2013 Blue Lion Year in Review- My #1 Photo of 2013!

With this post we finally arrive at my top image of 2013! While many of you probably expected my top image of the year to be something from my African safari, this image was by far my most "viral" image of the year. From the moment I posted it, it received lots of attention as far as total views, shares on Facebook, as well as Retweets and Favorites on Twitter. Without a doubt, it was THE favorite of the Blue Lion Pride during 2013!

If you missed earlier posting in the series just click on them below! 

PART 1   ~   PART 2   ~   PART 3   ~   PART 4   ~   PART 5

#1 - Malay Lacewing Butterfly ~
Texas Discovery Gardens  Dallas, TX

I took this image last spring at the fabulous Texas Discovery Gardens (TDG) in Dallas. It is a male Malay Lacewing butterfly. This species is found in tropical Asia - most commonly in Indonesia. The beauty of this amazing species speaks for itself and I know I go back to the TDG regularly in hopes of seeing this species as well as other closely related allies. Butterfly houses are a wonderful resource for nature photographers  as they usually possess licences to host exotic species of butterflies and moths that  most of us would never have a chance to observe due to both geography and timing. The TDG has the ability to host hundreds of different species at different times of the year depending up on supplier availability. As such, every time I go to visit I get a different "show" of species! In addition, butterfly houses need to have a collection of nectar producing flowers for the adult butterflies to feed upon. This benefits nature photographers because we then get to see and shoot some beautifully exotic flowers. If you've never been to a butterfly house ( or even if it's been a while) go ahead and look up your local one and spend a few hours there - it should be a special time to savor the intricacies of Mother Nature!  

If you are interested in more details about the Malay Lacewing, this post from the Butterflies of Singapore is a great resource! 

If you'd like to purchase this image for yourself or as a gift, please click the PURCHASE LINK to order your preferred size. As a reader of the Blue Lion Blog - I am offering a 20% discount on any purchase you make after reading this -- just enter the code BLOGREADER when prompted during your checkout! 

Thanks for visiting the Blue Lion Blog. Once again I appreciate your support! Here's to a fabulous 2014!

2013 Blue Lion Year in Review- Part 1 of 6

As 2013 winds down and I review my photography of the year, I have been enjoying spending time looking over the images I have produced this year. 2013 allowed me to explore my true love of nature photography through my amazing trip to South Africa and the Ngala Game Reserve in July as well as more local spots such as the Hagerman National WildlifeRefuge in North Texas, and the jewel that is the Texas Discovery Gardens in Dallas. I was also able to “shoot” some people in 2013 as I explored more Civil War reenactment photography at local events in Texas. Thanks to my wife’s love of theater, I have also started to dabble with doing cast images and some head shots of local community theater productions here in the Dallas Metroplex.

For this year’s review, I have selected 30 images that represent a combination of my personal favorite shots as well as my most widely viewed images on my website (http://www.bluelionphotos.com), social media such as my Facebook page and my Twitter account (@BlueLionPhotos).

This review will occur in six parts with this post being my 10 “honorable mention” images. The remaining top 20 images will be divided into four more postings until the final image in revealed in a posting all by itself.

 I hope you enjoy this journey through my photographic year – I welcome your comments below as I savor getting to know how my images impact you the viewer! Each of the images is viewable and available for purchase by clicking on the image here, which will take you to my website. 

Young Lioness ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

Perching Owl Eye ~ Texas Discovery Gardens, Dallas, TX

Watchful Cheetah ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

"Fence Sitting" ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Young Male Lion ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

Northern Harrier Hawk ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Spring Blue Bird ~ Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose ,TX

Hedwig  - I was thrilled to meet one of the actual "avian actors" who played the part in the Harry Potter movies.

Ellies at Sunset ~ Ngala Game Reserve, South Africa

Blue on Blue ~ Hagerman NWR, Sherman, TX

Continue exploring the next five images in my 2013 Countdown - http://bluelionphotos.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-blue-lion-year-in-review-part-2-of.html

2012 COUNTDOWN - THE WINNER!

THE 2012 COUNTDOWN - THE WINNER! 

Over the past week we've counted down the most popular 25 images of 2012 as determined by how members of the Blue Lion “Pride” responded to them during the year on various social media sites.  If you happened to miss any of the previous countdown posts just click on them here!

• Part 1 – Images 25-22
• Part 2 – Images 21-18
• Part 3 – Images 17-14
• Part 4 – Images 13-10
• Part 5 – Images 9-6
• Part 6 – Images 5-2

The Most popular Blue Lion image of 2012 is:

#1 – INLET SUNSET

This photograph was taken from Garden City, South Carolina looking west across Murrell’s inlet to the village of the same name. I had gone out the night before in hope of shooting good sunset shots, but was greeted by a rather pedestrian sunset. A chance visit to the town of Garden City the following day let me realize there was a great vantage point across the inlet that would afford a much better view of the setting sun. This image was the result!

If you are in the Dallas area this coming summer and would like your children to get an introduction to Nature Photography, I will be teaching several weeks of Nature Photography Camp in June and July. I will post details when they become available in March. If you’d like to see some of the work of my “Nature Photography Campers from 2012 please click on the following links:

• Nature Photography Camp Week #1 Morning Session

• Nature Photography Camp Week #1 Afternoon Session

• Nature Photography Camp Week #2 Morning Session

• Nature Photography Camp - Week 2 Afternoon Session

Thanks so much for all your support and encouragement this year. I am looking forward to an exciting and productive 2013!