Final Butterflies of the season
About two weeks ago, I visited Rutgers Gardens in New Jersey in search of butterflies to photograph. I was pleasantly surprised to find monarch butterflies still around. I went one day and returned the following, while the weather was still lovely. In the process of taking the photographs — wading through various weeds and who knows what — I was bitten by some bugs and probably also went into something that gave caused my skin to get an allergic reaction. I’ve been to a dermatologist twice since then, and the skin on my arms, legs, and back are still broken out in a itchy mess of a rash despite the topical medications and anti-histamines. I’ve had poison ivy in the past, and each time after starting medication I started to clear up. This, however, is not budging. Ugh!
On a good note, I like some of the photos. Were they worth this annoying, itchy rash? Right now, the jury is still out on that one. I am partial to the desaturated versions of some of the photos. While I certainly like vivid color, I find myself more attracted to the dreamy quality I see when the color is pushed back.
This is my favorite.
October 19th, 2011 at 9:41 am
wonderful photos!
October 19th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
good grief Gloria I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t been feeling well but these photos are gorgeous!
November 1st, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Stunning! I love Monarch’s and it’s great to see some this time of year. Your desaturation of them is lovely – so ethereal and provides such a different feel than the brilliantly natural colored ones. Always a fan!
November 17th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Beautiful photos Gloria! I usually like desaturated images too, and I like the last one, but there’s something so amazing about the vivid orange of the monarch wings that I really love. I’m very excited, because for the first time since 2009 we found monarch butterfly eggs on the milkweed in our garden! We brought in 16 of them and they’re rapidly hatching and growing larger. We’ll protect them inside and then release them after the emerge as butterflies. After very low numbers for the past few years we’ve been seeing very high numbers in the overwintering sites here in Northern California – hooray!! Sorry about your rash – I know that milkweed is poisonous, but it doesn’t sound like that’s what got you.
November 18th, 2011 at 9:39 am
thanks Heidi!
November 29th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
gorgeous photos Gloria, I’m wondering about your camera? Can you share what camera you used for the photos, they are very sharp. I’m in the market for a new one.
November 29th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Thanks Mary! I’m glad you like. They were taken with a Nikon D90 with an 18-200mm DX VR lens.