Sunday 10 April 2011

Keep Fit:: The frustrating way

I'm thinking of starting a new keep fit franchise...

It involves little by way of equipment and can be set up almost anywhere with access to the outdoors. All that is required is a camera, a number of uncooperative butterflies and an infinite capacity for disappointment.

The method goes something like this..

The would-be keep-fitter attempts to photograph these uncooperative butterflies by running round like a maniac after them. And before you say, well you should try the quiet subtle creeping up approach - this doesn't work. Unless, that is, you want to increase frustration to fever pitch. The subtle approach involves getting right up to the subject and focusing on macro. At the point between the shutter opening and closing the butterfly will:
a) close it's wings or (worse)
b) fly off

For the above reasons, I advocate the 'chasing after' approach. The result is hopeless but the keep fit element is highly successful.

Anyone interested in taking up a franchise?

As this isn't a very photogenic blog up to now (I refused to let Colin photograph me in action) and by definition I haven't any photos of the uncooperative butterflies... here are some we took earlier of their rather more cooperative cousins.

Hope you like them!










This is why I love butterflies and why, despite my better judgement, I still think it's worth chasing after them to get one good photo! And, of course, the keep-fit aspect is a bonus!

6 comments:

GaynorB said...

I do like!
The keep fit idea looks interesting too, it's got to be worth a try.........

Susan said...

I'm impressed! What a lovely haul. Did you get all these in the last week? Do you need any help IDing them?

Colin and Elizabeth said...

Thank you Gaynor and Susan for your comments.

In answer to your questions Susan, the photos are ones we took last year in France and I put them on simply to show the beauty of the subject and why I think they are worth caring for!

ID wise I'm not too sure of the fifth and sixth photos. I'd appreciate your thoughts. I'll then add in labels to the photos. Thank-you!

norma said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
norma said...

I think the sixth may be a Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. It looks like the one in my book anyway. I don't know about the fifith. Cannot see the colour as its in the shade.
Lovely photos.

Susan said...

Well, thank goodness for that! I had been thinking I was missing out here. You are right - 5 & 6 are the tricky ones. 5 is a Sooty Copper Lycaena tityrus ssp subalpinus. Norma is right about 6.