by Sandra K. Ziebold Yes I'm a girly-girl and yes I like things to match, have balance and look amazing...and yes I also like nature and insects ! Always be ready and looking for those unexpected beautiful photo opportunities. One day recently I did not have my camera with me and of course that was the day I passed a 6 foot tall dead wood tree stump gloriously adorned with an at least 18 inch tall pileated woodpecker. I hurried home for my camera and when I returned it was gone. Every single day since if passing that location I try to make certain to have my camera and I look for it in case it may be back. You can also plan for great expected beautiful photo opportunities like periodical cicada emergence. Consider planning cicada photography adventures. Last month I wrote a post featuring the delicate insect sculpture art of UK artist Julie Chappell which inspired me to pull out some of my cicada stock photography. I love to photo-shoot things that move and cicadas are a particularly fun adventure. These are images that I took during the 17 year Brood X cicada emergence of 2004 in Indiana. Periodical cicadas emerge on a 13 year and 17 year cycle. Dogday cicadas emerge annually. For the adventurous photographer seeking out such events ... A cicada photo op' is coming up! Brood XXIII, the Lower Mississippi Valley brood, will emerge in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana yet this spring. Their exact emergence depends on soil and surface temperatures so you will have to follow the news and weather closely to time your photo adventure trips for optimal photo shooting during the weeks they will be above ground. I recommend picking your location for your trip and plotting to capture your best shots of the soon to emerge 13 year Brood at a State Park within one of the emerging county territories. Have fun and remember cicadas do not sting or bite or eat plants. They do embed their eggs on small branches of trees and shrubs damaging plants. Many weeks later when those eggs hatch the tiny nymphs burrow into the ground to feed off of root sap for another 13 years. They are in my opinion a scientific-phenomenal-crazy-fun experience. I encourage you to enjoy this wonder of nature and take in the beauty of cicadas.
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