JPG Magazine: Stories: Photo Essay: Butterfly Encounter

Butterfly Encounter

By Patrick Westerfield

23 June 2008

I had seen the sign "Butterfly Encounter" on a plant nursery just outside of town for several years. I never really gave it much thought until I took up digital photography. One Saturday afternoon, I decided that it would make a nice place to shoot some photos. After all, there would be lots of butterflies in a confined space.

There were indeed lots of butterflies but not a very confined space. Upon entering, saw that the sanctuary consisted of three large, interconnected greenhouses. The first greenhouse had a sign which read "Caterpillar Flight School." The temperature and humidity were very high. It was like a muggy summer day. It was obviously meant to be ideal for the butterflies, not humans. This is fair because they live there, I was only visiting.

At first, I did not see very many butterflies and felt a little disappointed. Knowing next to nothing about the behavior of butterflies, I expected them to be fluttering around in mid-air. After a few minutes I realized that there were plenty of butterflies, but that they were very close to the leaves of the plants all around me. There were so many that it was hard to track just one long enough to take a picture.

The popular preconception of butterflies is that they are slow and graceful. They may be graceful but they were anything but slow. Once I got one lined up for a photograph, it would zip to one side or another. If it was landed, it would take off. If it were in the air it would land, then flutter off to another flower or leaf for no apparent reason. I had to anticipate where they would be and take the photo before they got there.

The butterflies would never travel in one direction for any length of time. They zigged and zigged. Up and down. Back and forth. They must have developed these evasive actions to remain safe from predators. This adaptation must have helped in the struggle for survival, but had the side effect of frustrating beginning photographers.

The limitations of my point and shoot camera became apparent. With only a 3x zoom, I had to get close. That meant that the butterfly sitting in a perfect pose would inevitably move as I approached to compose my shot. All digital cameras are cursed with a hesitation between pushing the button and the image being taken. With such an nimble subject, it mean a lot of missed shots.

Even with all of the problems, the experience was a good one. I learned a great deal from shooting these photos. Good photography means always learning. It is all about making each shot better then the last. This photo shoot made me very aware of that.