James H. Brown Sr. April 11, 1924 – Feb. 25, 2011.

James H. Brown Sr., 86 years old, married to Betty for 63 years, father of 3  sons, grandfather of 5, great grandfather of 2, … my dad, died on Feb. 25, 2011.
He was buried at Fort Jackson National Cemetery.
A “NAVY” guy!

My dad once told to me that he liked this photo that you see above.
He said, “I wonder what it would be like to fly like a dragonfly and sit around a pond?”
It just so happens that my father-in-law who is a retired Rev., carried out the funeral service for the family and had this story to tell during the service.
It seemed so fitting!

The story goes something like this:

A large family of dragonfly nymphs were living in the waters of a beautiful pond, just a foot or so below the water’s surface.
Over time, members of the dragonfly family noticed that some of its family members were disappearing.
Some family members were seen moving towards the surface of the pond, moving to the top portion of the water and into the sunlight, where they vanished, never returning and telling the rest of the family what they had seen, or experienced.
The remaining dragonfly family members were concerned, and decided among themselves that if anyone should happen to go to the other side of the water’s surface, that they would try and return to tell the others about what was there, … what they had seen.

Just a few days later, one little dragonfly nymph had the urge to move upwards, to the surface, to the beautiful light above.
He swam up, breaking the surface waters, then climbed up a narrow strand of grass.
There he soon had wings, and the urge to fly began.
He happily flew around this new world that was full of amazing things he had never seen before.
Then he remembered that he was suppose to return and tell the rest of his family what he had seen, … what he had experienced.
He tried to get back below the water’s surface, but he could not.
He tried over and over again, … but never once could he break below the surface, to return to his family and the world that he knew.
So, … he flew away, never seeing his family again as he once knew them.
He never forgot his cherished family and the love he had for them, … but he was in his place now.
It was a glorious place to be!

This is where I see my dad now. A glorious place.

The night before he died, my youngest son Joseph and I went to the hospital to see him.
He was very talkative, but for the past three days no one could understand a thing he was saying because of the mask he was wearing and the sound of oxygen being forced into his mouth/nose. He had two air embolisms within his lungs and they were trying to get them to move into a filter that was placed within just a day earlier.

We stayed for about 90 minutes.
Little did we know that Joseph and I would be the last to see him alive.
Joseph told him good bye, then I leaned over and kissed him on his head, telling him in his ear that we were leaving and would see him the following day.
I then told him, “I love you daddy”.
Some way, some how, my daddy said very clearly to me, “I love you too son”. Joseph heard it as well.

He somehow had managed to say it loud and clear to me.
I believe now that he knew.
I believe that was the way it was suppose to be.
I believe that was the way God planned it.
I take great comfort knowing that those were the last words he ever spoke to me, … and I heard it.

So daddy, … your sons lifted a toast of old Irish whiskey to you.
We pray that heaven has Grits and RedEye Gravy, good guitars, country music, and that God will allow you to fly with the angels wearing your Zoot Suit!

I love you daddy!

Naturescapes Cover Photos.

Naturescapes.net recently chose a image from my “In Their World” series for their August cover. The image chosen was of a beetle sitting deep within the throat of a daylily.
The other image used back in 2005 was of a layer of orange/gold rose petals in more of a abstract form.
Visit “Naturescapes.net” to see, … to discover.

“Macro Art In Nature” – Website

Now On Facebook!

And yeah, … I have not figured out the best way to use it yet!
Just signed up at Facebook, and it is already asking me the “become a friend” questions and I’m not really sure what I am joining or inviting.
Man, … I am way behind the times it seems!

Mike

NatureScapes.Net Radio – A Nice Chat About Nature Photography!

Host Dave Warner and LensFlare35 had a interesting radio show last night live with E.J Peiker and Greg Downing from the NatureScapes.Net nature photography site, and I must say, that it was quite interesting!

The show consisted of a introduction by E.J. & Greg about themselves, and a bit of history about the NatureScapes site. It lasted a little more than 1 hour.
A little bit of everything was then discussed, such as cameras and lenses, the use of flash, portable blinds, air travel with camera gear, PC’s and Macs, Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop, … and more!
Individuals were allowed to ask questions on line via chat room, or e-mailing them in to Dave. There was also a telephone number that one could use to phone in with their questions. Cool stuff!
Missed it?
You can go here to listen to it now, and NatureScapes will start to archive them soon in a edited version on their website.

NatureScapes.Net will have these radio shows every month, maybe more than once a month.
It is something that I think would be good for individuals to tune in to, … and to learn.
Just visit the NatureScapes.Net site to keep up with the dates and time.

And nope, … I don’t work for them neither, but I do like their style!

Michael

Agate Rock – “Ancient Landscapes” Series

This is another image from the “Ancient Landscapes” Series.
There are so many different views, different angles, various textures and colors that one can find in many of the cut slabs of rock, and it is always a very high type of intrigue to the mind when viewing these with the macro lens.
It is something that lets the imagination to simply run wild!
In this piece, I sort of like those little strands or black streaks in the middle and at the bottom.
They remind me of some silhouetted plants or foliage coming up from the bottom.

Agate Rock – “Ancient Landscapes” Series
© 2009 – Michael Brown
* Copying/downloading of images is prohibited

Canon 100mm macro and extension tubes.
Strong back lighting from a light box.
Reflectors mounted above the rock.
Gitzo Explorer tripod

Thanks for looking everyone
Michael

Michael Brown – Photographer
South Carolina

“Macro Art In Nature” – Website

When It Rains, ….. *** (UPDATE)

*** The police found the car about 3 miles from our home around 3:00pm today.
It was a bit dirty, a full tank of gas was gone, smelled of pot inside, a man’s shirt left inside, the license tag had been replaced with a dealer’s tag, and a small kids school backpack left in the back. No damage, and the police say that they know who it is. Now, … just finding him!
**********

As that saying goes, “When It Rains, … It Pours”.

Yesterday morning, I go outside to crank mine and my wife’s car up to let them warm up a bit in this cold weather we have been having.
I come back inside, grab some things to get ready to leave, and in less than 5 minutes time, my wife’s new SUV is gone.
DAMN!
Yep, … somebody stole it right from our driveway, right from under our nose!

If anyone out there who has been having some good luck, and has some left over, … could you please send me some?
You can FedEx it if you like, and I will gladly pay for it too!

Seriously though, … seems like I couldn’t buy any breaks if I had all the money in the world.
From my truck getting totaled by a drunk driver 2 years ago, the hot water heater causing a huge mess, a hiking/shooting trip in Georgia that resulted in me getting a couple of teeth knocked out, a lawn mower that blew up, the loss of huge trees on our property from two different storms, a sink hole on our property, ….. I truly can’t catch a break.

Hopefully I will post something again one day. Maybe something that will inspire both you, ….. and me! God knows I need some quick inspiration.
Right now, it is pretty tough to write anything at all, … other than a bunch of curse words! :)

Hope that everyone had a great New Year, and that 2010 will be the best ever.
I’ll come around one of these days, ….. and soon!

Michael

LensFlare35.com, … and other stuff!

Still busy, … writing a lot, … and trying to keep my feet warm today!

I have been meaning for quite a while now, to pay a visit to a site that I have heard about from some other photographers, and I finally got around to it a little bit yesterday.
Bottom line? Excellent site!
The site is LensFlare35.com.
Here you can find many Podcasts from some of the top photographers around.
You can listen to them speak while they show some of their images, and there is some quite intriguing material to be found there.
Some that I have listened to so far are from well known photographers such as Arthur Morris, Tyler Stableford, David Hume Kennerly, William Neill, Gabby Salazar, Art Wolfe, George Lepp, Alfred & Fabiola Forns, and Greg Downing.
There is a lot more that I have yet to get to, and will spend some time there this weekend just to listen, to learn, … to study.
Nothing to do right now? Then kick back and enjoy!

This image below is a sister image to a image I posted a while back.
That image & post can be found here. “Let It Be”

Hope that everyone has been getting along well, and hopefully I’ll shoot something in here again right before Christmas.

Take care everyone,
Michael

“Macro Art In Nature” – Website