My normal Paynes Prairie adventures involve looking for all the large creatures, so my focus is always straight ahead and far away. My bug-finding adventure was extremely fun because it was so different from my normal perspective—no more zoom lens needed for this one. The best way to find the bugs is to slow down or even sit down in the middle of the path or on a bench. You then begin to see tiny movements and alas see the small creatures that far outnumber the bison, deer, alligators, and wild horses.
While I normally have arachnophobia, I had to put aside my fears and actually got right in the faces of quite a few spiders with my macro lens. They are quite feisty. Instead of stopping to smell the roses, slow down to find the bugs.
Susannah Peddie is a native Floridian and an admirer of all things Gainesville. Her work is featured at the Harn Museum Camellia Court Café, the Matheson Museum, Shands at the University of Florida, Embers Wood Grill, Gateway Bank, Patticakes in the Haile Village Center and many other offices and homes.
More information can be found on Susannah’s website at www.spfineprints.com or on her blog at www.spfineprintsblog.com.