Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center @ Callaway Gardens

Elaine and I will be over near Callaway, camping at FDR State Park, all next week, leaving Monday. We want to particularly do a lot of shooting at the butterfly center. I understand it is enclosed and the humidity is fairly high. Does anyone here have any tips for handling lens fogging (if it is a problem), and does anyone here know if they allow tripods in the center? Thanks for replying in advance!

Phil Hodgkins

Philip, I live about 45 miles from the Gardens and have been there several times over the years. It is like a green house inside and is more humid when it is hot. This weekend and next week it should be in the mid to low 70's by day, so maybe it will not be to bad. As for the tripod, the people there are super nice and are great.I do not know of any restrictions with using one as long as you respect other visitors to the center. Some places it my be tight if you use a big tripod. You have clear paths through out and can get some shots from above at the entrance inside the center. During the week, the number of people there will be less so you should not have much of a problem taking your time and getting the shot. Make sure you bring a lot of memory since you will not want to stop. I know you will have a great time. This is a great time of the year to visit that area as the leaves are starting to turn but may not peak for a couple of weeks.However, here is the link to the center and you can email them.
http://www.callawaygardens.com/callaway/info/things.butterflies.bldg.aspx
Be sure to plan a to stay most of the day in and around the center.

Philip, I find the Callaway butterfly center to be a difficult shoot, but it's usually not too humid. The difficulties come rather in that the plants--and therfore the butterflies--are all above ground. This results in awkward angles and poor backgrounds much of the time. Might be best to use a zoom, around 70-200, that you can handhold (and keep a macro in the 100-180 range handy). For future reference, newer butterfly enclosures such as those at the Florida Natural History Museum in Gainesville and the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, are much easier shoots as they are better lit and designed with flowers on a variety of levels. For example, you can stand on a small footbridge and shoot down, up and level. Good luck!

Thank you so much, Joyce and Robert! I will take the advice to heart and camera. We can cover the zoom, Joyce. We will make do on the macro with the 90mm Tamron, which I have found to be a good lens for most macros we shoot.