In the last two weeks I’ve happened upon — and somehow managed to photograph — two butterflies I’ve never seen before.
The first was a Bordered Patch. I was coming down a trail on which I seldom see butterflies when I saw something on a flower that looked … different.1
As soon as I focused on it, I realized it was a butterfly I’d never even seen a picture of before. It turned out to be one of the most remarkably patient butterflies I’ve ever dealt with. I was well within three or four feet of it most of the time, and moved around quite a bit to get better angles. Most butterflies would’ve been long gone.
The Bordered Patch even moved a few feet over to flowers of a different color. I thanked it profusely when it finally left.
Yesterday morning I was considering a shot of some prickly pear fruits when I saw a bit of motion off to the side. I suspected it was a butterfly or moth but, unlike the Bordered Patch, whatever it was a) moved around a lot and b) wouldn’t let me get near it. I pointed my camera in the direction of the flying thing, prayed, and pressed the shutter button.2
When I got home and looked at the photos on my monitor, I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. Then I realized it was an American Snout! The timing was interesting. A friend from another state had posted a photo of a Snout on her Facebook page just a few days before. I’d felt so envious that she’d seen one and then, bam! A Snout shows up in the foothills, right up the road from my house. Yet another butterfly wish granted.3
I really do not see very well at all. I’m pretty good at spotting motion, and I notice color, light, and shadow, but details completely elude me. Autofocus cameras allow me to “see” what I can’t in real life.
I learned earlier this summer that some call this “spray-and-pray” photography. It’s apparently not meant as a compliment — but it works for me.
That the colors of the butterfly and the flowers (a form of buckwheat) echo one another is more evidence of my charmed life. I couldn’t really see any of it.
Wonderful captures, Lisa! BTW, "spray and pray" is sometimes the only way to catch a decent shot of something that is in fairly constant motion. I do it at times, but my results are not nearly as good as yours.
For someone who does not 'see any of it' you are a remarkable photographer. Bravo!