Posts in Category: butterfly
Fritillary. An alternate view.
As I said a few days ago, there were Fritillaries every where in Coastal Alabama last week, and I brought back, as you might expect, a lit of different views. As the day progressed the wind came up and the Fritillaries had some difficulty hanging on the the waving plants to feed. They achieved some interesting poses, some of which I caught.
I like this unconventional under-wing view. It has a sense of arrested motion that appeals. And i lime the way the bright contrasty light picks out the details on the colorful bug. Or that is the way I see it.
Samsung Smart Camera WB800F. Program and macro. 200mm equivalent field of view. f4.8 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. Processed in Snapseed on the Nexus 7.
Fritillary!
I like Fritiallaries. Big and showy, and with their metallic silver patterns on the under hind-wing, they are a treat to see anytime. In Coastal Alabama yesterday, where I am working a birding festival, they were everywhere we went. They are migrating right now and were apparently bunched up along the coast. Okay by me.
I had several good photo ops. I especially like this shot with the contrast of the pink flower and the lovely green bokeh.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1200mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ISO 500. Processed in Snapseed on the Nexus 7.
A well worn Mourning Cloak
I took Carol to Emmon’s Preserve (The Kennebunkport Land Trust) yesterday for the first time in a long time. I have been telling her about the new trails and all the work they have been doing to improve access, and how much I have enjoyed finding new dragonflies in the meadows there. She wanted to see, so we spent the afternoon exploring. I got out of the car, literally, just in time to see a Black-tipped Darner land for a photo op, and moments later, this Mourning Cloak fluttered into the path to warm itself. It was up and away before I could photograph it, but it returned several times to the path, eventually landing practically on my foot. It is a very well worn bug, clearly in its last few days of flight. I hope it had a good summer.
Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 320. Program with iContrast and -1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom.
Cabbage White on Aster
They have really huge Asters in Ohio! Especially compared to our New England asters. And I managed to catch a well worn Cabbage White in a rare moment of rest.
This is at the Midwest Birding Symposium near Lakeside OH. Samsung Smart Camera WB800F in macro mode. Processed in Snapseed on the Nexus 7.
Admiral of the Oostvaarderplassen
Along with many Small Tortoiseshells and an abundance of Large Whites, there were numbers of Admiral butterflies, both in Germany and in Holland. I have shots from Germany with the wings fully spread…classic field guide shots…but this less posed shot from the Oostvaarderplassen in Holland is my favorite from this trip. I like the contrast with the…well in the US it would be Iron Weed…the flower at any rate, and I like the glimpse of the underside of the wing. There is also a dynamic tension to the shot that I find interesting.
Canon SX50HS in Program with iContrast and -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1800mm equivalent field of view. Processed in PicSay Pro on the Google Nexus 7 2013.
Mazarine Blue. Holland
I don’t chase little blue butterflies much anymore. I have learned the hard way that you rarely get the shot you would like and I have enough pics of a closed blue, generally tipped over on its side somehow, thank you very much! However, on my last day in the field at the Oostvaarderplassen in Holland, this one posed irresitably. I think it might be the Mazarine Blue, which is said to be a common Blue through-out Europe. It is certainly a well worn specimen, but it has the blue over the body that seems, at least in my brief study of internet resources, to give it away. I could certainly be persuaded otherwise by anyone more in touch with European butterflies 🙂
Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent field of view. Program with iContrast and -1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed on then go with PicSay Pro on the Nexus 7 2013.
Cabbage Whites. Happy Sunday!
I took many butterfly pictures in England, Germany, and Holland this trip. My impression was that there were many more butterflies in England than I had seen on past trips (confirmed by locals), and I was certainly impressed by the numbers of Small Tortoiseshells in Holland…though my Dutch friends tell me that butterfly numbers overall, according to a national butterfly survey, are down. With large, showy butterflies like Peacocks, Admirals, and even Maps to photograph, I was not paying much attention to the ever-present Cabbage (or Large) Whites. There were literally every where I went, and, on the Oostvaarderplassen in Holland you could count…or rather…you could not have counted their numbers in any effective way. There were just too many, and they were too mobile. Their mobility is one of the reasons I was basically ignoring them, photographically, at least. I have tried Whites before, and I know they simply do not, in the general course of things, pose long enough for a satisfying shot.
So it came to the last day of my trip (or the last non-travel day), and I still did not have a good shot of a Cabbage White. It was Sunday, and I was still at the Dutch Bird Fair on the Oostvaarderplassen. I decided, after my talk in the big tent and some lunch to fortify me, to push myself around the loop of trails out to the observation deck and back one more time. And, I thought, perhaps I should at least try to get a Cabbage White.
My first attempts were a pair attempting to mate, with the male in constant motion above the female. Flight shots. But then I found several piles of fresh Konig Pony poop, which is evidently ambrosia for Cabbage Whites. Clusters of them! And sitting relatively still. Finally, the shot above…with a pair posed in as nicely as you could want!
Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent field of view. My usual modifications to Program. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 320. Processed in PicSay Pro on the Google Nexus 7 FHD.
And for the Sunday thought: If it did not happen so often, I certainly would not believe it, but, in my photographic life (and my life in general), I have come to rely on God’s intervention…that is on the intelligence and intent, not to mention absolute good will and undeserved love, of the universe as expressed in the natural world around me. God is, to my way of thinking, (and among many more incomprehensible attributes), the personality of all that is…and I can not escape the conclusion, based on daily experience, that God wishes me well, wants my wellness, and actively works toward that end. Oh, I can, and do, frustrate God’s work in my life. I will insist on having my own way, too much of the time…but even when I am acutely willful, God is gentle and gracious to make the most of my bad decisions. Yeah, I know. Too good to be true…and, once more, I certainly would not believe it if it did not happen so often…daily…hour by hour.
In this case, I merely half formed the wish that I would find some cooperative Cabbage Whites. And based on experience, I half formed it as a prayer, or at least in the full awareness that I have no…absolutely no…control over Cabbage White behavior…and that I was asking a lot of God (who I have to assume does have at least a measure of control over Cabbage White behavior) just wishing for a well posed shot. And…wouldn’t you know it…God came through! I have a whole set of the best Cabbage White shots of my photographic life. In fact, I was done with Cabbage Whites before they (or God) were done with me. I had so many good opportunities on that walk! I can only hope I made the most of them, which is, I have also learned, my gift back to God.
God is. God is good. God is good to me. And, in face of Cabbage Whites, once more I can not escape those conclusions!
Small Tortoiseshell in Abundance. Happy Sunday!
I saw a few Small Tortoiseshell butterflies in England, and several in Germany, but there in Holland they seem to be the dominant species right now, outnumbering even the Cabbage Whites. Such a beauty! And perched (and feeding on) the purple flowers makes the beauty just that much more obvious. I took way too many Tortoise shell pics 🙂
Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent (full zoom plus 1.5x digital tel-extender). Program with -1/3 EV exposure compensation. Processed in PicSay Pro on the Nexus 7.
And for the Sunday Thought. I am on the 10th day of a 12 day swing through England, Germany, and Holland. The trip has centered on birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and nature observation in general, and on optics for nature observation (which is, after all, my business). I have seen parts of Germany I have never seen before and, though I have visited Rutland Water in the UK many times and the Oostvaardersplassen in Holland just a year ago, there is always something new to see. And my business puts me in contact with people, wherever I go, who are as interested in nature and nature observation as I am. It is a good life 🙂 and I am reminded of that every time I have to explain my job to a new acquaintance, as I have done many time on this trip. God is good. What else can you say? Happy Sunday.
Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly: England
While there are many more Peacock Butterflies flying than I have seen on any previous visit to the UK, they are not the only butterflies visiting the flowers at Rutland Water. This is a Small Tortioseshell Butterfly, easily lost in the flight of Peacocks but worth more than a glance when spotted.
Samsung Smart Camera WB250F in Program mode. Macro focus. -1/3EV exposure compensation. About 600mm equivalent. Processed in PicSay Pro on the Nexus 7.
English Peacock
I am always delighted to get to England while the Peacock butterflies are flying, and they are flying in great numbers among the flowers at Rutland Water this year.
This is a shot from outside the Optics Marquee at the British Bird Fair, taken with the Samsung Smart Camera WB250F. Processed in PicSay Pro on the 2013 Nexus 7.