Brown Bat and Poison Ivy

Brown Bat, April 1996
I was walking with a friend through a wonderful patch of forest along the Cedar River in Linn County Iowa. I was staring at the ground and checking out all the wonderful sprouts. My friend stopped and signaled for me to look left. I was puzzled at first because I didn't see it. I saw the tree, but not the bat. Once I realized what was hanging there on the tree, I got my Cannon AE-1 with 50 mm macro lens ready as carefully and quickly as I could. I snapped the camera on to the tripod and and adjusted the height as close as I could to the height of the bat. After setting the exposure and focus, I snapped a shot, and moved closer. Then I refocused, snapped again, and moved closer. I continued this procedure until the bat nearly filled the frame, and still the bat simply hung there motionless.
One of my favorite things about this photo is that, in addition to showing the bat, it also shows early sprouts of a poison ivy vine growing along the tree trunk. I might not want to touch it, but I sure think that this is a pretty plant. I love the way these miniature leaves look, so delicate, shiny, and pinkish-red, when they first come out. I have better photos showing early this stage, closer up, but I have not yet scanned those slides.
One of the most frustrating parts of this whole job is the time it takes to get my images ready to show and share. I have so many slides just waiting to see the light of my scanner, which will turn them into electronic images for posting on this website and pasting into my book. Just one year ago, last month, I made the switch from film to digital. I traded my N-80 Nikon camera body for the D-70. It was a little strange at first, not to have FILM that I could hold in my hand, but ultimately, I think this step will save me a lot of time.