Flutterby

"We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis."

~LeeAnn Taylor

The Conservatory of Flowers, in Golden Gate Park, just wrapped up it's incredible Butterflies and Blooms exhibit, last Sunday, March 16th. I meant to do a post about how much I had enjoyed the exhibit long before now, but something always came up. I did write multiple blog posts, as I visited throughout the year of the exhibit, but somehow, now that's gone, it seems that the year went by way too fast! I enjoyed it very much, just as in past years! Hopefully it will come back soon. In the mean time the conservatory has a new exhibit opening in April... "Chomp! They Came From The Swamp." It will be all about carnivorous plants. Excellent! I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon, then in the company of man-eating plants! 

:)

My Butterfly Gallery
Conservatory Of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, 2013 & 2014

Waiting To Emerge...


Newly Emerged Great Southern White...


Great Southern White Enjoying Life...


Great Southern White On Daisy...


Beautiful Monarch...


Orange Alfalfa Sulphur...


Morning Cloak...


Anise Swallowtail...


Zebra Longwing...


Zebra Longwing In Motion...


Common Checkered Butterfly In Motion...


Such beauty! I have learned so much about photography, just from this one subject alone. Again it was a subject that Steven gave me a lot of encouragement with! We didn't know each other a lifetime, but in the short amount of time we were friends, I learned a lifetime of photography tips and it's still like his is just right here. :)

"Always be aware of the background, remember to look deeper into the shot." ~Steven

Mood: Grateful

~Me :)

Great Southern White Butterfly (Ascia monuste) Part II

"I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days... three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain."

~John Keats, Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne

Sigh. Of all the places, people, and things I have photographed, I think butterflies are my favorite. This little butterfly, the Great Southern White (Ascia monuste) was a newly emerged butterfly, as evident by it's slightly curled wings. What a wonderful day it must have been for that butterfly. The world was brand new, and each time it landed on a new flower, it was a new experience. It must be amazing to see this world, through new eyes.

Smile.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Great Southern White (Ascia monuste)

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

~Oscar Wilde

I am tired, and weary. My Fibromyalgia is roaring through my body. It's okay, I had a fabulous day with the camera yesterday. Butterflies. Large, beautiful, Maverick sized waves. The sky. The flowers. Art was everywhere, and my eyes happily took it all in, and my camera saved it forever. Life is good.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Butterfly Lifestyles

Monarch Butterfly
Conservatory Of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
September 4th 2013

"Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat. 'I don't know,' Alice answered. 'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter."

~Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland

 

I learned so much about photographing butterflies from my friend Steven. I remember him telling me to "remember that Monarchs will not behave like Zebra Longwings. Some types of butterflies will sit contently sipping from a milkweed plant, while others will bounce from flower to flower." He was right. I took his advice, and I was really grateful to have it, as I said, I learned a lot from him. I miss him very much, and wish that I could still continue to share my photographs with him. I miss my friend.

 

Monarch Butterflies

Zebra Longwing

Great Southern White

Pipevine Swallowtail

Sometimes its a sad feeling to know I can't just go home and email off to him some picture of an amazing butterfly I have taken, but sometimes when I am at the Conservatory, and a butterfly is really making me work hard to take it's picture, I can almost hear Steven saying to me... "patience." And I can't help but smile a little, and just be thankful to have known Steven at all.

Mood: Quiet

~Me

The Gemini

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

~Unknown

When Alan and I visited the Conservatory Of Flowers Butterfly Exhibit last month, not only were we treated to a gorgeous variety of beautiful butterflies and the flowers they enjoy, we also got to see them as they are when they have just emerged from their cocoons! What A TREAT! In years past, the butterflies remained behind a protective glass viewing case until they had been emerged for a while, but this time around the conservatory releases them into the room as soon as they are completely free from the chrysalis. Baby butterflies! Okay, I know that it'd not really accurate to call them babies, as they are fully grown, ready to fly, fully mature creatures, but to see them at their most vulnerable makes one think of them as infants, if only for the few hours it usually takes them to spread their wings. This lovely little creature was born May 22nd, 2013! I love butterflies, nothing in nature can compare to their beauty!

According To The Universal Psychic Guild...

Gemini
Element: Air
The Ruling Planet: Mercury
Symbol: The Twins
Stone: Aquamarine
Life Pursuit: To Explore A Little Bit Of Everything
Vibration: Intense Mental Energy
Gemini's Secret Desire: To Be Ahead Of The Crowd

"I'm a gemini, so I change my mind every day."

~Natalie Portman

Click here to read more about Geminis.

Personally, I am a Cancer. My birthday is at the end of the month, so we will delve into what it's like to be me as the month moves forward! Doesn't that sound like fun?! ;)

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Great Southern White

Great Southern White ( Ascia monuste) (Male)


"The flesh in which we live is nothing more than a cocoon, and only when we step out of it do we truly begin to live."

~Nancy Stephan, The Truth About Butterflies: A Memoir

Yesterday, Alan and I went to the new butterfly exhibit at the Conservatory Of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. It was lovely to say the least. It opened on May 8th, and will be continuing through the summer and part of autumn. I was able to photograph a nice variety, and for the most part I am happy with the results. It's been several years since I have had a chance to get in practice with a collection of butterflies, so I found I was a bit rusty. That's okay, I will be visiting the conservatory as much as possible. I am looking forward to posting a lot of new photos of my favorite subject... butterflies.

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

The Butterfly's World

Great Southern White (Ascia monuste)


"I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days... three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain."

~John Keats, Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats To Fanny Brawne

Please forgive the photographs from the archives, but Thursday was a long day. Not a bad day mind you, but a busy one. I was engaged in a all the tedious tasks that I had been putting off. It felt good to feel normal. My body has been put through it's paces since the first of the year, and my Fibromyalgia seems to be running my life to a degree, and stress always exacerbates things. But the sun was warm, and the garden is getting off to a slow, but healthy start so it made things easier to take! It also helped to get a little good news from Alan as he was on the way out the door for work. It seems the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park will be opening a new butterfly exhibit in early May! I love photographing butterflies, so I am really looking forward to seeing what my current cameras can do in that setting.

 Indoor shooting has it's pluses and minuses as you probably know. I am really looking forward to that exhibit, but I wish my friend Steven were here to give me some advice. I loved sharing my photos with him, and I know I will be thinking of him when I visit the Conservatory. Still, I can remember his advice sometimes, just as if he were right there... coaching me along. (Smile) He is still my friend, and one day we will meet on the other side, and hopefully there are cameras in Heaven, because I still have a lot of questions for him! LOL.

Here is a favorite photo I took several years ago at the Conservatory of Flowers Butterfly Exhibit several years ago...



Such a delicate Little Yellow ( Pyrisitia lisa) butterfly, not even the size of my thumb. :)

I think after yesterday's gray post, I am looking for color again! :) And how can you not smile in the presence of a Little Yellow butterfly going about it's life, completely unaware of all of the harsh human realities? Lucky her!

:)

Mood: Hopeful

~Me :)

Ladies In White Dresses

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary."

-Aaron Rose



While out with the camera lately, I have experiencing some wonderful lighting opportunities. Last week I was especially focused on playing with light because of our last Round Robin topic, "Morning, Noon and Night." Our assignment was to photograph an object as it moves through the different times of day. I chose to photograph a stationary object, and let the natural light of the sun illustrate how the object's appearance changed. It was a fun little challenge. I am constantly learning new things about creativity from those challenges, and the nice thing is that I think I have brought some new elements to my photography because of it.

Last Wednesday Alan and I visited the butterfly exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers, and again lighting and opportunity presented themselves. There was a nice variety of butterflies this past week, but the one that kept catching my eye was the Great Southern White. As they floated by, I kept seeing a slight pink to the wings, and then at times, I thought I was seeing a yellow to it. It is a fairly active butterfly, so it is at times a challenge to capture one sitting with it's wings open. But as I said in yesterday's entry about the Black Swallowtail, the underside of a butterfly often contains colors not seen when it's wings are fully open, so I just had to wait it out.

The conservatory is all windows. So, lots of light comes into the building on most days, accept for days when there is a lot of low clouds and fog. Last Wednesday was really hot, but there was a good bit of natural filtering through that inevitable fog. The ocean is just off the park, so on any given day, a cool breeze will bring it right on through. As I fixed my camera on the butterfly, the sun broke through the mist and a nice beam came down through the room, which caught the butterfly's wings in it's path. I was amazed at the opalescence of the closed wings. The wings which appeared all white when open, except for a thin line of gray/black on the tips, actually contained other colors as well, which are easier to see with it's wings closed. It was pleasant to be able to photograph her and all her colors.

A little later on, in another part of the park, I saw a young couple posing for their wedding photos. You see that a lot in Golden Gate Park, and at the various landmark areas in the city. I love having the opportunity to photograph these moments. The couples are always so happy. It's always a pleasant way to spend the day, and like with the butterflies, it's always a nice surprise to encounter one. I chose to photograph the bride in black and white to specifically avoid the ambient colors of her surroundings. I think the lack of color gives the photo an added feel of emotion. A beautiful simplicity. There is nothing to distract from the raw moment.

Both subjects, butterflies and candid moments, take some patience, but that is a good thing I think. I could take a photo of a stationary object and probably do okay with it, but I enjoy movement and natural energy of the butterflies, and the very limited time allowance that comes with finding a candid moment. Both conditions make me think on my feet, and that is a good thing because sometimes I just enjoy using instinct, as opposed to over thinking my creativity. Sometimes a better picture comes from looking beyond the immediate of the here and now, and into the possibility of what could be.

-OndineMonet
"Natural Beauty"
Conservatory of Flowers
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
July, 2008

The Behavior Of Gossamers

"Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic."

-Rosalind Russell

I love butterflies. All butterflies. That's just a fact of my life. The afternoons I spend photographing them, at the Conservatory of Flowers, are usually some of my favorite moments out of my week. They are so beautiful and so graceful that I cannot help but feel completely at peace as they flutter about the room and when one happens to land on my shoulder to hitch a ride, I am especially at peace inside. This week's visit was especially enjoyable. There was a wonderful variety of butterflies. Zebra Longwing, Julia's, Monarchs, Queens, Red Admiral, Great Southern White, which is the one featured in large photo above, and a new one to me, an Orange Sulphur.

As I was walking into the exhibit, I saw the tiny butterfly resting up against the glass window at the front of the building. I was just thrilled. Yes! A new challenge. The first thing I learned from visiting the exhibit in 2005 was that not all butterflies behave the same. Some are very shy, some are constantly moving, almost as if they suffer from ADD, while others are more then happy to come over and almost strike up a conversation with you. The Orange Sulphur butterfly, is tiny, very active butterfly. It is a difficult butterfly to catch with it's wings open. Some butterflies spread their wings as they drink from a flower, not so much with the gossamers, which is the class they come from.

My photography goal for this year is to capture a photograph of the Mission Blue butterfly in the wild. The Mission Blue has been on the endangered species list for a number of years, but fortunately their numbers are coming back, thanks to some dedication an effort to help them repopulate here in the Bay Area. I am thankful to be able to get some insight to their behavior by getting in a little practice with the gossamers in this exhibit. The weather is warming up around the bay, beginning tomorrow, and we have been promised, by the weatherman and weatherwoman, to be in the lower to mid 80's by the weekend. With the warm weather come the butterflies, so, next week I am heading for either Mt. San Bruno, or the Marin Headlands, with my camera, to hopefully find my goal, the Mission Blue.

On my way, I will of course stop in for a little time with my favorite friends, and with a little luck, there might even be yet another type of butterfly I haven't photographed yet. Crossing fingers. I had a wonderfully relaxing time getting to know the Orange Sulphur. As I approached her for the first time, she was sitting in a window, looking outside, and moving her limps across her face as if she were applying her make-up for the day. She turned my way, smiled, tilted her glasses, I swear she looks like she wears glasses, and just that quickly I was smitten. It was difficult to leave at the end of the day. But I will be back... I promise.

-OndineMonet
"Great Southern White"
Conservatory of Flowers
San Francisco, California
April 8th, 2008
Afternoon