Photographing Our Beautiful Butterflies

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What else do you know that can compare to the magnificent colors you see when you look through your camera lens at a butterfly? Maybe a butterfly sitting on a beautiful brilliant flower. It doesn't get any prettier than that. If you're lucky enough to have a garden with flowers that attract these winged beauties, and you're into photography, hopefully, you've been getting some great shots. But, if that doesn't describe your situation, you may find some of these tips helpful in getting started.

There are three great environments for photographing butterflies. The outdoors, garden settings, and butterfly farms or houses. People have been collecting butterflies for centuries. Catching them, killing them and displaying them on boards and in cases. Catching them on film is a great alternative. The butterfly gets to live and the pictures live on.

You don't have to have a lot of special equipment or a big, expensive camera to begin your butterfly photography. Actually, you may be spending a lot of time getting up and down off the ground to get those great shots. The smaller point and shoot camera and the convenience of a quality fanny pack camera bag would be just perfect for butterfly photography. You'll also need a good helping of patience and a lot of time. You can't go out and call butterflies. You can, however, set yourself up to have the best possible opportunity to find butterflies to photograph.

Butterflies are attracted to colors and scents. If your desire is to photograph butterflies in their natural habitat, you might go out a day or so ahead of time to locate an area that has the right conditions for butterfly photography. A couple good places to look would be fields that are loaded with wildflowers or areas of damp or moist soil. If you live in an area that is lush with forests, rivers, streams, and waterfalls look in those areas for some perfect shots of these magnificent creatures.

If you have a garden filled with flowers of purple, lavender, white, yellow, orange, and red, you should be able to go out your back door, set up your tripod, and wait for the butterflies to appear. Some of the most popular flowers for butterflies are alyssum, dahlias, honeysuckle, impatients, marigolds, petunias, sunflowers, candytuft, and zinnias. You can also help encourage them to your garden by putting out some over ripe fruit or nectar. Butterflies are attracted to the scent of rotting fruit.

Check your background before you're start your photo shoot. Ideally, try to situate yourself so that the background compliments the butterfly. Do your best to frame the shot to eliminate unwanted background items. Get as close to the subject as you possibly can, without scaring it away, so that the butterfly fills the picture. Another way to deal with unwanted background images is to set your camera to blur the background. Butterflies are attracted to flowers that are in the sun rather than the shade, so be positioned properly when taking your shots.

Have your camera bag packed and ready the day before, so you can head out early in the morning. Have extra film or memory cards, extra batteries, and a tripod. As with most photography, the best time to photograph butterflies is either early in the morning or late in the evening. Not only is the lighting best, but the butterflies won't be quite as active during these times of the day when it's cooler. It will give you a little more time to take the shot when the butterfly comes into view. Take as many pictures of the butterfly as you can before it flies away. Don't wait for what you think may be the perfect shot or you may not get a picture at all.

A Quick Guide to Photographing the Canadian Rockies

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Goodbye to Alberta...

Wow, what a slice. I never thought I'd hear myself saying it, but we are indeed leaving Alberta. I've lived here just over 13 years, and in that time fell deeply in love with the Rockies. My wife and I decided a few months ago that it was time to move on; time for a change. Neither of us have ever sat too long in one place, and this has been the longest for both of us; a testament to how good Calgary has been.

It was here I started using a 35mm camera seriously, enough so that it's now a part-time career. Weddings and portraits make up the bulk of my work, but my first love is shooting landscapes in Banff National Park. This sparked the idea of conducting photo tours for visitors to the area, and I took an interpreter's course with the Mountain Parks Heritage Interpretation Association.

When conducting photo tours, I fell into a rhythm of locations I would bring my clients. I'll share it for the benefit of you photographers looking for a day or two of planned shooting. It is mostly based on a book published by a friend of mine, Darwin Wiggett, called "How to Photograph the Canadian Rockies". We struck up our friendship in 2003, when he asked for some preliminary editing help with the content, as well as some field testing of his chapter on Kananaskis Country.

Photo Tour Destinations

From Calgary, I'd head west, then south down Hwy #40 and depending on the wind, would shoot sunrise at any of the following locations: Lorrette Ponds, Wedge Pond, or Mount Kidd reflecting pools. The last one is a little more sheltered, as the wind will easily ruin the classic mountain reflection shot in the other two. Another favourite location is a little-known place called Meadow Lake, which reflects Mount Yamnuska quite nicely.

To get there from the Trans Canada Highway, head north on Highway 1X, which is at the west end of Morley Flats. Turn right at the "T" intersection, and a little over a kilometer east is the trailhead parking lot on the left. Walk along the service road to the west, and you'll see a path off to the south about half a kilometer from the parking lot. The trail itself is a short 10-minute walk, which is well-worn, but there may be a few fallen trees to step over. It then opens up to a beautiful meadow just before you see the lake, suggesting the reason for it's name. The location is at N51 06.965, W115 05.659.

After sunrise, I'd then head to Banff townsite and take the gondola ride up Sulfur Mountain, a popular destination for tourists. The view at the top is outstanding, as it overlooks the Bow Valley. Look for Two Jack Lake (it's another prime spot for sunrise, offering an alternate view of Mount Rundle from the usual Vermillion Lakes), and Lake Minnewanka, a popular scuba diving destination. Back down from Sulfur Mountain, I'd then go around the Minnewanka loop, where more times than not we'd run across mountain goats. Following that, head towards Lake Louise via 1A along the Bow Valley Parkway. There are many places to stop for pictures, most notably being the Castle Mountain lookout, and Morants' Curve - especially when there's a train about to go by. Well worth the stop.

Once at Lake Louise, check out the lake itself, then head up to Morraine Lake, a beautiful destination. Rent a canoe for an hour, but be careful you only take minimal gear in a splash-proof camera bag. Drive back down to Lake Louise and head up Hwy 93. There are numerous places for pictures, such as Hector Lake, Waterfoul Lakes, Mosquito Creek, Tangle Falls, Athabaska Falls, etc... all the way up to Jasper.

To take everything in I've described, you really need two days minimum - I've highlighted the main ones I've used for photo tours that usually just last one day. My usual sunset location is Vermillion Lakes, just outside Banff townsite. The view of Mount Rundle is classic, and you will no doubt run into other photographers, as it is a Rocky Mountain icon.

Cheerio...

So, that's pretty well it. The other thing I take away with me is the many waterfall pictures shot all over western Canada, and the regret of not getting out more than I did. One can't find enough adjectives to describe this area with all its grandeur and majesty. I will miss it dearly, and will jump at any chance to come back for a visit. If you live here, you're very fortunate. Drive/hike/camp as much as you can, and take your camera with you. If you don't live in this area, then it is a must-see destination. Leave yourself as much time as possible - and if I may recommend - hire a local interpreter for the time you're out taking pictures; they will add a dimension to your experience you wouldn't have otherwise had. You can find one here.

A big "thank you" goes out to all my clients, and I now look forward to new people, geography, and opportunities in rural Ontario.

Cheers,

Jim

Night Photography: Photographing The Moon In The Landscape

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Photographers have been trying to utilize the light of the moon in their landscape photography ever since the photographic process was invented. It was not until World War II, however, that technology had improved enough to make night photography possible.

Today, despite technological advances, knowing the phase of the moon during a nighttime photography shoot is important as it will affect everything from the type of equipment that you'll need to the actual composition of your photos.

When embarking on a night photography trip, there are standard types of equipment that you will need to take with you.


A 35mm camera that will allow you to manually set very long exposure times is a must


A good, sturdy tripod is mandatory


A cable release


A good carrying case or a vest with a lot of pockets for your equipment


Extra batteries for your camera


Many rolls of slow or medium film (60 or 100 ISA--NEVER use 400 ISA even if it's what happens to be in your camera. Your photos will turn out much too grainy to be useful).


Lenses with which you are already comfortable


A stopwatch rather than a wristwatch to record exposure lengths is preferable. Stopwatches are more accurate and will give you more reliable information for future moon photography shoots.


A notebook and several pens for recording exposure times and other important information


A flashlight so that you can easily record your information




Remember that if this is your first attempt at night photography by moonlight, you will largely spend your time experimenting. The resulting photographs and your records will help you plan your next venture more effectively.

The best times for landscape photography without additional light sources, or looking at it in a different manner, away from city lights, is either when the moon is full, the two days before the full moon and the two days after the full moon. Any clouds in the sky will also affect the amount of light available for your night photography, just as they would if you were shooting during the day.

You will have to experiment with your exposure times as so many elements will affect the outcome. The degree of available moonlight; any other light sources; clouds; rain; light reflective surfaces; each of them can make a huge difference to the amount of exposure time needed.

In general, during night photography, one can say that on a night of full moon, with optimum conditions, 8 seconds at f/8 using ISO 100 film will be about right. If there's a crescent moon and conditions are also optimal, you'll need as much as 10 hours on one shot! So you see, experimentation while photographing the moon is really the only way to go.

Repeat your shots with different exposure lengths so that you can get a feel for what your camera will do for you.

A very nice composition for a moonscape might include the moon with beams bouncing off of a river, stream or creek.

As the moon moves through its different phases, you can still enjoy landscape photography at night although you may have to bring some "extras" and move locations.

Different moonscape compositions to experiment with during your moonlight photography shoot include:


A waxing crescent, or a small portion of the moon, hanging in the sky over sparkling city lights.


Bring a flash or a flash unit to your moon photography shoot in order to illuminate an abandoned house, use colored gels to get different color effects and have a muted last quarter moon lurking in the background.


As the moon goes from full to new, you can play with light effects from the stars or allow car lights to streak through your composition.




When photographing the moon, be sure to record not only the length of time that you exposed your film, but also general weather conditions and what phase the moon was in. This will help you to produce better photos in the future.

Night photography becomes easier when you're able to plan properly so knowing how much natural light is likely to be available will help you pick the right time to go out and what kind of equipment to take.

Nighttime landscape photography is a creative, rewarding challenge that every keen photographer should try.