Ant Lion Hole in UP Michigan

Ant Lion Hole, August 12, 2002
I made this photograph during my first trip to the upper peninsula (UP) of Michigan. This was also my first Rod Planck Photography workshop. And it was lots of fun. Some of my classmates were photographing the remains of a sunrise when I found this interesting ant lion hole among the pine needles on the forest floor. Let's just say that I have a tendency to notice things that other people miss, and visa versa!
Ever since I was a kid, I'd thought that ant lions were really cool. I guess I'd seen them in New Hampshire and I learned about them from my brother Vic. He explained to me that the ant lion would build this this vortex out of sand and wait at the bottom for some unspecting ant to step in. Then, along with an avalanche of sand created when the ant tried to escape, the ant would tumble down into the center and become the ant lion's guest of honor for dinner! (It reminds me of the big sand pit on the sand planet in Star Wars 6, where Jabba the Hutt tried to dump Luke and his friends as punishment for reviving and rescuing Han Solo!)
This may not be the most photogenic photograph, but I sure like the detail, texture, and colors. I was using Fugi's Velvia 50, having switched from Kodachrome 64 only a couple of weeks before!
Not only was I using new film, but I was also using a new camera. This was my first real photo shoot using my Nikon N-80 and 200 mm micro lens. I was thrilled to be able to bring the image so close, and to obtain such razor sharp clarity. Since wind was not an issue this far down on the forest floor, I was able to set the camera for a long exposure (maybe 1 second?) and keep the aperture very small (f 22).