The quest to capture nature photos can be frustrating, but the reward is well worth the hours waiting for the shot.
Nature photography is both frustrating and exhilerating. The list of must-have shots seems to grow faster than they are achieved. Today I got one of those shots.
The Cairns Birdwing Butterfly (Ornithoptera euphorion) is Australia’s largest butterfly and they fly through my garden all the time! I’m grateful just to see them, but I also wanted to capture them… or more accurately “write them with light”.
Did you know that photography comes from the Latin “photo” light and “graphy” to write?
I got the female a month or so ago and was absolutely thrilled but I wanted a matching pair. The male flew by every few days but never stopped. Today he stopped.
As he rested on a leaf, I set up my monopod and put my thumb on the back button focus and waited.
Over the next hour, he rested and moved and then finally started going from flower to flower. I took almost 100 shots. Three were keepers. These guys are fast and unpredictable. My attempts to get an “in flight” shot yielded only empty air.
It was worth it for those three shots! The colours and the textures take my breath away. What a stunning butterfly!
Whenever I get one of those must-have shots, the frustration completely melts away and I am hooked again, hunting the light exhilarated and full of joy. As I go over the photos afterwards, I can’t help but think, “How lucky am I?!”
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Jane Grows Garden Rooms 