I really enjoy "bugs" in the garden. While I like taking pictures of flowers, insects and spiders are my favorite macro subjects. So I was very happy to see my first ladybug of the spring. I find it a little difficult sometimes to get good photos of small moving subjects, and I realized last summer that I was going through a phase where I was very focused on the technical aspects and consequently producing images that are nice but not particularly compelling. To try to get out of this rut, late last summer I started trying to really consider color, both in the main subject and the background in insect macro shots. This ladybug caught my eye when it landed briefly on a purple deadnettle (lawn weed) near sunset. The reddish purple hue of the deadnettle makes an unusual and intriguing color combination with the ladybug's cheerful red, I think.
Today I'm playing along on Macro Monday, hosted by Lisa's Chaos. Check it out to see some other cool bugs, and lots of other macro subjects.
