06 August 2011

I Heart Macro: Painted Lady

Painted Lady butterfly on Liatris spicata
I'm back in time for I Heart Macro; I had to take a bit of a blogging break in part to enjoy summertime and in part to begin adjusting to two 200-mile round trips to Albuquerque per week for internship. The drive is fine except for the busy interchange from 25 onto 40 on the way up; the drive home is easy (not much traffic at 7 or 8 pm) and gives me time to process the day. And every mile, every hour on the road is completely worth it -- it is an amazing learning and growing experience.

Today I finally picked up my camera again, just in time to catch this beautiful butterfly feasting in my front perennial garden. These flowers, known as gayfeather, seem to be a buffet for all kinds of fauna from bees to wasps to butterflies to goldfinches. Summertime is divine, this year as always, and now that the rains have begun both flora and fauna are flourishing. I hope you're all able to take some time out to really enjoy your summer!

17 comments:

Alison said...

Beautiful photo!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

A beautiful spread of wings waiting to be captures by your camera!

hello gorgeous said...

cool shot of the b'fly...but the flower is pretty awesome too! ;o)

welcome back!

hugs

hello gorgeous xxx

elena nuez said...

gorgeous!!!!
I loooove it!


a big hug from Spain,
elena

Nadege, said...

What a wonderful capture, so sharp with great details.

EB Bead and Metal Works, LLC said...

Wow! I love the close up of the butterfly and seeing all the different patterns on its wings and the fuzzy body. Just spectacular!!!!

Lori P said...

Wow, Wow! You lucky thing - the colors are just gorgeous!

Welcome back. Have a great week.

KristiBowmanDesign said...

That is amazing, I think that says it all!!

Kym Hunter Designs said...

What a beautiful butterfly! I love how the wings are different colors. You were able to get quite close for this shot.

Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio said...

Beautiful Image!!!

Laura Twiford said...

Absolutely gorgeous shot, the colors from one side of the wings to the other is incredible! Welcome back!

CraftyHope said...

OH WOW!! That's spectacular that you were just able to capture this shot. It's quite lovely! Lucky you!

Tracey Leeder said...

I love this! The detail is incredible. his butterfly has such a furry little body and the antennas are so cool. Absolutely amazing shot!

Patty said...

You are quite the director being able to get that stunning model to pose on the liatris! Incredible shot. I used to have that flower when I lived out East. I love their form and color. Wonderfulness!

Therese's Treasures said...

This is an amazing shot! I love the colors of the butterfly and the flower.
Therese

Linda Landig said...

Your can even see the texture of the powdery color on her wings. Just amazing!

Janice Kay Schaub said...

How do you get such a close shot? Is it the camera or is it something you do after you have taken the shot? I cant get my camera to focus that close. I am very interested in getting this kind of shot and how its done. I hope I am not out of line in asking how its done.
Janice