PHOTOGRAPH INFO

On Tuesday, I stood in the hot afternoon sun for two hours shooting Cabbage and Sulfur Butterflies. They were profuse and extremely active, so I got some great lessons in photographing quick-moving objects with a macro lens.

By the way, Canada Thistle is considered an invasive weed and the larvae of the Cabbage Butterfly is considered a garden pest.

Post-processing: Shot with the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon 180mm f3.5L lens at 180mm, ISO 200, shutter speed 1/2000s, aperture f/3.5. Crop, curves, color balancing.

Thank you for visiting Durham Township!

-- Kathleen

"Invasive weed" or "pest," they both make for a wonderful photo!

This is very nice picture. I like that there is more than one sharp butterflies in same frame.

Fantastic shot - I love how the butterflies are lined up - almost like a landing pattern at an airport. Beautiful.

Of course you do realise that Canada Thistle is really Scottish Thistle that went on its holidays many many years ago ;-)

Great site - I'll be a regular visitor from now on.

Alan

I was glad to read that you had to work hard to get this shot! I have felt like an idiot chasing these flighty fellows and never getting much for my efforts.

As someone who grew up hunting and fighting with Canada Thistle patches on a wheat farm I have to say I never took the time to appreciate its beauty. Thanks!

what a pretty shot.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!

Wonderful photo! Your patience (and sweating in the hot sun) definitely paid off!

What a beautiful profusion of pastels. Having multiple butterflies in one image (especially the out of focus one flying toward the camera) makes this an especially interesting shot. I once heard butterflies referred to as "flying flowers", which seems an apt description, especially in this image. Your sweating, hard work, and persistence has paid off. Thanks for sharing the fruits of your labor with us.

I spent 2 hours in the hot sun pulling out weeds such as this. I should have been photographing them instead.

This is truly a stunning and impressive photo. Your perseverance paid off big time!

This is really beautiful, Kathleen. Lovely!

A warning Kathleen, an image like this one can be dangerous if it falls into the wrong minds. Even a casual gaze over a plate of re-microwaved leftover spaghetti can soon begin to produce thoughts like;......garden fairies are real.....time is not real.....crystal power works....Art Nouveau in more relevant than Art Bell....beauty contest is an oxymoron....the world could be a better place if I just.......rats, my pipe has gone out.....

Thanks for the great DOF (but who's counting?).

When I got the first glimpse of this photo, I let out a little gasp (the good kind)... it took my breath away. So beautiful!

It's tough to get a good photo of a butterfly in flight, no matter how long you keep at it. You did it, though - beautiful colors and eye-catching depth of field.

Alright, I was just in Colorado and attempted to photograph butterflies. I couldn't even get one in focus! Let alone TWO and with a shallow depth of field!

Your skill in this amazes me, and so does your patience.

3 of a kind... looks like a little movie! Very nice Kathleen!

Great capture! Love the colour and bokeh here too.

Beautiful and delicate. I love that you captured the butterflies in flight--just gorgeous.

Your Good! :) Love this shot and the freeze frame is excellent.

looks as beautiful as a painting

An absolute triumph. A wonderful picture.

In this fast paced, structured, and unforgiving world, we tend to lose sight of how easy life is. When you look at this photograph, are you not overcome by the simple beauty of it? Can you find a better representation of harmony? Do we care that this is a "weed"? Do we care that this is a "garden pest" ? Does it make them less beautiful?

Apparently, they are "bad" for what man has determined is "good". What is "good" is being forced upon the earth and its inhabitants. We have been down this road before; each generation being lulled to sleep while the world's governments takes care of everything for us. If we are too busy to question what is happening, then we deserve to live in a physically and mentally barren land where free will is controlled and ultimately consumed. Stay vigilant and participate in the process and speak your minds or be prepared to let others determine whether you are a "good bug" or a "bad weed". Do nothing and random selection for plants and animals alike will soon be nonexistent. The beautiful unpredictability of creation will vanish from the face of the earth. Does anybody care?

OMG, Willow is off the decaf.....her pen rivals an elven blade.....she takes no prisoners.....listens to Neal Young?.....between the wake of the evolving industrialist and the Wrath of Willow, we shall all surely be crushed........but it was a great picture there for a while.....

This image seams so frozen, so solid, motionless, timeless, as if the whole scene had been suspended in a solid block of acrylic resign.......don't tell Willow, she probably has it in for acrylic resign too........perhaps, Kathleen, you could just shoot something less controversial....like......huh.....well...

There is so much action in that shot. Great shot with all the butterflies in different poses (I know you planned that out and timed it!)

Beautiful Kathleen. They are so delicate, there is an air of stillness about the whole photograph even though it is a shot of moving creatures.

beautiful...gives new meaning to poetry in motion...

I actually got goosebumps when I saw this magnificent capture. This is just magical ~ love it!

Gorgeous capture!

Aaah Kathleen - just stunning! I spent a good amount of time in the mid-day sun capturing the same butterflies in mid-air. You can see the results here:
http://bravo.unisonplatform.com/~marciesc/index.php?showimage=468
Love yours!!!