Posted by Toni Lankerd on March 28, 2010 at 9:12 PM
From Last week's shoot at the Butterflies are Blooming exhibit Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. This Blue Morpho decided to pose patiently for a few minutes on one of the cement benches, but refused to open his wings to show the beautiful blue inside.
Pentax K10D, Sigma 105 macro, f5.6 @ 1/125, iso 200
Posted by John Tobias on March 28, 2010 at 11:01 PM
Toni, join the crowd of frustrated blue morph photographers. This butterfly has the habit of closing it's wings almost as soon as it lands. I have managed to get a few with the wings open over the years at various butterfly exhibits, but it is a matter of luck and waiting. They are beautiful. I have seen them in Peru and Costa Rica. Good luck!
Posted by Taylor Reed on March 28, 2010 at 11:05 PM
Great shot, wild wings on that one. I wish I could see more of the "eyes"
Great catch. They are a frustrating prey for sure. Just knowing they may open up any time makes for some interesting moments.
Posted by Bruce Palla on March 30, 2010 at 3:14 PM
Very nice. I've never seen one and was wondering about the title 'blue', thanks for sharing a beautiful shot.
Posted by Toni Lankerd on March 31, 2010 at 11:07 AM
Thanks! It is frustrating, knowing the inside of the Morph is so beautiful, yet they don't want to share that view all the time...
Posted by Kathy Odiorne on April 2, 2010 at 12:58 AM
Well captured, Toni. I've not had any luck at getting them with their wings open, either. I was there today, but didn't get a lot of pics. I think every school in GR must have had a field trip today. Going to try again when it's less crowded - hopefully early in the morning or late afternoon.
Nice catch. I've never tried photography at a butterfly exhibit but it looks like fun.
Posted by Toni Lankerd on April 2, 2010 at 9:43 AM
Kathy..it's difficult to gauge just when is the best time. I went early afternoon when all the buses were leaving, so there were very few school kids in the gardens.
Phil...it is fun..as long as there aren't hordes of school kids there!
Too bad they don't have "photographer days" when the exhibit is open only to photographers.
Posted by Toni Lankerd on April 2, 2010 at 5:41 PM
You're right, Kathy..but then you'd be fighting hordes of photographers instead!
Posted by Kathy Odiorne on April 2, 2010 at 10:08 PM
True. It's just a busy place.
Posted by John Tobias on April 6, 2010 at 10:42 AM
It has been my experience that Sunday morning is a good time to go to a zoo or butterfly exhibit, there are ususally less visitors until after noon. Saturday mornings are also good, but you do risk running into groups taking part in education programs.
Discussion
12 repliesPentax K10D, Sigma 105 macro, f5.6 @ 1/125, iso 200
Phil...it is fun..as long as there aren't hordes of school kids there!