Today for Friday Feet Deb and I took the short drive over to Callaway Gardens. The Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center is a great place to spend a few unique hours with the butterflies. I have been to the Butterfly Center 3 or 4 times before, but not for about 10 years or so. I had not been since I switched over to digital shooting so today I finally got some of what I have on film from years ago.
The Cecil B Day Butterfly Center has 1,000 tropical butterflies, representing more than 50 different species, flutter freely through the air. Tropical plants and birds, reside peacefully with the colorful winged jewels in North America’s largest, glass-enclosed tropical conservatory.
It is a different kind of setup to get some good shots over there and a flash is almost a must so thanks very much to Jak Blount for letting me borrow his Nikon SB-800 (I’ll return it with a nice new diffuser for you). There is a lot more over at Callaway than the butterfly center of course and if you like to ride bikes, they have a great 10 mile paved trail through the park.
Once we were finished over at the butterfly house we got on our bikes and peddled through the rest of the park, something I haven’t done in all my other visits. To my surprise, there is a lot more to see over there than butterflies. About half through the trail we came upon a beautiful Chapel that the Callaway’s had built back in the mid 1960′s. The stain glass was original and is still maintained by the company that installed it over 40 years ago. Just an incredible display, and a 1,300 piece pipe organ to go with it. I bet the acoustics are great when that organ gets going.
We finished up the bike trail stopping at various attractions that Callaway Gardens has to offer and ended with an early dinner in Columbus. As I sit here writing it is pouring down rain and the temps have dropped at least 20 degrees from this afternoon. We managed to spend the day in 70* sunshine. If you have a chance to get to Callaway (especially during the Spring bloom) it is well worth the trip.
I will upload all of the photo from the shoot to my flickr account in the Callaway Gardens gallery some time tonight, the stain glass close up shots are pretty cool. Have a great weekend everyone.
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Butterflies make great subjects. They stay still for you, or at least, they land some place long enough for you to usually get a half way decent image. You can also be creative when shooting butterflies. Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain Georgia has one of the best butterfly displays anywhere in the country. They have over 1,000 butterflies and more than 50 different species that are free flying as you walk through a jungle like home, made just for the butterflies. It covers about 4 1/2 acres with a waterfall and ceilings that go from 16 feet up to 42 feet in hieght.
The Cecil Day Butterfly Center in Callaway Gardens is a must see if you are going to be anywhere near the area. I would recommend going during the week when it is a little quieter, and I would try to be there as early in the morning as possible, especially if you are interested in photograping the butterflies.
Using a flash will give you a nice blacked out background and using a small depth of field without a flash will give you some nice greens and solid colors. This image was taken in August at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia at the Cecil B Day Butterfly Center. Yes the same place that has the most beautiful golf courses also has butterflies.
Image Specifications
Body – Nikon n90s
Lens – Nikon 105mm Macro
Filter – Nikon No. 6T Closeup
Flash – Nikon Mount on a cable with a shade filter
Subject – Paper Kite Butterfly (Idea leuconoe) on a Candle Plant
Other Posts About the Paper Kite
There were a few other blog posts and images about the Paper Kite that I found. Such a beautiful butterfly, easy to get quality images, but not very many websites that showcase this little guy. Here are some: Rice paper Butterfly, Butterfly photos, Tree Nymph Butterfly.
