Posing, a portrait

Rarely do i get someone to pose so well and upright, so i thought i'd post this after our session earlier this morning:

More

Crossing the kitchen and looking out the porch window i was the sun just inching above the horizon. Fortunately my camera was sitting on a tripod at the window. Clicking the shoot button and a bit of play with NIK gave me a morning image that i like. I've struggled with all the electrical lines in the photo when shooting sunrises and decided they work fine in this stylized image.

Lately, as a result of having joined a on-line macro club, i've been shooting more bugs/insects then i usually do. This small, about 1 1/2"- caterpillar was crawling around my the porch chair. He was moving way too fast for me to get a photo of his head which was what i wanted to do. I moved the chair, got everything set (the camera was on a tripod and using a 60mm Macro lens) for the arrival and still - no head shot! And, i haven't been able to id the caterpillar yet. If you know its name, type or anything about it would you please leave word in the comments section below - thanks.

On the other hand -other lens?- i got a couple of really good shoots a weekend ago on a local garden walk in the West Asheville area:

Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Asian Lady Bug

I try to regularity return to macro work; ie, at least 1:1 if not larger. When i was at a friends house a week ago she had some glass balls filled with colors and shapes - an idea subject to play with macro photographically. So far i've only come up one with one that i like which is this:

 This is the one that i working with currently. The ball is not green glass, that is the color casted by the green rubber that the ball is sitting on (a Lazy Susan which i bought at a kitchen supply store - i allows me to move the subject easily) ... i put white paper under the ball when shooting.

This is what i've come up with so far. For a first effort its not so bad and it is just a beginning.

 This will be my next color to work with.