Royalty on the Prairie

A couple of mornings ago, I spent about 4 hours on Snowball Hill Prairie, photographing the last of this year’s wildflowers. Transitioning into fall, the last of the wildflowers are now in bloom, while lots of wildflowers are already setting seeds for next year’s color. Arriving before sunrise, there was not much happening except for the wildflowers waiting to be captured. However, about an hour after sunrise, the first of many butterflies began arriving and moving around. A lot of different species, but when the endangered Monarchs made their grand entrance, it was quite a spectacle!

The Monarchs could be seen on the tall, Sawtooth Sunflowers, as well as Blue Sage and the Showy Goldenrod … especially the Showy Goldenrod! In total, I must have spent well over an hour just photographing the Monarchs! Here are a few of my favorites:

Monarch butterfly on Sawtooth Sunflower

Monarch butterfly on Sawtooth Sunflower

Monarch butterfly on Blue Sage

Monarch butterfly on Blue Sage

Monarch butterfly on Showy Goldenrod

Monarch butterfly on Showy Goldenrod

Monarch butterfly on Showy Goldenrod

Monarch butterflies on Showy Goldenrod

Monarch butterfly on Showy Goldenrod

Monarch butterfly on Showy Goldenrod

Coming up … more posts from Snowball Hill Prairie.

Photographic Equipment Used:

  • Canon 5D Mark 3 body
  • Canon 180mm, f/3.5 macro lens
  • Bogen 3221 Tripod with ballhead
  • ISO 400 (all)
  • Aperture f/3.5 to f/11
  • Shutter 1/200 sec. to 1/3200 sec.

 

 

Posted in Butterfly Photography, Fun Friday Post, Insect Photography, Macro Photography, Nature Photography, Wildflowers
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