Butterflies in flight

This morning I went on a Butterfly watching walk with Kath Vail, an environmental campaigner and butterfly expert in the Byron Shire. The weather has been unsettled for the past few days and is still very humid – perfect for butterflies! I learned that many butterflies are attracted to hilltops and males wage heated territorial battles. So while wandering amongst the zooming butterflies was utter magic, trying to capture a pic was like trying to remember a dream, always just a little bit out of  reach.

Blue Triangle butterflies in a territorial dispute....

I was surprised to find I managed to capture anything at all, because the butterflies were just SO fast and unpredictable. This image prompted me to look through my vast collection of butterfly images looking for pics I had taken of them in full flight.

I was surprised at how long I have been struggling with this unrealised mission and how much film (both roll and digital) I have dedicated towards it. I have many, many pics of movement blurred butterflies tearing along garden paths, above tree-tops and across skies.

For example, I visited the extraordinary Chicago Botanic Gardens a few years ago, and after hours and hours of enjoying the gardens and all the bugs in them, spotted two large butterflies playing tag across the carpark (which was an arboretum in itself).

I love these images because they remind me of magnificent days spent in sunshine with time to admire nature and marvel at the world. They aren’t magic images to anyone except me. They inspire me to keep experimenting and trying to overcome the impossible and capture an image that fully conveys the beauty I am witnessing and joy I feel when butterfly watching.