Post your Butterflies!! Tips on how to capture them.

AnnieMacD wrote in post #18935941
I'm the same Tom. I get very excited if I get a decent image of a butterfly (or moth). We had a huge influx of Painted Ladies earlier in the summer and I did get one or two photos of them.

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Painted Ladies! . Oh, wow!

I found a Painted Lady back in 2015. . I didn't know what it was, but I was so freaking excited because of its striking beauty. . Got a few okay pics before it fled. . Got home and looked it up and that's when I found that it was called a Painted Lady. . Have wanted to see a Painted Lady ever since, in the hopes of getting better quality photos, but that remains the only one I have ever seen in my lifetime.

Last month there was a rumor on Facebook about some butterflies being attracted to a patch of blooming Coreopsis about 150 miles south of me. . So, one Saturday back in August I drove to the Coreopsis patch in hopes of finding a Painted Lady there. . There were a few other types of butterflies, but none that were uncommonly beautiful like that Painted Lady was. . Spent a few hours trying to get close to the butterflies that were there, with very little success. . Didn't manage to come away with any quality images. . A whole day spent, and 300 miles of driving, for zero quality images.

This is pretty much how it goes for me with butterflies - lots of time and effort invested, with no success

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18936066
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Painted Ladies! . Oh, wow!

I found a Painted Lady back in 2015. . I didn't know what it was, but I was so freaking excited because of its striking beauty. . Got a few okay pics before it fled. . Got home and looked it up and that's when I found that it was called a Painted Lady. . Have wanted to see a Painted Lady ever since, in the hopes of getting better quality photos, but that remains the only one I have ever seen in my lifetime.

Last month there was a rumor on Facebook about some butterflies being attracted to a patch of blooming Coreopsis about 150 miles south of me. . So, one Saturday back in August I drove to the Coreopsis patch in hopes of finding a Painted Lady there. . There were a few other types of butterflies, but none that were uncommonly beautiful like that Painted Lady was. . Spent a few hours trying to get close to the butterflies that were there, with very little success. . Didn't manage to come away with any quality images. . A whole day spent, and 300 miles of driving, for zero quality images.

This is pretty much how it goes for me with butterflies - lots of time and effort invested, with no success

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I think it’s all about how rare a butterfly is in your area or how much you want/need a photo of it. Painted Lady can be seen quite often here in eastern NM, and normally not to difficult to approach. That being said, I think much of it is approaching slowly and in stages helps. Stay low. Avoid casting a shadow and wearing clothes that blend in.
But when a rare butterfly is sighted I have to fight the urge to break all of my own rules!
Seriously, I think it’s Much less stressful now than back when we only had 36 exposures(and likely already shot most). And the wait to see if you got that keeper. Lol

Here is one that we rarely get here and always causes me much anxiety.

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The Hitchhiker! This guy hung out his hoof for quite some time.

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cfdesigns wrote in post #18936109
The Hitchhiker! This guy hung out his hoof for quite some time.

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Good eye!
And good photo of a beautiful butterfly.

Park Ranger wrote in post #18936151
Good eye!
And good photo of a beautiful butterfly.

Thank you! He hung out there for a while. I had to run up to the barn to get my camera. I was surprised he was still there when I got back.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18933759
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I find that the butterflies I try to photograph are EXTREMELY skittish. . Whenever I try to approach, they fly off well before I get anywhere near photo range.

Does anyone else experience this behavior?

There are VERY few butterflies where I live here in eastern Washington, and I get quite excited whenever I happen to see one, because they are such a rare occurrence. . But then I can never get good photos because of their extreme skittishness. . How do y'all deal with their shyness and fear? . Or are they just not like that in other parts of the country/world?

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Key with post insects is not to obscure the sky from their perspective, not to jog undergrowth, so approach low on knees or lower.

Some will be more sensitive than others, of course if they are busy feeding, mating or sunning they hang around for longer and are less likely to be disturbed.

In poor years when numbers are low I tend to find they are more skittish, possibly because they are experiencing a higher individual rate of attention from predators and those not skittish are quickly removed from the population.

I don't try bribes with sugared water as almost all my subjects are in the field rather than the garden.

Lester Wareham wrote in post #18936522
Key with post insects is not to obscure the sky from their perspective, not to jog undergrowth, so approach low on knees or lower.

Some will be more sensitive than others, of course if they are busy feeding, mating or sunning they hang around for longer and are less likely to be disturbed.

In poor years when numbers are low I tend to find they are more skittish, possibly because they are experiencing a higher individual rate of attention from predators and those not skittish are quickly removed from the population.

I don't try bribes with sugared water as almost all my subjects are in the field rather than the garden.

Sometimes it helps to be patient. I had a Sulfur 6' away take off, fly 40' away & about 50' up in the air on a windy day. Then it came back & landed six inches from where it started! Thing is it took off & landed on bare ground, not on any easily identifiable plant or other object. So how did it keep track of where it started from?

Bordered Patch greeting the world.

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Park Ranger wrote in post #18939050
Bordered Patch greeting the world.

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Love this. Never seen it happen.

AnnieMacD wrote in post #18939977
Love this. Never seen it happen.

Thank you!

Then you Really must arrange to. I’ve been blessed to witness the event several times and each time is more moving than the last.

Sometimes it’s about the butterflies and the bees!

Buckeye.

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The Buckeye is so gorgeous!

I saw one when I was in Oklahoma back in July. . I was flabbergasted at it beauty. . Took a quick photo as soon as I saw it and then tried to move in close for a good image. . Didn't happen - it flew off before I got anywhere near close enough, and I never saw it again. . Nor did I see any others during the 4 days that I spent there.

I don't know how many years I'll have to wait until I see a Buckeye again, but I sure would like to! . To be able to get photos as nice as this one that you've posted is something that I would invest a good deal of time and money into being able to do.

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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18940306
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The Buckeye is so gorgeous!

I saw one when I was in Oklahoma back in July. . I was flabbergasted at it beauty. . Took a quick photo as soon as I saw it and then tried to move in close for a good image. . Didn't happen - it flew off before I got anywhere near close enough, and I never saw it again. . Nor did I see any others during the 4 days that I spent there.

I don't know how many years I'll have to wait until I see a Buckeye again, but I sure would like to! . To be able to get photos as nice as this one that you've posted is something that I would invest a good deal of time and money into being able to do.

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Thank you Tom for your very kind words! I’m moved and a little bit embarrassed. I do understand where you’re coming from, when you mention the flustrations of trying to get a photo of something. The Buckeye is also one of my nemesis. I have seen few and usually I see them just about the exact moment they are about to take off. I’ve had my heart sink several times by watching one disappear just as I was locking focus.
This one was a “gift “. I snapped and the little bee flushed it a moment later, to disappear down the grown up country ditch.
Keep trying. The prize will come.
Thanks again!!