I have not been very patient yet with butterflies. Rather than sit and wait until they get close to me, I have tried to sneak up on them, and they don't like it. Their flirt & flee tactics make them terrible models.
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I stayed home a couple days this week to do some chores around the house. After lunch, I saw one land on a neighbor's flowering bush, I crept around the blind side, and zoomed right through a gap between the branches to get this one. That's a monarch, right?.
We're experiencing the dog days of summer, and the heat index is pretty bad... especially when moving boxes and bicycles and lawn mowers, and five-gallon buckets filled with what-the-heck-am-I-saving-that-for?! I have a barbell that we kept for my oldest son to use. Somebody welded the caps on, so that the weight can't be changed. How do I get rid of that thing? I banged my ankle on it and did a funky little pain dance. It looked like a Caribbean/Irish jig..
At the end of the day, I had an incredible thirst, and wanted a tall, frosty beer. Those clever commercials make it look like the most satisfying drink on the planet. I had water, instead..
The sneaky butterfly picture was a nice treat for a grueling couple of days.
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15 comments:
A great way to capture B-flies is with a 300 lens - that way you dont get too close for them to flutter off.
That shot of yours is great.
I'm up for a beer?
oh my lands the buckets of "what the heck am i saving that for" and the caribbean/irish pain jig...you make me laugh with the descriptions and their truth.
love the angle on the butterfly though. it's just a little different than many seem to use so i like it. like butterfly paparazzi. it is either a monarch or a viceroy which looks quite similar to a monarch.
i love this post!
Craver: Neat shot, it does look like a Monarch. I also call them flutterbys. Where do they get all that energy?
Yes, sneaking up on butterflies can be very tricky! But you DID it!
I've tried using a long lens to capture butterflies but I have never been as successful at getting a good picture as you've been with this one.
Take it easy with all that hard work in this hot weather.
Every time I see a butterfly flit by I think of taking a picture but know by the time I get the camera out it will have moved on.
You could always donate the welded bar bell away. ;)
Most of what I shoot Imac, is with the 300 mm plus a 2x teleconverter. Still, I prefer being closer over using a stronger magnification.
I'll put a couple bottles in the icebox. :-)
Maybe the buckets and pain dance are ways that "God uses all things for good..." Lime, thanks for the tip about Viceroys. I looked it up, and now I can tell the difference. I'll have to look at my other pictures to know for sure, but it would appear that this is indeed a Monarch.
Thank you so much Jesson and Rey Ann.
Oh, and I thought I was being creative. You know what they say, Fishing Guy: "Great minds..."
What I'd like to do EG, is to get near them and stay there for a while. Unfortunately, I'm doing "hit and runs" between other tasks, and being on the go with a demanding schedule does not give me the freedom to stay longer. Even if I don't take pictures... I'd like to just sit and relax, taking in all the beauty around me. You know what I mean?
Thanks George. Yes, I was careful, especially because I don't care for too much heat. I had a lot of water, kept to the shade, and went back into the air-conditioned house when I needed.
That's what I'm thinking about doing, Gaelyn. I have more weights back in the shed. We haven't touched them in eight years. My son likes to use the machines at the gym. As for me, I get my exercise pushing a lawn mower. :-)
Sounds like you've been pretty busy. I think I would have opted for the nice cold beer!! :-)
Nice capture of the butterfly!
Well you would not hang around either if something 1000 times your size came sneaking up to you!! LOL!!
Is that a Monarch? It looks more like one of the Acraea family to me but then I do not really know your butterflies.
Find time my friend to relax and enjoy Nature.
I used to rush, then suddenly realized that our time is short on Earth so I slowed down, now I enjoy as much as poss.
A good kind of busy, Happyone. It is all worth it.
Good point, Joan. I'll start dieting immediately. ;-)
All in it's proper time Imac. The more I work on the weekdays, the better the rest will be on the weekend.
Very nice catch!
The colors in this are wonderful.
Yuck, beer!
I can picture the funky little pain dance, I can't stop giggling, lol. That butterfly is so pretty and you're right, they are very skittish and sometimes very hard to approach. Great picture, very vibrant colours :)
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