Abstract Sepia Rose

Red Admiral Butterfly Photograph

This summer, this red admiral butterfly has enjoyed hanging around the barn yard.  Many mornings I’ve seen it but didn’t have my camera.  Finally, early one morning, I got her photo.

We’ve had a lot of butterflies on the farm this year.  It’s been a lot of fun watching them gathering in the morning to get ready for the day.  Here’s a photo of a group of yellow swallowtail butterflies in the pasture that I took with my phone.

Monarch Butterfly Photo

This year, I’ve seen a lot of butterflies on the farm.  Believe it or not—they seem to love being around sheep poop!  Who would have thought!  All summer I’ve been trying to get a lovely photo of a butterfly on a flower or in the grass—doesn’t happen.  I get butterflies on sheep poop. So I decided to go with what I’ve got—make metaphorical “lemonade” from the “lemon” shots.

This monarch butterfly was photographed early one morning on the pasture surrounded by sheep poop—that was edited out.

If you interested in photographing butterflies, there’s a wonderful article by Mr. Brown Thumb on Garden Section of “Chicago Now”.  Mr. Brown Thumb suggests that since birds eat butterflies, try making yourself smaller.  If your shadow falls on the butterfly, it may flight away.  He also suggests that you photograph butterflies on cloudy days or early in the morning.  Butterflies need the sun’s warm in order to fly. Read the entire article for more tips on photographing butterflies.