Sunday, August 07, 2022

Flying Things

I have only seen about 3 Monarchs so far this year, but the Swallow Tail Butterflies have been very busy!

This patch of purple bee balm has been the HOT spot.

On these hot afternoons I sit in the shade on the north stoop and watch the activity.


In May I used good old compost dirt to fill in a dip in the yard. It took a few loads of BS dirt to make a nice spot.
I then planted sunflowers and spread packets of wildflower seeds and stomped it down. 
It has produced beautiful little flowers as well as the bachelor buttons and others that I can't identify.




Below is a 'magic' shot. I use ProCapture shooting [on a tripod] to catch the butterfly on the right landing. I merged two photos to get the sequence.


I got braver and thought I'd try it with the one Swallow Trail. The result is not perfect, however it was a fun challenge to do. Edited in ON1 Photo because I won't be a slave to Photoshop's rental.



The downside of shooting like that is getting a TON of photos to sort through which include a lot of misses. 

The ProCapture feature is really cool. When you press the shutter half way down, it starts to cycle when you hold the shutter down it saves the previous 10 shots [or whatever you program it to] and then up to 70 shots [I programed mine to a mere 5] of when you release the shutter.

So you have pre shots, and after shots to go through. As well as those taken while you held down the shutter.

However, it seems to be a great way to 'shoot' unexpected action.

The downside again, is having to go through those shots. However, I can see this as fantastic for trying to catch birds, butterflies, and equine running? I can also use the other two sequential modes for fast action. 
I'm still experimenting.

The butterflies and other insects move so fast, it is nearly impossible to time it with my slow finger on the shutter.

I used low sequential for these two shots. The Clearwing Hummingbird Moth was so exciting to see! Not only that, I got it with a bumble bee on the opposite side of the flower with both in midflight.


I spent over an hour by the back step watching these incredible insects fly about. 


I'm learning to be patient and observe things. This is something that was very hard for me to do.

However the intense heat and humidity actually helped me sit tight and watch from the shade.

And finally, my patience paid off with the spotting of a Monarch.



7 comments:

  1. I haven't seen one monarch, even with all the milkweed we have. I do not have the patience much less the skill to do what you do. I do appreciate the results!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Patience does not come easily to me in the form of standing or sitting and ...waiting!

      Delete
  2. Great photos! You got some great captures! The heat must have slowed you down:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It did! The heat wasn't as bad as the dew point which made me feel like I was in a sauna!

      Delete
  3. Great flutterby photos! They sure are fun to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful photo's. Sounds like lots of work though. I saw my first and only Swallow Tail just yesterday. I've seen more Monarchs, but not as many as other years. Rabbits ate some of my plants that I think attract them in other years. It's been a real annoyance this year. I've chased them off every time I see them, but it doesn't seem to work. They ate alot of the plants when they were starting out and or just after the bloosoms appeared, therefore ...they didn't bloom. Grrrrrrrrrr

    ReplyDelete
  5. I enjoy your photos so much!

    ReplyDelete

Please include at least your first name if you are commenting Anonymously. Thank you.