Got Ya!

"Got Ya!"

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

I lay on my stomach and waited for this fiddler crab to come back out of his hole. Someone may think I was hurt, so I folded my legs up behind me and wiggled them. The things I do for a photograph:) 

Location: St. Simons Island, Georgia

Teardrop

"Teardrop"

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

My eye was drawn to the drop of water on this leaf. I could not figure out why I was so drawn to the image before me, but photographed it anyway. 

I loved the highlight coming into the drop of water. I also love the patterns in the dark horseshoe shape. The drop of water looks like a teardrop.

 Location: The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

In Spotlight

"In Spotlight"

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

Yesterday, I met again a fellow photography friend to shoot at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Before she got there, I found a little grasshopper relaxing on a large leaf plant. I took several "normal" shots then photographed the grasshopper backlit and in silhouette.

Location: Athens, Georgia

Under the Dock

"Under the Dock" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography 

I went to the marina on St. Simons Island, Georgia to see what I could find to photograph. I saw a few barn swallows diving in and out underneath the dock, so I walked down the ramp, to get closer to the birds.

I found this particular bird perching on the pipes. 

It did not take long to find its nest full of babies which was not far from its perch.
 Location: Morningstar Marinas, St. Simons Island, Georgia

Red-billed Streamertail Hummingbird

"Red-billed Streamertail Hummingbird"
Judy Royal Glenn Photography

Paul and I enjoyed our trip to Rocklands Bird Sanctuary in Anchovy, Jamaica. It was my favorite part of the whole cruise. 

The red-billed streamertail hummingbird is Jamaica's national bird. 

We were given little bottles of sugar water and the hummingbirds were accustomed to the bottles and would feed from them. This red-billed streamer tail hummingbird landed on my husband’s finger to feed.

I enjoyed feeding them too!

I took this video of the hummingbird feeding. The speed of the video was slow as the lighting was dark, but I love watching its wings in slow motion.

Nilgai

"Nilgai" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

The Nilgai a large antelope found in India and eastern Pakistan. Luckily, I did not have to travel there to photograph it. That's why I love the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It brings animals from all over the world to me!

"Caught in the Rain" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

I spent about five hours in this small section of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia photographing two hummingbirds busy feeding and fighting each other. The flowers are lush in this section this year and have been a hummingbird magnet.

I found several new perches I did not know about because I haven't spent much time in this section. This tall rose branch was one of his favorite branches. 

He finally landed on the perch, and I got my perfect background when it started to rain. It did not bother me. I covered my gear and continued to shoot.

I love this immature male's markings on his neck. It looks like he has on a colorful necklace. Location: The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

Hanging On

"Hanging On"

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

The thing I love about dragonflies is they come back to the same perch time and time again like hummingbirds do. It makes it so much easier to photograph them. It just takes patience.

This particular dragonfly usually landed repeatedly on the top of this branch. I guess he tired of doing so and decided to hang on it. 

Location: Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia

Missing One

"Missing One" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

Here is another photo from my shoot with my friend Heather. Since she had her macro lens, she was looking for tiny details and noticed this spider was missing a leg. She was my spotter and constantly found things for me to photograph. What I love about this photo is the bokeh.

Scampering Along

"Scampering Along"

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

Our Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Independence of the Seas, stopped at Labadee Haiti. My family went back to the ship, but I am glad I decided to stay and photograph the beach. The Lord provided an immature Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus) for me to photograph. I followed it along the rocky shore for quite sometime. This is one of my favorite photographs. As an adult, these crabs have striking colors such as blue, red and yellow. 

Location: Labadee, Haiti

Haiti's Shores

"Haiti's Shores" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

Haiti's shores were a mixture of beautiful white sand in some places, whereas other spots were extremely rocky.

My family had already gone back to the ship, but I enjoyed photographing the beach. I loved the beautiful blue water splashing on the rocks.

Sitting on Sorgum

"Sitting on Sorgum"

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

I went with my friend Heather to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia to photograph hummingbirds, but this cardinal wanted his portrait taken on top of the sorgum instead. 

Location: The State Botanical Garden of Georgia

Finger Starfish in Haiti

"Finger Starfish in Haiti"

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

This starfish originated in the Philippines, then was exported to the United States to be sold. I bought it and took it to Haiti so I could photograph it on the white sandy beach. I loved the crystal blue ocean! 

Location: Labadee, Haiti

Faith Feeding Her Baby

"Faith Feeding Her Baby" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

Faith, the momma ruby-throated hummingbird, which is on the "right" is feeding her baby at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. The momma is smaller than the baby because she is busy feeding herself and two others! The hummingbirds.net website stated,"When they leave the nest, the chicks are considerably larger than their mothers: they may weigh 4.5 grams, while poor Mom is down to only 2.5 g after the stress of raising them." Think about how much energy she has to burn!

I should have called the baby "Monkey" because of the positions he tried to feed in:)

 Location: Athens, Georgia

"Who's Who?" 

Judy Royal Glenn Photography

I have more photographs I wanted to share of Faith (the momma ruby-throated hummingbird) and her babies. I love this photo of Faith and one of her babies on a branch.

I spoke to the Master Gardners at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia on Tuesday and showed them this photograph in my slide presentation. I asked them which one was Faith (the momma) and which one was the baby hummingbird. There are two clues to help your answer. You can guess today or wait till I post two more photos on Monday that will help with your answer. I'm not giving away the answer till Monday, and if I told you keep it a secret:) 

Location: The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Athens, Georgia