Wow in two respects, First your photos: The dragon fly is first of all an excellent find, well shot and processed. The snake interests me first because I can't be sure if it is a composite or if you did some exquisite processing on some of the weeds or perhaps both.

Second, your commentary stopped me cold. I really know nothing about you except that your skills are remarkable. I had to stop and think why your posting effected me the way it did and it is because of the Mike Moats quote. Any time a photographer doesn't take the shot because someone else may have done it first, deprives him/her of the chance of a remarkable shot. My style is my style no matter how many other people shoot the same things, the same way, I do.

I like to shoot birds, bugs and other living things. They are dynamic and can present ten different compositions in as many seconds. I don't have time for a tripod or more than rudimentary composition concerns. I have to "Get the shot", because it will never happen again.

What we think of as character in this context is "interesting or unusual qualities." I was hiking through the woods yesterday admiring the textures of the bark on the different trees. I was on a heavily wooded dune, a typical Beech-Maple forest with a few White pine and Balsam fir mixed in, but as you go farther in there are a lot of Northern red oak trees, as well, the odd Yellow birch here and there, and several dozen mature Paper birch trees, some of them gigantic. In the spring this forest floor is covered with blossoms - Pink lady-slippers, Starflower, and Canada mayflower primarily.

I thought this scene was interesting with the three different contrasting bark textures next to each other. On the left is a Paper birch, and on the right a young American beech. The middle tree is Striped maple, an under-story tree with huge leaves and distinctive striped bark. As you can see, we still have quite a bit of snow on the ground. You might notice the buds on the shoots from the Striped maple, and the Northern red oak leaves on the ground.

Bark texture certainly gives trees character.

Mike

Finding Character…When you are out shooting, go slowly and take the time to study every subject for interesting characteristics. All settings that contain flowers, leaves, trees and bugs have the potential to reveal elements of character. Character is reflected in an object’s distinctive shape, remarkable lines, exceptional contrast, unusual pattern, unique texture or special light. Finding character in nature is about creating images that set themselves apart from the ordinary and mundane that most photographers capture.

Know your environment…One of the benefits of macro photography is that the environment is constantly changing with the different seasons. The life cycle of the plants we shoot are changing monthly. Study and learn the patterns of the environment that you shoot in so you will be in the right place at the right time.

Do you think before you press the shutter...Once you find a subject and set up your tripod and camera to take the shot, do you think to yourself, “Have I seen this subject composed in this manner before?” If you have, then don’t shoot. We all study other photographers’ work online, and we have all seen thousands of images of flowers and other macro subjects. If you are composing your subject as you have seen it done before, then find a way to compose the subject to make it different than anything you have seen before. If you want your images to stand out, then stop copying others and come up with your own unique way of seeing a subject…Mike Moats

And I’d like to add a few of my own ideas about what might be examples of character in nature…ordinary subjects in unique situations or ‘poses’, wildlife (especially birds in my experience) behaving in a manner that make them appear almost human, and plants/flowers growing in unusual ways or places.

My first example is “Where does a dragon go to die?” This lady simply found herself a lovely twig and went to sleep. I’d never seen anything quite like this before, and I think she remained beautiful even in death.

Next example is part of an even stranger situation I came across in the delta, because there was a lazy gator sunning about a foot away from these two. Apparently nobody was hungry at the time.

Please try the downloads for best clarity, and please add your own ideas and examples of Character in Nature.

Finding Character…When you are out shooting, go slowly and take the time to study every subject for interesting characteristics. All settings that contain flowers, leaves, trees and bugs have the potential to reveal elements of character. Character is reflected in an object’s distinctive shape, remarkable lines, exceptional contrast, unusual pattern, unique texture or special light. Finding character in nature is about creating images that set themselves apart from the ordinary and mundane that most photographers capture.

Know your environment…One of the benefits of macro photography is that the environment is constantly changing with the different seasons. The life cycle of the plants we shoot are changing monthly. Study and learn the patterns of the environment that you shoot in so you will be in the right place at the right time.

Do you think before you press the shutter...Once you find a subject and set up your tripod and camera to take the shot, do you think to yourself, “Have I seen this subject composed in this manner before?” If you have, then don’t shoot. We all study other photographers’ work online, and we have all seen thousands of images of flowers and other macro subjects. If you are composing your subject as you have seen it done before, then find a way to compose the subject to make it different than anything you have seen before. If you want your images to stand out, then stop copying others and come up with your own unique way of seeing a subject…Mike Moats

And I’d like to add a few of my own ideas about what might be examples of character in nature…ordinary subjects in unique situations or ‘poses’, wildlife (especially birds in my experience) behaving in a manner that make them appear almost human, and plants/flowers growing in unusual ways or places.

My first example is “Where does a dragon go to die?” This lady simply found herself a lovely twig and went to sleep. I’d never seen anything quite like this before, and I think she remained beautiful even in death.

Next example is part of an even stranger situation I came across in the delta, because there was a lazy gator sunning about a foot away from these two. Apparently nobody was hungry at the time.

Please try the downloads for best clarity, and please add your own ideas and examples of Character in Nature.

What a find with both of your photos, Donna! Great impact.

One I didn't get around to posting to my backlighting topic is below. I bet Mike will know the name Think how differently this presents in this light than if the sun was behind me. The background is a cliffside in deep shadow, making it much easier to edit to black.

on Flickr

Finding Character…When you are out shooting, go slowly and take the time to study every subject for interesting characteristics. All settings that contain flowers, leaves, trees and bugs have the potential to reveal elements of character. Character is reflected in an object’s distinctive shape, remarkable lines, exceptional contrast, unusual pattern, unique texture or special light. Finding character in nature is about creating images that set themselves apart from the ordinary and mundane that most photographers capture.

Know your environment…One of the benefits of macro photography is that the environment is constantly changing with the different seasons. The life cycle of the plants we shoot are changing monthly. Study and learn the patterns of the environment that you shoot in so you will be in the right place at the right time.

Do you think before you press the shutter...Once you find a subject and set up your tripod and camera to take the shot, do you think to yourself, “Have I seen this subject composed in this manner before?” If you have, then don’t shoot. We all study other photographers’ work online, and we have all seen thousands of images of flowers and other macro subjects. If you are composing your subject as you have seen it done before, then find a way to compose the subject to make it different than anything you have seen before. If you want your images to stand out, then stop copying others and come up with your own unique way of seeing a subject…Mike Moats

And I’d like to add a few of my own ideas about what might be examples of character in nature…ordinary subjects in unique situations or ‘poses’, wildlife (especially birds in my experience) behaving in a manner that make them appear almost human, and plants/flowers growing in unusual ways or places.

My first example is “Where does a dragon go to die?” This lady simply found herself a lovely twig and went to sleep. I’d never seen anything quite like this before, and I think she remained beautiful even in death.

Next example is part of an even stranger situation I came across in the delta, because there was a lazy gator sunning about a foot away from these two. Apparently nobody was hungry at the time.

Please try the downloads for best clarity, and please add your own ideas and examples of Character in Nature.