Pictures for Pam, Day 80: Nature's Jewelry

(+1 inset!) (please view large to see the dew drops!)

It was another very foggy, chilly day and even though I was bundled up, my feet and hands still got very cold during my walk. It was lovely though and I enjoyed seeing the grass twinkling with dew drops as I made my way up and down our driveway.

On my last lap I noticed something sparkling on the road and thought it seemed too light to be a leaf. Bending closer I could see that it was a feather that was completely covered in dew drops! Amazing! I hadn't planned on taking any pictures outside today because I'd be working on my Macro Monday images but I simply HAD to get pictures of this feather!

I soon returned with my camera and got lots of shots from many angles--I managed to get some very nice ones which I'll be sharing soon!

Since I was outside I couldn't resist the temptation to wander off the road a bit. I had something in mind…spider webs. Yesterday I'd taken some pictures of dewdrops on a strand of spiderweb and I wasn't really satisfied with the outcome. I'd brought my macro flash but discovered the batteries were dead and the slight breeze ruined most of the pictures I took. Still feeling a bit disappointed, I wanted to find some more webs now that I'd replaced the batteries in my macro flash.

Instantly I found plenty of strands to photograph, so tiny and fine that I would have had a hard time seeing them without the dew to make them stand out. At one point I looked up and OH!! A whole web was sparkling back at me, how exciting! I think dew-covered webs are some of the most beautiful things in nature and this one had such a lovely shape.

Once I got back inside I copied my pictures over to my computer but I noticed a problem with the use of my flash. The reflection of light in the droplets worked fine in the pictures I'm sharing today but It was much too harsh in my other photos. I need to put diffusers on the flashes to soften the reflections. It's too bad because there were lots of pretty strands of "water pearls" but the pictures need to be retaken. Live and learn, right?

For today's main image I decided to use the cropped version because the dew is larger and prettier. I have also included an inset of the whole web so you can see how cool it is. :)

Pam, I did a search on your stream for "web" and found a delightful picture and story about Esmerelda that you shared back in 2014. It was wonderful to read again. I also enjoyed our back and forth commentary about your picture and story. I think you would have loved the spider webs I photographed today because they were almost invisible and not scary at all! :) Still, like I'd said then, I do not like spiders crawling on me, and feeling spider webs clinging to me gives me the heeby-jeebies! If they are strong webs and I walk through them and they are all over me…you'll hear me screaming from Oregon and soon you'll see me running past in a blur! :D Here's hoping that your day was as good as can be. :)

Explored on 1/28/19, highest placement, #1.