Focus on photography week - backyard bugs

I meant to do this posting yesterday, but we've had such a busy weekend around here, so today it is.  That makes "focus on photography" week officially 8 days long instead of 7!  I hope you've enjoyed some of the photos this week.  It's been a fun summer with lots of photoshoots, but I've been feeling a crunch for time with Fall right around the corner.  I'd like to get some more shooting in before the cooler weather gets here.  And if I do, of course I'll share my shots here!

I wanted to devote a posting to backyard bugs because it seems like our backyard is the place that I do the most shooting.  I love going to local parks, but realistically, I just don't always get the chance.  But the neat thing is that the closer you look, the more you find, and that's certainly true for our backyard.  There is a whole world of bugs and birds and Bachsters right outside the back door.  My goal is to capture it all.

Since one of my favorite subjects to shoot is insects, I'm always excited to see a new interesting critter, and I run inside to get my camera.  This August, we've been hearing the cicadas all day, every day.  So, it's particularly fun when we get to see one, not just hear it.  Here's one the Bachsters & I found, newly emerged from its shell, shortly before it took off:

Another day, the girls and I found a cicada in our grass, which is a strange place to see one (usually they're on a branch or a tree trunk).  Our 6-year-old got bold & picked him up and put him on the bark of our maple tree.  He sat there for a while and then slowly started climbing to the top of the tree.  We watched him until he was out of sight:

One of my favorite backyard bugs is the lightning bug.  We enjoyed catching and watching them in June & July, but we haven't seen many this month.  I've heard that the lightning bug population is dwindling & I hope that they'll make a comeback in numbers because they are so neat.  Here's a little before & after:

We never see praying mantises in our yard, yet this summer, we've seen several:

There are many insects to be found in our backyard, but let's not forget the front yard, too.  This painted lady butterfly was enjoying our flowers in the front earlier this season:

Hardly a bug can fly into our yard without me getting my camera!

Hope you're having a great weekend!
-Cheryl