I’ve been working on improving my photography skills and had one of those lightbulb moments. I’m really not interested in “artistic” and my photos aren’t artistic. I want clarity and the ability to identify what I’m photographing. And perhaps maybe something interesting or even cute. It’s not just my photographs, either. I’ve realized that I actually don’t like artistic photos. Many times when I see before and after photos where the photographer has improved the photo through means of software, I actually prefer the untouched before photo. Not all the time–if the photo was murky to begin with and the photographer clarified it, yeah, then I like it better after editing.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to include some of my favorite photos. I’ve posted some of them before. Some are relatively recent and therefore, unseen. None are great. None are artistic.

This poor fellow was trying to show off to a nearby female. She was completely uninterested and simply drifted away.

I love this photo. I don’t care if it isn’t artistic. It’s a Swamp Darner (Epiaeschna heros) ovipositing in the woods behind our house. It’s an absolutely beautiful dragonfly and I just love the green and brown markings as well as her blue eyes.

This little Black-and-white Warbler stopped to check me out while foraging in the swamp. It was a misty day and I love the way it’s framed by the small twigs on the left. Again, not artistic but I love it anyway.

Robber flies are such interesting critters, particularly when they decide to snack on another bug that was frankly bugging me.

This little Green Treefrog hasn’t quite become a frog yet, but he’s almost there…

I found this growing on the dock at our pond…This is about as artistic as I get (which proves that I’m not at all artistic…)

Another misty day, another bird… This very cooperative Marbled Godwit flew past me while I was walking along the beach at Cedar Island, NC. I loved it’s golden color against the gray mist.

These two otters stopped to hug while playing during sunrise. There were actually four of them but the other two kept playing and diving while these two stopped to hug and briefly groom each other.

I never realized how beautiful fiddler crabs were until I saw this one. The intricate pattern on its shell was just beautiful especially with the wash of purple.

This beautiful hawk stopped by our pond in the Fall when it spotted several songbirds splashing around in the shallows. It took one look at me and flew off but not before I managed to catch this photograph.

Unattractive name (slime mold) but actually quite beautiful. The red of the slime mold against the green moss always reminds me of the holidays. It makes me very happy in fact.

How can you not like a tiger beetle? They are simply awesome and quite adorable.

Last but not least, a Snowberry Clearwing moth. For once I managed to catch it midflight and have both wings clear.

Well, that’s about it. (I actually have more but really…that’s enough for today.) None are artistic. None are really that good. But it isn’t about some sort of artistic quality for me, it’s about seeing a creature clearly, hopefully doing something interesting. That’s really it for me.