Butterflies & Dragonflies at Big Creek Conservation Area, Missouri

While hiking in Yosemite this summer, I realized how much I was testing the patience of my traveling companions every time I stopped to watch and photograph a butterfly. (On a previous hiking trip my dad made a joke about how I needed to have a bumper sticker on my back that says "I brake for butterflies" because I kept stopping and he kept running into me.) Well, this summer I decided that I should do my best to go out on my own photographing expeditions around the state where I could explore and stop to view butterflies without angering anyone. Yesterday I took that first step.

(click on photos to enlarge)

In Northeast Missouri, I spent about an hour in the Big Creek Conservation Area. I had the place completely to myself - which was not surprising as access was a gravel road and there really isn't much to do out there. My plan was to hike part of the Thousand Hills Trail and to see as many butterflies as I could. Though I'm not sure I ever found the real trail, to my surprise and complete delight, I saw several butterflies and dragonflies within ten feet of entering a dirt road at the end of the Rainbow Basin Trail road. I did not go far - thankfully as a sunny day quickly became a rainy day - but relished in the scent of wildflowers, listening to the wind whistle through the grasses, and enjoyed the peace and serenity of the scene.

I saw several crescent butterflies puddling in the patches of dirt road, and a couple of sulphurs who refused to let me get anywhere close to them. I also saw several species of dragonflies, and though I've not really attempted to get many pictures of these creatures before, I decided they fit the bill this stime. I tried to discover the names for all of the insects I photoed, but had little luck with some. Ones I really wasn't sure of are in parenthesis:

 Pearl Crescent Butterfly

 Pearl Crescent Butterfly

 Pearl Crescent Butterflies

 Pearl Crescent Butterflies

 Sulphur Butterfly

 (plains clubtail?) dragonfly

 (tailed blue?) butterfly

 (widow skimmer?) dragonfly

All photos copyright Katrina Kouba Boles

Yosemite Timelapses

This summer we spent 8 days at Yosemite National Park. It was wonderful, and I'll be sure to post photos when I'm finished going through all 3000+ of them. Until then, enjoy the timelapses I shot from the valley floor, the mist trail, and from our hike to North Dome.

Yosemite Timelapses 2013 from Katrina Kouba on Vimeo.

0:00 Half Dome from Valley Floor at sunset

0:17 Liberty Cap from the top of Vernal Falls (Mist Trail)

0:29 stars above Half Dome from Valley Floor

0:31 Half Dome from North Dome hike

0:48 Liberty Cap and Silver Apron from Emerald Pool on Mist Trail

1:07 Half Dome from Valley Floor during a rainy sunset

Music: "Black Eyed Susan" by Podington Bear (http://podingtonbear.com/)

Magic Realism painter Rob Gonsalves

While on our way home from California, we stopped in Lake Tahoe and found our way into a gallery there. They had many beautiful things, but I saw this painting on the wall and was stunned into just standing there and looking at it.

Widow's Walk by Rob Gonsalves

This painting, and many of the others around it, were created by Rob Gonsalves. Though others were just as stunning, if not more, this was the one that caught my attention and I realized the beautiful magic of it. I couldn't afford to buy one of his prints (and worried about getting it home if I had), but I could afford one of the beautiful "Imagine" books illustrated by Gonsalves. I purchased Imagine a Place.

Here are some of my other favorite images that I saw in the gallery or have found (online) since:

Medieval Moonlight

Stepping Stones

Carved in Stone

Doll's Dreamhouse

Be sure to check out Gonsalves' facebook page and official webpage, or purchase one of his books or calendars.

All photo copyrights belong to the artist. If he chooses to take them off facebook, they will also disappear here.

Glacial Recession Timelapse part 7

The top is FINALLY and officially finished! Yipee! If you've missed all my other videos of this piece in progress, click on the label at the bottom of this post or search for "Glacial Recession". Here was my last post. And, here is the final timelapse video of the top of this piece (no I haven't even begun the back yet so it'll be a bit before the whole thing is ready to quilt):

Art Process Timelapse 7 - Glacial Recession Top Finished from Katrina Kouba on Vimeo.

Another beginning

I have begun another blog for one reason only: to make my puzzle photos (and maybe little planets also) available for sale as prints. I'm going to start this process with Fotomoto and see how it goes. I don't think Etsy is the place for this and I really am hoping to have a hassle-free process, which I think will work with this second site. I will include a link to it at the top bar of this blog, but just in case, the link is: photosbykatrinakb.blogspot.com

I will be adding these photos periodically rather than all at once. Many of them will already be familiar (particularly any newer ones).

Enjoy!

New Mizzou Little Planet

When I originally posted some of my first little planets, I had no idea they'd be so popular. And so I have re-done the Mizzou Little Planet, using a better camera and other techniques to make it look better (it also helps to not have someone running through the shots). Here is the updated Francis Quadrangle little planet:

To purchase a print, visit photosbykatrina or contact me by email or in the comments.

Favorite Motion Graphic Videos

Back when I was working on an Infographic for UM System (previous post) and the ADEPT introduction (previous post), I went through all my favorite motion graphic and infographic videos. Here are some of the motion graphic videos that helped inspire me... some have been around for a while and I continually come back to them, others are new finds for me:

7 Billion: Are You Typical?


Google - Introducing the Chromebook
Google - Introducing the Chromebook from Devon Hong on Vimeo.

Crisis of Credit


Oil'd
Oil'd from Chris Harmon on Vimeo.

Getting Lost
Getting Lost from Marco Bagni | LostConversation on Vimeo.

Don't Worry, Drive On: Fossil Fools & Fracking Lies
DON'T WORRY, DRIVE ON: Fossil Fools & Fracking Lies from MONSTRO on Vimeo.

The World is Obsessed with Facebook


Psychatric Answering Machine Typography Annimation


The Girl Effect
The Girl Effect from alexnbc on Vimeo.

Good: The Hidden Cost of War