Butterfly Idols

Why are they called butterflies? They are nothing like the creamy butter or the pesky little flies.

Up, up and away!

Common Sailor on jasmine leaf

 
It's not just during the great migration, but throughout the year we get to relish butterfly sightings almost daily. Not just one or two varieties but butterflies of various kinds with distinct colors and designs would hang around our neighborhood and yard. Though during off season they come in small numbers. I had failed many a times trying to capture them with my old cam phone. Since these fellows are always too swift, agile and elusive.

Translucent

Grey Pansy on Sepalika leaf

As time passed I wanted to get to know them better, like how I learned the names of some birds frequenting the neighborhood. Being able to tell them apart from their colors is one thing, but correctly identifying them is a whole different thing. So bit by bit I'm trying to learn how to identify them by name and tell them apart with the help of butterfly guides. Though I've seen many types I wasn't so lucky to capture them all, since whenever I rush back with the cam, they've already disappeared. 

At first... I took shots from far with the fear of missing a chance. But with time I learnt to step closer as silently as possible. That's when I noticed that some butterflies don't mind posing for the cam as they don't even budge when my camera comes face to face with them.

Face to Face

Grey Pansy on yellow bell flower leaf

I used to think that life in the butterfly world must be all sunny, sweet and nice. They are dressed to the nines and live carefree lives. But that was until I started observing them more closely. Few times I found some butterflies and moth with tattered wings, silently expressing the hardships of their miles long journeys. Fluttering those fragile powdery wings to ride along the currents between gentle zephyrs and strong winds. Evading predators, storms, scorching sun and heavy showers. Getting lost in dense forests, looking for a dew drop in barren lands.

Upside down

Common Sailor on yellow bell flower bud

Life is never easy... not for them... not for us.

---------------------------------

For more butterfly shots drop by my Picasa album - Butterflies

Larger than life

Here's a few macros I took somewhat recently.

* This butterfly (or maybe its cousins with the same hues and patterns and dots) visit our front yard almost daily. It loves to perch on jasmine leaves and stay still for a while, as if basking in the warm sun rays. After attempting for few days I was lucky on this day as it posed for me in a carefree manner. Maybe it wanted to show off its beauty.

The only tweaking I did with this photo using Paint.NET was - trim, resize, enhance brightness and contrast, enhance saturation.

* There was this big banana leaf lying on the table (it was cut off to pack some flowers for a neighbor who was to go on a pilgrimage next morning). On a whim I sprayed some water and it formed into droplets. Then I tried a few macro shots. The pinkish highlight over the droplets were from the window curtains.

Did the same tweaking as above.

* We get power cuts sometimes unexpectedly, but now it has become a lot better than ages ago. So when it happened right before the Vesak, I grabbed the chance to snap this candle light.

* This blue flower was surrounded by yellow bell flowers so that's why it has this strange yellowy background.

*This flower is a variation of the above bluish flower, and has faint blue traces here and there.

Well.. that's it. Have a great week ahead!