Our Garden Guardian

This guy is our new friend, striking fear into the hearts of rabbits throughout the neighborhood, and protecting the veggies of all. Unfortunately he has also been striking fear into the hearts of our neighbor's chickens....



Isn't the light amazing? He was sitting in the perfect spot to catch a sunbeam through the leaves. Nature in all of its glory *happy sigh*.

I'm an Explorer of the World

I am so excited and honored to be a part of this post by Renee Garner, the Petals & Pedals guest blogger on Modish. Do read it, it's truly inspirational. She challenges her audience to "Find the curiosity you had in your childhood, and embrace the ever-loving crap out of it."

This is something I've always been motivated to do - I love to learn, I love the environment around me, I love cool bugs... Apparently I'm succeeding in sharing this passion through my photography, which is, honestly, my number one goal. Renee challenges her readers to reconnect to their space and place, and then proceeds to suggest my work as a source of inspiration. Wow. My heart is soaring.

"Diana Brennan... uses her camera much as a scientist uses a magnifying glass or microscope. Her work celebrates secret gardens and the most miniscule of natural surprises. Even her figurative work captures elegant moments interacting with nature." - Renee Garner

The Last from Day 1

My summer got a bit busy there for a while, but I've finally had the chance to sit down and finish working on the photos from my first session at the Museum of Natural History. Enjoy!

Waiting Patiently


The Flamingo


Graceful Stilt


(Photographs taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

Don't Waste Any Time...

In getting over to see this lovely blog, "More Ways to Waste Time". Author Leah Hennen provides delightful mix of home decor inspiration and great Etsy & eBay finds.

Enjoy!

Insects

Photographs of just a small portion of the insect collection at the Museum of Natural History. Some may think insects are creepy - but I think they're beautiful too! Just think of the care it took to preserve these specimens and keep them in good condition over 100 years later!

Dr. P's collection


How He Spent His Summer


Call in the Cavalry (Through the Viewfinder)


Beautiful Bugs


Lacy Wings


(Photographs taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.)

For the Birds

Some more photographs from today's session, taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.

Little Blue Heron [Ms. Katie B wins the prize for setting me straight on this one!]


El Flamingo


Stuffed Stilt

Museum of Natural History

I am thrilled to share with you the first fruits of my first session at the Museum of Natural History in Roger Williams Park. A very big thank you to Marylin Massaro and to all of the Museum staff for helping to make this happen.

These photographs were taken courtesy of the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI.

Tipula


Dragonflies


Frozen in Flight (Through the Viewfinder)


Enjoy! I have many more photos to go through from this session, so check back soon!

New Friend

We have a new friend in our yard. He came from across the street. He's quite good at keeping small critters away from our garden!



I'm 99% sure he's a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. His call is very distinctive - rather more screechy and annoying than his adult counterparts, but I'll forgive him as long as he keeps the rabbits away from my veggies.

Independence

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July! I went camping with family this past weekend, and despite the rain and damp, we had a good time. Took a few short hikes, read a lot, and made some Sassafras and Birch Bark Tea. Unfortunately my favorite lens broke right at the beginning of the weekend, but I managed to take a few shots of the lush, damp scenery.

Walkabout Trail


Birch Bark Tea

Rock the Vote!

I've submitted 'Chickadee Eggs' to JPG Magazine's "Geometry" theme. If you think it would look darn good in print, head on over and give it your thumbs up!

Fun with Nature

I do have some plans in the works for new Natural History series pieces. I've been coordinating with local museums and trying to arrange appointments to photograph their collections. Sorting through the logistics takes a while. In the meantime, I revisited some of my photographs from the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center... I had some fun combining the photo with a digital "printing" technique. Enjoy!

Screech Owl


A close up so you can better see the "printing"


EDIT:

Here's another "new" Natural History Series photo for you to enjoy!

Common Merganser