I did! I’m pretty sure that I had an unofficial catch and release protocol because I don’t really remember what happened after I caught a butterfly, or if I really ever caught any. (Maybe my mom will remember and tell me, lol.) But I remember being enchanted by butterflies and I am pretty much still under their spell.
These days I hunt butterflies with a camera and I cheer them on to live their lives in nature.
I took these photos a year ago, but it’s that time of year again when the pipevine swallowtails begin to come out to play here in northern California along the trails where I like to walk. There is nothing quite as amazing as the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
Just seeing them flitter around in the warm spring sunshine seems to bring a child like joy to me every single time. Some things just never get old. If you haven’t gone butterfly hunting in a while, I highly recommend it. It will be good for your soul. And even if you don’t find any butterflies, just taking in the natural setting will feel good.
You may have noticed that I am particularly fond of using butterflies in my artworks and these days I don’t use a butterfly net, but I certainly have a collection of ethically sourced specimens to include in my still life photos.
In my next post, I’ll share some of my collection with you.
Butterfly Collection #10Â recently sold (you might recognize it as the piece I use for my newsletter header) and this series of works has been popular lately, especially at Xandadu Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. So I’m beginning to work on creating more pieces in this series.
If you’re a fan of butterflies like I am, watch for what comes next. 😉