Ever since I first picked up a camera when I was 12 or so, I’ve displayed a tendency to chase pretty bugs with wings trying to still an instant so I could get a closer look. I wasn’t very good at it when I was 12, and I’m not really great at it now, but I have 2 things going for me that I didn’t have then – a compulsive persistence honed by decades of practice (or neuroses management, your call) and a digital camera with a zoom lens.
Now I can take dozens of images of a given butterfly without necessarily having to put myself within arm’s reach – a distinct advantage when you’re dealing with an insect whose spastic, high-speed flight path contains nothing akin to a straight line and can often swoop on a whim over the trees and out of your reach forever. It also helps that I am finally learning something about butterfly behavior, so I can catch them in relative stillness while they’re feeding, sunning or puddling. But still, the skittish little suckers are fast and erratic and will often fling themselves out of my frame at the last second. So sometimes my butterfly hunts are reduced to photos of things that move much more slowly – like wildflowers.
Next to tropical fish and seashells and the feathers of peacocks, I always thought a butterfly’s wings are one of the most brilliant canvases nature has come up with – all of summer painted on a scaled wing, more exotic than the flowers they feed on. Once I started hunting, it was all about collecting (because that’s the nature of my particular compulsion), so I’m always chasing something I’ve never seen or caught (or a better shot of one I have).
Here are a few of my favorites.
Tiger Swallowtail
Black Swallowtails
Common Buckeye
Monarch
Monarch
Tiger
Gulf Fritillary
Long-tailed Skipper
When I’m not quick enough
Black female tiger swallowtail.
Red-spotted Purple and a Viceroy.
mthew
/ June 19, 2012Luscious! Especially that Gulf Fritillary, a species I’m a little too far north to run into.
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thanks! I’m too far north for that particular fritillary too. I took that one when I was visiting my parents Mississippi last fall. My mom has a great butterfly garden.
Zachary Levet
/ June 19, 2012great butterfly pics you should check out my blog i am uploading a pic of a bee tomorrow.
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thanks. I will.
Deremer Studios
/ June 19, 2012You and I thought alike today – I did a post of Butterflies as well! Great shots!
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012What a happy coincidence. I enjoyed your photos!
Katie
/ June 19, 2012Amazing stuff!
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thanks, Katie!
Aurora HSP
/ June 19, 2012Beautiful mini mental vacation… thank you!
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Glad you enjoyed it!
Jody
/ June 19, 2012How beautiful! And, yeah, you are pretty great at it.
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thank you! I am persistent enough to eventually get a decent shot (usually).
cravesadventure
/ June 19, 2012OMG – AMAZING Photos!!! Thanks for sharing the BEAUTY & Have a Great Day:)
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thanks. I did!
beebeesworld
/ June 19, 2012Great Pics! I too have chased insects. spiders butterflies, snakes since childhood. My best pics are. unfortunately on film and not digital, so sharing them is out for now. I’m looking into getting digital camera with an adapter for my old lenses etc..I know how to tell a male monarch from female-the male has the black scent gland on his hind wing-I know that female swallowtails often have a less brilliant coloring-but is there some other way to tell them apart? I do have a few new pics of a 3rd instar brown mantis with green eyes-so cute-maybe when I get my photos on disk….
I used to have more gardens around-my own and others and therefore more butterflies, mantises etc…I used to mark and name mantises! This year, I have not seen a single monarch and only one fritillary, even with the proper flowers-maybe in July..that seems to bee a month when they lay eggs and caterpillar damage is seen. Nice work.
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Sounds like you’re an avid bug hunter too! I definitely recomend the switch to digital. Makes things much easier and you can process your own images without having to set up a dark room. I love that. Hope you have more garden visitors in July.
lightlycrunchy
/ June 19, 2012Beautiful shots! I like the blurred wing shot too. I always take photos of spiderwebs.. Not quick enough for the butterflies.
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012I love the blurry ones! Glad to hear someone else does, too. I actually have trouble with spider webs. They’re nice and stationary but tend to go invisible unless the light is right or they’re covered in dew.
Wilma Milton
/ June 19, 2012Absolutely marvelous, Tori. You have a gift. Thank you for sharing. Granny
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thanks, Wilma! I love that you like my butterflies!
Kathryn McCullough
/ June 19, 2012Oh, Tori, these are stunning images!
Hugs,
Kathy
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thanks, Kathy. I bet you get some fun fluttering visitors in your garden.
FeyGirl
/ June 20, 2012LOVE your butterflies!! I especially love the description of the “spastic, high-speed flight path” — heh! I just took a bunch more flutterby shots yesterday, and that definitely suits when one is attempting to capture their brilliance (of course I’m smiling like a spaz myself, the entire time).
But I love the blurred movement images just as much as the still photos!
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Oh me too. I love seeing the motion of their wings. And I love chasing them too, even when they’re spastic.
creativityorcrazy
/ June 20, 2012Beautiful….love butterflies. You have such a good idea and take great shots.
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thank you!
SimplySage
/ June 20, 2012Oh my, these are absolutely stunning! Suitable for framing …. and selling, I might add!
Peace,
Alexandria
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012How kind of you to say!
Sandy Sue
/ June 20, 2012Gorgeous. Whether neurosis or compulsion, we get to benefit from it!
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012It does wonders for me. I get my fix of vitamin D, fresh air, sunshine, solitude, quiet, as well as plenty of stuff to chase with my camera.
TimCC
/ June 20, 2012It’s clear to see you’re at one with the subject. Lovely work.
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Thanks! Love the bugs.
starkwe
/ June 23, 2012I’m impressed that you know all their names!
Fork in My Eye
/ June 24, 2012Half the fun is looking them up when I get home!