Today we have a surprise from biologist John Avise: butterfly photos. And he reminds us of how many times his photos have appeared here (they’ve all been of birds):
You’ve posted a total of more than 3500 of my avian photographs across 231 Sundays! I thought it might be time to start sending some other wildlife that I’ve photographed, so this week let’s start a long series on butterflies of North America.
Butterflies in North America, Part 1
Longtime readers of WEIT might rightly suspect that I photograph only birds. But that is far from correct. In truth, almost any wildlife is fair game for my camera. This week I exemplify this point by beginning a many-part series on butterflies that I have photographed over the years in North America (mostly in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, or California). In general, I find butterflies to be much easier to photograph than birds, because they often sit still nearby. Typically, I use the same 300 mm telephoto lens that I use for birds, except that the butterflies are much closer to me so the focal distance becomes critical. I’m six feet tall, and butterflies perched near my feet happen to be at a perfect distance for close-up photos with that lens.
Acmon Blue (Icaricia acmon), male topwing:
Acmon Blue, male underwing:
Acmon Blue, female topwing:
Acmon Blue, female underwing:
American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas), topwing:
American Copper, underwing:
American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), topwing:
American Lady, underwing:
Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon), topwing:
Anise Swallowtail, underwing:
Aphrodite Fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite), topwing:
Aphrodite Fritillary, underwing:
Omg, I am going to like my Sundays even better! 😀
I’ve never seen the Acmon Blue before – those are beautiful! Thanks for sharing!
Gorgeous,John. Thanks!
Lovely! Thanks so much!
I’ve enjoyed every 3500 photos sent in. Keep going! I love to wake up Sunday to these posts.
Thank you so much for these. They certainly brighten up this gloomy Sunday morning!
Ah, a delightful departure.
Great pictures! I really did think that you only did birds. Now I know better.
Loving these photos. Feeling struck by the differences between male and female and between underwing and above.
Beautiful photos, as always, John, thanks!
Thanks for mentioning the lens — I was wondering. Do you also crop significantly?
My son Jamie also uses a 300mm lens for many photos of near small things. It seems to be a good FL for that.
With butterflies, I seldom need to enlarge or crop significantly (the animals usually fill the frame because they are so close).
Lovely! Thanks.
What are butterflies if not two-dimensional birds?
We had a huge influx of American Lady butterflies in Southern California a few years ago. I’ve never seen so many butterflies at the same time before, and I’m lucky enough to live next to a couple who raise butterflies and grow butterfly friendly plants (e.g., milkweed), and we get more than our fair share of the loiterers.
Nice! em… show offs every last one of them. A butterfly ball would be spectacular.
Thankyou sir, for sharing your beautiful photos with all of us. Wildlife and scenic photos are my favorite subjects, but especially the butterfly’s.
Terrific! It seems like when you spend time looking at birds you also see and appreciate everything else more fully… butterflies being a prime example.
Such beauties of nature, never seen, your work and sharing are appreciated!