Tattered beauty

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Tattered beauty

July 30, 2020 by Mike Powell

Many butterflies are looking a little tattered this late in the season, like this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) that I spotted on Tuesday at Green Spring Gardens, but I still find their beauty to be breathtaking. True beauty, I would argue, is often to be found in imperfection, not in some superficial notion of perfection.

Posted in Art, Butterflies, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, beauty, Canon 50D, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, green spring gardens, Papilio glaucus, perfection, Tamron 180mm | 15 Comments

15 Responses

on July 30, 2020 at 6:14 am | Reply PaperKutzs

Awesome photo
on July 30, 2020 at 6:23 am | Reply dissociatethat

So very true!
on July 30, 2020 at 7:12 am | Reply everythingtips

love itt!!! brilliant captures🤩
on July 30, 2020 at 9:42 am | Reply Benjamin

Guess what, Mr. Mike? When I made the first photo bigger and the the biggest I can see a bee next to the butterfly. In the last photo when I do that I can see a Ladybug on the same flower with the butterfly. That is so awesome! The bee and the butterfly and the Ladybug are sharing the flowers. That’s so nice, right? Gem said that today is Share A Hug Day. I’m so excited to share a hug with you! Thank you and Bye!
- on July 31, 2020 at 10:41 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for sharing a hug, Benjamin. Yesterday happened to be my birthday, so that was especially nice. The day when I was in the garden, there seemed to be a lot of insects sharing the flowers. The bees were active and the butterflies too and even a few dragonflies flying around in the middle of the flowers.
on July 30, 2020 at 9:56 am | Reply Reed Andariese

Nice Mike! Always fun to see & photograph butterflies! But they do look more tattered now! But they are all beautiful to see & photograph!
on July 30, 2020 at 11:15 am | Reply Michael Scandling

A short life, well lived.
on July 30, 2020 at 11:01 pm | Reply sv-anui.com

Even tattered it still is an elegant shape, nice colours and patterns.
- on July 30, 2020 at 11:18 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Chris. I agree completely.
on July 31, 2020 at 3:33 am | Reply Steve Gingold

We’re all a little bit tattered. There’s a beauty in the evidence of life’s travails, whether a butterfly, flower, or any other evidence of all that happens as we move through the world.
All three are lovely shots of this Tiger Swallowtail but the dorsal is always a winner.
- on July 31, 2020 at 7:39 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Our mileage shows. As you may have noticed on Facebook, I just turned 66. That is not super old, but there are parts of me that feel as tattered as those of the swallowtail. 🙂
  - on August 1, 2020 at 3:36 am Steve Gingold
    
    I’ve got you by 6 years, Mike, and I feel the same. In my head I feel like a kid still but the body says “don’t kid yourself, Buster.” 🙂
  - on August 1, 2020 at 6:25 am Mike Powell
    
    I had a few twinges in my knees as I walked down the stairs this morning to start my coffee and had similar thoughts. 🙂
on August 8, 2020 at 5:05 pm | Reply Molly Lin Dutina

I should not have waited to immerse myself in your collection. I am now very late in wishing you Happy Birthday! Hope it was fun!
- on August 8, 2020 at 5:30 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Molly. Like most celebrations this year, my birthday was a somewhat muted one, but definitely nice.