After the busy month of July with two big photo events: the Americana Music Festival in Virginia City and the Purple Summer Festival in Reno, August has been a time of reflection and slowing down to re-group with my camera.
The Perseid Meteor Showers began the third week in August and peaked at pre-dawn on the 13-14th. However with competition from the full moon, I took my chances on August 11th. when the moon was due to set around 3am. As luck would have it, the sky was clear and the winds calm and I did manage catch one meteor trail right before dawn. Unfortunately the next meteor showers are scheduled to peak in my area during the daylight hours and again there will be a full moon.
With the summer heat and contrasty lighting, I've spent some nice late afternoons walking along the shore of Walker Lake. It's enjoyable to be out exploring with the camera and I never know what scenes I might find. One day the lake is calm with a mirror smooth surface and other times, there is enough wind for a sail boat to drift by on the horizon.
Amazingly, I noticed a number of very tiny wildflowers still blooming on the sandy beach at the lake. A moment with the macro lens after the sun dropped revealed how nature adapts even in a hostile environment.
I love walking around my yard with the macro lens because I never know what surprises might turn up. One morning, movement on a bunch of small yellow flowers by the pond caught my eye. Focusing in, I saw a crab spider taking a pollen covered bee down to its lair. Each clump of flowers is less than a centimeter in diameter.
This has indeed been the fastest summer that I've ever experienced. With autumn just around the calendar, check back next month for a preview of events and happenings with the changing of the seasons.
