Butterflies brought me back

Not sure why but I haven’t felt like photographing in awhile. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve done some great trips–Reflection Canyon, Zebra Slot, White Sands, Carlsbad–and I’ve taken lots of pictures, but when I bring them up on my computer, I get all blah. They never quite capture what I saw.

But this weekend, my lovely friend, Mary, and I went back to the Butterfly Wonderful. Mary shares my love for butterflies and an unending and still unsatisfied desire to figure out just how to get good shots of them.

I decided to focus on details this time. The pictures still aren’t as crisp as I would like. I’m not sure if I’m using the wrong lens (50 mm f/1.8 prime) or the wrong settings (ISO 400, apertures as wide as I can get ’em without dropping my shutter speed below 1/90 for the ones sitting still, faster for the fluttery ones). Regardless, I never seem to tire of trying, whether it’s the details of their fuzzy bodies,

the wings that sometimes look like paper

and sometimes look like feathers

and sometimes look like veiny like leaves.

And oh those ridiculously long probusci and antennae and legs.

 

But what amazes me most is how different their eyes are: spotted

and so often they seem colored to match their bodies.

I mean, check out this guy. Those eyes are probably my favorite.

And I swear that butterflies make eye contact once in awhile.

I think this is my favorite shot of the day.