic shots from that trip in 1982:

It was also during this trip that I took my first train ride. It took us into the heart of the wilderness and it was here I shot the cascading waterfall above.

Many years later, while on my second honeymoon, my then-wife and I went to the Big Apple - yes, New York City. We travelled by way of Philadelphia and it was there I witnessed another part of the historic early years of our nation. What more can symbolize the beginnings of our country than the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed or the Liberty Bell?

Don't let this get about, but I actually got to touch the crack in the bell!

Just a short, one-night stopover in Philadelphia, then it was on to the city. Many places I had seen in the movies and on television were right there - bigger than life! And, of course, I had to try and see as many of them as I could. Where do I begin? There was the Empire State Building, and then my favorite building of all in the world, the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, (which just happens to be my mother's maiden name!) and it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway, the Statue of Liberty:

Of course, I had to visit the Museum of Modern Art - because it houses my favorite painting inside it's walls:

That is the famous painting by Salvador Dali called "The Persistence Of Memory." Of course, there were many other places that just had to be seen in person and in the flesh. These included the New York Public Library, Rockefeller Plaza, Wall Street, a ride on the subway, Ellis Island, The Battery, Fifth Avenue, Times Square, Grand Central Station, The Chrysler Building, and de rigeur appearance at Central Park. And to cap it all off, a visit to that world-famous restaurant where the stars hang out, Sardi's. (Although I didn't see any of them when I was there....)

Pictures of a few of these other buildings might grace future blogs, as well as photos from some of the other places I've been, such as Atlanta, Texas, White Sands New Mexico, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinatti, Kansas City, Memphis, Music City - Nashville, Milwaukee, and Louisiana. But, those were other times and other places. While holding a special place in my memory, they didn't quite equal the special feelings I got from the cities and provinces I visited and spoke about in this blog.

Getting To Know Me

I figured it was about time to show you what I look like. Nobody really thought I resembled a giant Lobster, I hope. So, while showing off my photogenic mug (hardly!) I'll also describe a few of the other things that have taken up so much of my time through the years.

Flash back to the 1980's, that's when most of these images were taken. It was a time of prosperity, I guess - after all - it was the Reagan Years! The only problem with that decade was that the Trickle Down Economy never made it down all the way to my level. So, although I am right at home on the bridge of this yacht, it was not mine. (How I wish it was, though!):

But, things weren't really so bad that I had to go and live off the land like the next picture shows. That's an old buddy of mine, named David, and we were the epitome of the Great White Hunter:

Did I just hang out on street corners like a bum? I most certainly did not! But, I did think I looked pretty good in a leather jacket:

My sojourns into the woods actually brought me a little closer to nature. So much so that the little creatures became my friends. Here I tried to capture a swarm of bees that had landed in my yard, with the hopes of transferring them to a makeshift hive and collect honey:

And, it wasn't all work and no play. That would make Jack a very dull boy. I did manage to slip away to the seaside now and again for vacation. That's me, the one with the blonde hair, and a couple friends of mine, named Dave and Bob, and we're on the sunny sands of Jacksonville Beach, Florida:

No, I did not become a Paper Lion and escape to Detroit and join a football squad. But, check out those shoulder muscles! They're really the styrofoam corner protectors that came inside a television box:
I'll just let this last picture speak for itself. It pretty much sums up the 1980's for me. A friend of mine named Kent is the other figure in the picture:

Butterfly Season

This is just a quick update, as promised, to let you know that I have been out there chasing those butterflies this year! Here are just a few of the ones I have managed to capture with my camera so far.