This mother clutched on to her babies tightly as I photographed her. She normally carries the egg sac on her back end spinnerets but as soon as she got to the studio, she held on for dear life.

I wish I could say that this story ended well for momma wolf spider but unfortunately she died from a tragic accident. My studio assistant killed her as she ran off the set. Note to self, hire assistants without arachnophobia.

Last year I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot Range Rovers in Europe. My job was to shoot editorial of the locations and some detail shots of the vehicles. I tagged along with car photographer extradoinare, Anton Watts. His job was to deliver the 5 or so highly polished shots of the vehicles. It was a great learning opportunity for me as well as an exciting trip through England, Austria. Germany, and France.

My work is still on Land Rover’s website but will be taken down by the end of the year to introduce their 09 models. Take a look while you can (click on the “Have You Ever?” menu link and check out the postcards and images in the videos). Plus there’s a little vid about me on there. =)

No need for Area 51 when you can just look at these mantises. The dark one is a ghost mantis and looks like a creature from a scifi movie. The lighter one is a juvenile idolomantis diabolica. When it is a full sized adult, it will look like one of thos transformer toys. I kid you not.

I really enjoy cooking, especially when it comes to grilling a fat juicy steak on the grill. For those of you who know me, you know I’m not making this up. I make the best garlic noodles outside of any asian restaurant, and my pork adobo beats any grandmother’s secret recipe. My grilled citrus teriyaki salmon rules!

Just this year I suddenly became BBQ Galore’s favorite photographer. I shot just about everything in their 2008 catalog which by the way is now fully printed and should be in their stores any day now. The best part of the shoot was shooting the neat little sauce stains that they put throughout the book.

Just when I thought I shot all I could possibly shoot for BBQ Galore, I’m now gonna shoot more stuff for their website! I’m off for another few days of shooting. Good times!

This beautiful lady is a Texas Unicorn Mantis. It’s an extreme closeup of her face. Probably at a 3:1 magnification. I shot this last year when she was still alive. Sadly, she went along her natural course and died a few months after her last molt.

People remember me for my bug pictures. I wish someone would hire me to do some actual bug pictures though. I did get a chance to utilize my macro skills when I was hired to shoot macro type of work for St Jude Medical Center. I shot tiny little components that make up the artery clearing catheter device. Fun stuff!

I need to show that I’m more than a bug guy and I will post something else besides my macro work next time. Maybe I’ll post about my last couple of assignments with Land Rover.

I’ve shot a few reptiles and amphibians before but I was never really satisfied with the results. Their skin has a tendency to reflect lots of light, especially when their slimy and wet. Plus they just sit there and stare.

I borrowed this frog from a pet store with the intention of shooting him for my portfolio. Of course it would’ve been a much more interesting story if I shot it in the jungle. Oh well. One day I will.

So I really like taking pictures of spiders. The hairier the better. This guy is a common jumping spider found in Southern California. In my backyard to be exact!

If you look closely at him and maybe squint your eyes a little bit, he kinda looks like a furry teddy bear.