The Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge grows so high that I have to point my camera almost straight up to get a shot of the butterflies that seem to really enjoy this flowering plant. Although it is a somewhat uncomfortable shooting angle, it allows me to include the sky in some of my shots, as was the case with this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Monday.
I seem to be in an artistic mood recently. I noted this morning that this is the third consecutive posting in which the colors and shapes of my subjects have been of equal or greater importance as the subjects themselves. There is something about the first image especially that just seems so beautiful to me. I really like the way that the different elements in the image work together to create a harmonious whole.
In the second image, I deliberately violated one of the “rules” of photography and placed my primary subject in the center of the frame. Why? I wanted to emphasize the symmetry of the butterfly when it spread its wings. I think the photo works pretty well, though perhaps not quite as well as the first image, which has a slightly more dynamic feel to it.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I appreciate your continued sharing of nature and it’s beautiful inhabitants. It’s hopeful and reassuring. Have a great day, Mike!
Thanks so much. Nature has been like a soothing balm even more than usual this past year as the stresses of covid and lockdowns have threatened to overwhelm me. The human world may have gone crazy, but the rhythms of natural life remain.
Amen, Mike!
Very nice Mike! I see “Visual Rules” as more like suggestions! After 50 years of doing commercial photography for a wide range of clients where you had strict layouts for where other images & text would go there basically were no rules! So I shoot my personal images how I like them! But the photo rules are more for camera clubs where they like to pick apart people’s images to make a point and set a standard I guess. To me your centered image has more impact and concentrates your image on the butterfly making it more dramatic! Again very nice!!
The only rule is make a great picture. You did. Twice.
there is nothing quite a exquisite, radiant, and deserving of our appreciation and love of the natural beauty of nature – her colors, her wildlife – especially when we can see them captured thru photography such as yours … thank you
Both beautiful images, Mike. Your comment on symmetry and dynamism is interesting too. It made me review the images a couple of times!
Thanks, Chris. It sounds a bit Zen-like, but I am trying to cultivate a sense of mindful awareness when I am shooting and when I am editing and reviewing. Part of that process is asking myself why I like what I like–intuition is beneficial, but even more so when it is balanced with a sense of intentionality. Having a vision in my mind of what I am trying to capture helps me to compose myself and my photos better when out in the wild with my camera.
Beautiful images, Mike, so luminescent.
Thanks, Eliza.
These are both lovely, Mike, and I like them individually for the reasons you’ve pointed out. Your post highlights what we should all strive for: building on your basics and work on making your images more than just the subject. May your artistic bent continue!
Thanks, Ellen. The content of a posting is often reflective of my mood at the moment when I was writing it. Sometimes I try to be instructional or motivational, but often I just talk about what is going on in my head as I take shots and work on them. To the extent I can, I like to be mindful of what I am doing and why.
Second shot is stupendous! You nailed it.
Thanks, Molly. Of course, I would like to have gotten a little closer, but I am pretty happy with the shot. Like most nature photographers, I am always looking for my next photo, confident in the hope that it might be an even better one than all of my previous shots.