Archives
A Sample of Pop’s “Bee” Images

Another Day at Work

Apis Workers' Party

Predator

Some of Your Beeswax

Sedum Bumbler

Look of Defiance

Chicory Bee

Bumbling Bees

Garden Cafe

Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond

Pick Your Poison

Blind Side Attack

On a Mission

Honey Bee on Sedum

Covering the Cosmos

Center of the Cosmos

Three's a Crowd

Popular Spot

On A Pedestal

A Sample of Pop’s “People” Photo Collection

Big Harry Fireworks Display

To Impress the Girl

Different Perspective

Sweet Ride

Perfect Little Piggies B&W

Flipping the Light Fantastic

Festival of Flights

To the Crowd's Delight

Amish Go Round

Wondersome One

The Stars In Her Eyes

Tuesday's Child

Sleeper Hold

Considering the Next Move

Sugar and Spice

Front Porch Portrait

Caged Competitor

Early Adoration

Child In the Ligtht

Stroll Through the Weeds

Attention Grabbing

Eye Contact

On the Line

Eyes of Wonder

Rounding the Curve

Troubadours of Basin Spring Park

Down by the Creek

Sun Day

Catching Some Light

EAA Fireworks

Hear Me Roar

Butterflies

Tropical Mix

Butterfly, Wings, Macro, Leaves, Spots
One of the exotic butterflies at the Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO was kind enough to strike a pose on one of the tropical plants. l’m not sure what kind of butterfly this is other than it’s something you won’t find flying around my neighborhood.

I like a few of the elements of this image. First, I like the fact that the butterfly’s antennae are cocked to the side. Everything else about this image seems almost staged so something a little “off” adds an touch of realism. I like the detail in the leaves, highlighted by the back-lighting. I like the detail in the butterfly’s wings – even though mostly dark, you can see the subtle shading and variation in pattern. I also like the overall, pleasing blend of colors in the frame. I didn’t do anything to set these various elements up; I just shot what I found, the way I found it.

You can enjoy more of the details by viewing the larger version.  Simply click on the photo.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

Buckeye Beauty

Butterfly, Common Buckeye, Buckeye, Garden, Nature, Macro
This little beauty is a junonia coenia butterfly; better known a the “common buckeye.”  You’ve likely seen this butterfly in your own neighborhood.

Though the majority of Buckeyes populate the southern regions of the U.S., adults from the south’s first brood migrate north in late spring and summer to temporarily colonize most of the United States and parts of southern Canada. I photographed this one on a recent trip to southern Missouri. A number of them (along with a few monarch butterflies) were feeding on a patch of asters next to a sidewalk at the resort we were staying at.

You can view a larger, full-screen version of this image by clicking on the photo.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

Feed the Flame

Butterfly, Orange, Macro
This distinctively marked butterfly was feeding on some tiny red flowers at the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure in Branson, MO.

On a recent trip to Branson, Missouri I spent several hours at the Butterfly Palace getting a ton of butterfly images. I was also able to snap a few of the local, native butterflies in the wild. Stay tuned, as I intend to post a variety of butterfly photos in the coming weeks.

In my mind, this butterfly’s orange markings look like a custom painted flame design. I couldn’t identify this type of butterfly. Even a chart of butterflies on the wall at the Butterfly Palace didn’t have an example of this one, though there were a bunch of these beauties flitting around.

If you have a sharp eye, you may have noticed another butterfly in this shot, It’s the blurry orange and white spot in the upper left-hand corner.

To get a closer, more detailed look, click on the photo.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

Red-spotted Purple Admiral Butterfly

Butterfly, Blue, Purple, Admiral, Red-spotted Purple Admiral Butterfly
I found this butterfly resting on the ground. I searched the Internet to identify it and found it to be a “Red-spotted Purple Admiral.”

This was a pleasant find while biking on the Ahnapee State Trail near the Bruemmer Park Zoo northwest of Kewaunee.  This was the second such butterfly I saw. This one was kind enough to allow me to get close enough to snap a portrait. I”m not sure how it got the name Red-spotted, since its spots seem mostly orange which seemed consistent with other images I found online.

You can see more of the detail in this image by viewing the full-screen version. To do so, simply click on the photo.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

Pauper’s Throne

Butterfly, Brown, Thistle, Macro, Nature

This unlikely king takes a rather stately stance on an even more unlikely throne.  This brown butterfly was photographed at the edge of our backyard in rural N.E. Wisconsin.

I spent a good deal of time looking for a similar butterfly on Google.  I’m sure I looked through thousands of images, but was never able to find another that looked just like it.  Consequently, I have no idea what kind of butterfly it was.

You can get a closer look by viewing the full-screen version by simply clicking on the image.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

Flitting Among the Asters

Butterfly, Monarch, Aster, Flowers, Wildflowers, Monarch Butterfly, Flying
On a warm summer day, this monarch butterfly was enjoying the weather and the wildflowers.

This was in a vacant field in the middle of an urban area. The warm sun and abundance of wildflowers were attracting a number of butterflies. Of course, they attracted me and my camera.

My goal was to capture the butterflies in flight. Not difficult to do with the number of butterflies in the area.  The difficult part was to capture them close up and in focus. They fly erratically, up and down and every direction. Thankfully, with today’s modern digital cameras, you can snap hundreds of photos (if needed) without the expense of photo development to find the right shot. On this particular shoot, I believe I snapped about 140 shots and came away with several keepers. Still, while this particular butterfly is in focus, when you look closely, the image suffers from a bit of motion blur. (Did I mention they fly erratically?)

You can view a full-screen version of this image simply by clicking on the photo.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

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Sitting Pretty

Small Postman, Butterfly, Flower, Pretty
Creation is teaming with unique, delicate beauties for the observant who are persistent to see beyond the obvious.

Within the Puelicher Butterfly Vivarium in the Milwaukee Public Museum there are hundreds of specimens. This one, a Small Postman butterfly, (heliconius melpomene), was among the tiniest.  (To view the largest, visit my previous post: Owl Butterfly.)

Postman butterflies are tropical butterflies found in Central and South America. They are most common along sunlit forest edges with flowers.

As sweet as they may appear, they have little to fear from predators. As caterpillars, they feed on passion flower leaves, storing up toxic chemicals they retained throughout their lifespan that makes them foul-tasting to typical predators.

You can get a better look at this beauty by clicking on the photo and viewing a full-screen version.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

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Paper Kite

Butterfly, Paper Kite, Black, White, Wings, Idea leuconoe
This beautiful, high-contrast butterfly is known by the name, Paper Kite.  It’s technical name is Idea Leuconoe.  The name game doesn’t stop there, either.  It’s also called a Wood Nymph butterfly, Large Tree Nymph butterfly or simply, Rice Paper butterfly.

The Paper Kite has a weak, fluttery flight interspersed with gliding due to the high ratio of their wing-size to body-size.  You would think, with their bright color and bold  pattern, they would easily fall victim to predators, but like monarch butterflies, they are poisonous or highly unpalatable and are not often attacked.

The Paper Kite’s natural territory is Southeast Asia.  Apparently, it is a common resident in butterfly greenhouses and live butterfly expositions. I found this one at the Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure in Branson, MO.

You can view a larger version of this image by simply clicking on it.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

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Monarch Squadron

Butterfly, Butterflies, Monarch, Monarch Butterfly, Purple Aster, Flowers
All three of these monarch butterflies are in flight.  They were circling, and eventually landing and feeding on, the purple asters in a vacant field near the building where I work.

I didn’t see a lot of butterflies this year, but when I did, it was all within a few weeks at the end of the summer. This photo was taken in late September.

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know this is a composite image.  I combined three separate photos – each with one butterfly – to create this image of three butterflies. They were all photographed exactly as you see them…in the location that you see them…just at different moments.

You can view more detail in a larger version of this photo, by clicking on the photo.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

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Clipper Parthenos Sylvia Blue

Clipper, Blue, Butterfly, Parthenos Sylvia, Butterflies, Macro
This is a Clipper butterfly of the Parthenos Sylvia variety. The clippers, like this blue version, a nymphalid species.

The clipper is a fast flying butterfly whose habit of never fully raising its wings when flapping makes its flight look rather stiff and jerky.  In between spurts of flapping it will gracefully glide.

These butterflies are typically found in South and South-East Asia. This beauty was photographed at The Butterfly Palace in Branson, MO.

You can see more of the detail in these wings when you view the larger version by clicking on the photo.

All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.

Click for Purchase Options