Surprise Landing! by cjwhite

Surprise Landing!

I spent a good part of my day chasing butterflies. I was chasing Cloudless Sulphers. I had gotten a pic of one, but I wanted a better shot.

I've seen these Black Swallowtails flying, but one has never landed anywhere remotely close to me. I was waiting for one of the sulphers to land, when I saw this one. It was on a blade of grass near the ground and only a foot away!

I get flustered when I think I might get a good pic. I tried not to make any sudden moves and prayed the cats wouldn't come running. They have scared away many butterflies. :0)

I was able to snap about ten shots. I kept getting a little closer and tried to keep a big grass blade out of the pic. The last three pics I took sitting on the ground. I figured if my bad knee gave out, I had my phone and it was almost time for Jeff to get home. :0)

Thank you so much to everyone for views and comments on my pics!!! :0)
Your chase paid off! Beautiful shot.
May 28th, 2011  
Beautiful absolutely gorgeous!
May 28th, 2011  
Wow--this looks humongous!! Really pretty shot
May 28th, 2011  
beautiful butterfly! great capture
May 28th, 2011  
@clarissajohal Their wingspan can be 3 1/2 inches. :0)
May 28th, 2011  
beautifully captured
May 28th, 2011  
What a beauty! And thanks for going through such gymnastics to get this for us. It's a beautiful shot. I find that sometimes butterflies will sit happily in the one spot for a while, opening and closing their wings. They are apparently displaying and it's good when they decide to do it nearby!
May 28th, 2011  
@cjwhite Okay, that's just...horrifying. Butterflies are the one thing that creeps me out
May 28th, 2011  
Stunning shot! I saw one similar to this today and nearly freaked out because I couldn't get close enough!
May 29th, 2011  
Excellent shot Carolyn, well worth the effort! I got some good pics of these last year but it's like someone else said, sometimes they co-operate and sometimes it's impossible to get a shot. Your's is amazing. Love the colours and perspective.
May 29th, 2011  
Amazing blue color.
May 29th, 2011  
wow..it was worth your trouble!
May 29th, 2011  
You get flustered too??? Dang, my heart beats so hard.. and it just because I might have something really beautiful to look at when I am sitting in that wheelchair with the spittle dripping out of my mouth..

this is lovely Carolyn.. simply lovely
May 29th, 2011  
What a beautiful shot , you certainly have some fabulous subjects at hand !
May 29th, 2011  
Ha, I loved reading your little story. I imagine you stuck on the grass, with your bad knee, waiting for Jeff to get home - but with a giant smile on your face because you managed to capture that gorgeous photo.
May 29th, 2011  
Gorgeous photo :)
May 29th, 2011  
That's one very impressive butterfly!
May 29th, 2011  
Amazing capture!
May 29th, 2011  
Absolutely stunning!
May 29th, 2011  
wow. stunting S/he and you pic of it
May 29th, 2011  
Aah, that is lovely! Nice shot :o)
May 29th, 2011  
Kim
Oh wow, what a beautiful capture :)
May 30th, 2011  
Sheesh! You're like the bug whisperer or something!! LOL. Nicely done!
May 30th, 2011  
Awesome shot! My daughter and I are raising black swallowtail caterpillars right now. We had one that turned into a butterfly a few weeks ago. They are so pretty and so big! Glad you were able to get such a great shot of one! It's beautiful!
May 31st, 2011  
Love this! So amazing!
May 31st, 2011  
Beautiful!
June 1st, 2011  
Brilliant! We don't get too many butterflies here (in CT) until later in summer. Thanks for all of your comments, as always.
June 2nd, 2011  
Gorgeousness!
June 2nd, 2011  
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