You can have the fanciest camera around, but if you don’t know how to set all the bells and whistles, you won’t take good shots. That’s not the case for Chris Hendra, the guy behind the camera and today’s great close-up shots over at Chris Hendra Photography. I would venture to say that he’s studied all the aperture, f-stops, shutter speed, etc., etc. and he knows how to set them to create beautiful captures like these here today. He actually makes that Lichen in the first photo come alive enough that you’d like to have that photo hanging on your wall.

Here’s what Chris said about his ant photo: “I know most don’t like them, but you have to admire the ant’s work ethic.” I don’t mind ants, except for the biting kind, but he’s right about their work ethic...you often see an ant carrying a load much bigger than itself. Someone commented that they loved the detail you can see in the ant, but please do not put one up of a spider! Chris replied with a disclaimer that there will probably be a few spiders this summer.

That bottom photo is actually last year’s maple leaf that was just under the surface of the water. He thought it looked similar to a tree. It really does, kind of looks like the bark. It’s great the way Chris sees things and captures it to share his vision with us all.

We have a Warbler video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology with some warbler watching tips. Chris and Jessie explore a wood-lot, looking for different Warblers, as they’re doing their spring migrating. I didn’t get a photo, as the bird was too fast, but twice recently, we had a Yellow-Rumped Warbler in a tree in our front yard. You’ll see the Yellow-Rumped Warbler at 2.19 in the video.

I love that maple leaf picture. It is
so cool.

Isn't it so nice to hear the birds?

Hi
I'd never have guessed that the first photo was
lichen. Great detailed photography.

I enjoyed getting close looks at all the warblers in
the video. The way my eyes (and reflexes) are, I
doubt I'd be able to find & get binoculars on the
bird before it flits.

WOW...these are all such stunning pictures. I love
them all. The Lichen is so striking. I had no idea
there was so much hair on an ant...and they do
have a great work ethic. And that leaf. Holy Wha
Man. There was a time I had picked some extra
large oak leaves to dry and paint on...then I
looked them over. The backs of all of them had
nests on them. next year's bugs. Out they went.

Warblers are all over the world. There's a young
man I follow on You Tube, "Birding with Chris"..he
goes all over the world...and finds birds that are
just amazing. I love that one!

Neat set!
The first one looks
like an episode from
a Star Wars movie.
The second one
looks like my
Aunt Maple.
And the third one
looks like her throw
rug.
Neato video too!
I am hearing all
different kinds of
bird calls here in
Lake Orion, but
because I’m
bed-bound, I can’t
get up to try and
spot them. Another
wonderful MB
benefit . :-(

Oops…s/b; MS.

With these great closeups of some plants and animals, I thought some recent observations of humans might round things out.

For 30 days from 4/16/25 til 5/17/25, a large cross section of the population was captured on the MTU Mont Ripley web camera located at the Houghton Waterfront Park. The camera operates 24/7 but only captures a new frame every 5 minutes.

From dog walkers to baby strollers to skateboarders to bikers to young fisherman and old fishermen, there’s quite a variety enjoying the waterfront. There are people reading and studying and maybe some just wondering. Some have a game of corn-hole going on, while others are just taking a load off. There are people lunching and boating and paddling. And of course, with the recent heat wave, there’s plenty of sunbathers AND a couple of actual swimmers.

At 38 seconds in you might spot our own kayaking “Fritz”.

I call it:
A Spring-Time-Lapse of The Houghton Waterfront.

Nicely done, D. A.!

DA...I peek at that web cam a lot too...it's pretty
amazing what you can see....That is one stunning
video!