butterfly – Dutch goes the Photo!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Wonder

Which wonders do you see?

Welcome to week 152 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge.

After last week’s pleasant surprise that I hadn’t used Sunrise as a theme before, I really wondered… And, yes!! I have never used Wonder as a theme either! Whether you want to feature the Wonders of Nature, the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World or make us wonder what you may have photographed, there are plenty of directions for you to take this theme! And, of course, I expect all of your ideas to be wonderful!!

I think that there’s a lot of fun to be had with this week’s theme, so I look forward to see what you are going to create!

Here’s one of Nature’s wonders…

This gorgeous Giant Swallowtail was sitting perfectly still, allowing me to get a nice sharp focus that highlights all the amazing details of this stunning creature. One of these days, I will have to prepare a large print to bring out the colors of the individual hairs that truly stand out!

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

Looking forward to see what comes round the bend this week!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Gentle

Gentle is the soothing rain…

Welcome to week 142 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge.

After all the hard work, I’m back at my day job and spending a week of planning with my team and the development group for the next product release. It’s a gentler kind of work than the rough construction efforts that filled my break time 🙂 That led me to this week’s theme of Gentle!

There are many times when a gentle touch works better than a sledgehammer, or when a gentle breeze is welcomed to relieve us from the heat. Accept this challenge and unleash your gentle current of creative flux to come up with some apt images and posts! I am curious to see what you will create this week!

Here’s a rather gentle creature…

This beautiful Giant Swallowtail was one of the gorgeous creatures that I found at a butterfly display; at this location, they breed the various species of butterfly and, if you sit very still, the butterflies will land on you and sit with you. It’s a magical experience!

The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:

Write a post with an image for this week’s topic
Please tag your post with fpj-photo-challenge (if you’re not sure about how tags work, please check out this WordPress article about tagging posts)
Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!

Looking forward to your gentle approaches!

Three Line Tales – Tenderness

Tenderness with a punch!

Many thanks to Sonya for Week One Hundred and Forty-Nine of Three Line Tales, part of her awesome blog Only 100 Words!

three line tales week 149: a close up of a butterfly — photo by Boris Smokrovic via Unsplash

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Gentle as a breath,
Tender touch reaching pollen.
Generation Next!

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Thank you to Sonya of Only 100 Words for coming up with Three Line Tales.

You’ll find full guidelines on her TLT page, but here’s the tl;dr:

Write three lines inspired by the photo prompt (& give them a title if possible).
Link back to this post.
Tag your post with 3LineTales (so everyone can find you in the Reader).
Read and comment on other TLT participants’ lines.
NEW: If you want your post to be included in the round-up, you have until Sunday evening to publish it.
Have fun.

Happy three-lining!

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Round Up 95

Beaty and exotics!

Welcome to the 95th round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge! This week’s Exotic theme definitely received some extraordinary repsonses.

The turnout this week was amazing, as the exotic nature of the challenge stimulated lots of interesting posts and photography. Your choices ranged from locations, to birds and flowers; there were exotic people, animals and even and exotic phone book… All of your entries were a lot of fun to read and I want to thank you for all of your effort that you put into your posts!

You’ve created another fun week of posts!

Here’s another exotic denizen of our planet…

20130309-Giant-Swallowtail_MG_5457 — *Giant Swallowtail*

This beautiful butterfly is certainly among the most exotic creatures that I have photographed over the years. Not only is it beautful, but the fine coloring of the hairs is just stunning.

The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:

Danny James Photography started this week’s entries off with a stunning display by a peacock!
In Geriatri’X’ Fotogallery‘s post, we encounter beautiful images of exotic women in their finery!
Maria’s post in CitySonnet talks about the joy of cultivating an exotic plant, such as an orange tree!
This week’s contribution in theonlyD800inthehameau is truly fearsome, as I wouldn’t want to encounter such an exotic creature during my travels!
Nicole’s post in Une Photo, Un Poéme captures a beautiful exotic plant, which not only looks interesting, but is also a bit mysterious!
Xenia’s entry in whippetwisdom shows us that even a rather everyday object can be quite exotic to the right dog!
In a wonderful post in her blog, lifelessons, Judy not only shares a wonderful array of exotic flowers, but also an inspiring poem!
In Enatistic‘s post for this theme, we get to see a beautiful tree that certainly appears very exotic!
This week, pensivity101 tells us a rather interesting tale of a white peacock getting some competition…
With a wonderful photo, Fleeting Muse tells us of a stunning and exotic location that I’d certainly would like to visit.
By Sarah captured a truly exotic tableau, which made me laugh… what is your reaction to Sarah’s post?
Frank shares an exotic sunrise and great poem in his blog, Poetry, Short Prose and Walking.
This week, Photo Roberts Blog features great photographs of stunning, exotic flora.
In Chateaux des Fleurs, we are treated to a set of stunning birds, whose blue color is just beyond belief!
Candace goes very exotic in her post in Netdancer’s Musings, as we get the beauty of an unusual species…
Marie’s post in the New 3Rs: Retire, Recharge, Reconnect, goes to a very exotic locale: Sri Lanka!
Miriam’s post in her blog, The Shower of Blessings, tells the tale of some exotic Geese, who like to walk in a certain way!
In Ostendnomadography, we go to a rather interesting location: Playa Larga in Cuba, which is probably better know as the ‘Bay of Pigs’.
This week’s response by Land of Images has a beautiful photo of a crocus in bloom in one of my favorite colors!
The photo in Layue’s Everyday Photo Blog is just spectacular, I’m sure that you’ll agree!
The photography of the exotic flowers in this week’s entry from Cee’s Photography is simply outstanding! Go check it out!
Carol’s entry in her blog the Apples in my Orchard takes us to a location that is not only exotic, but truly inviting!
Miriam is dreaming of exotic islands in her post in Out an’ About, which the Maldives definitely are! She also has some exotic times and Nature to share!
Another great exotic entry is from iballrtw, who shares a wonderful photo of a Kndyan fire eater in Sri Lanka.
Brian’s post in his blog, Bushboy’s World, takes a very different look at our theme, and it certainly put a smile on my face!
In this week’s entry from ForgivingConnects, Debbie examines on of the exotic aspects of life in the inherent exquisite beauty that lies within forgiveness, which exists in each one of us!
Musin’ with Susan takes us to the exotic tastes and smells of a spice stall in the Souk in Old Jerusalem!
Pastries, Pics & Politics shared some wonderful photos of delicious looking cookies and scones, which feature kumquats; a rather exotic ingredient!

I hope that you enjoy these posts and let the authors know!

First Day of Spring

Warmer days ahead!

Yes, the time of year has arrived that we start celebrating Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas the beautiful Autumn season descends upon the Southern Hemisphere.

Spring is all about renewal and hope, and looking forward to warmer days! In New England, it doesn’t quite look like warmer days yet, as there’s still a significant snow cover from last week’s storm. So, I’ll give you an image to look forward to…

This beautiful Monarch will be returning to these parts in the next couple of months, as a true harbinger of Summer! Im looking forward to it!

Wednesday Wonderment – vol 25

Fly on the lightest of wings

Wow! We’re at the 25th instance of this weekly feature and we’re not out of things that fill me with wonder and make me think that they are worth for inclusion in Wedensday Wonderment.

Before I continue, a heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful readers who have graced my blog with their time and attention! I really appreciate it.

Today’s bit of wonderment comes from an encounter that I had a number of years ago with this beauty…

This image comes form a trip to a butterfly garden here in Massachusetts about three years ago. The Butterfly Place, as it’s named, is a wonderful place, where butterflies are bred and studied. They have some amazing specimens, but this Giant Swallowtail really stood out for me, both in color and the details of this butterfly’s structure.

The Giant Swallowtail

The giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) is a swallowtail butterfly common in various parts of North America and marginally into South America (Colombia and Venezuela only). In the United States and Canada it is mainly found in the south and east. With a wingspan of about 10–16 cm (3.9–6.3 in), it is the largest butterfly in Canada and the United States

The body and wings are dark brown to black with yellow bands. There is a yellow “eye” in each wing tail. The abdomen has bands of yellow along with the previously mentioned brown. Adults are quite similar to the adults of another Papilio species, P. thoas.

The mature caterpillar resembles bird droppings to deter predators, and if that doesn’t work they use their orange osmeteria. These are ‘horns’ which they can display and then retract. The coloration is dingy brown and or olive with white patches and small patches of purple. Citrus fruit farmers often call the caterpillars orange dogs or orange puppies because of the devastation they can cause to their crops.

Range and Habitat

In the United States, P. cresphontes is mostly seen in deciduous forest and citrus orchards where they are considered a major pest. They fly between May and August where there are 2 broods in the North and 3 in the south. They can range from southern California, where they have been seen from March to December, reaching peak abundance in late summer/early fall), Arizona as deep south as Mexico, north into southeastern Canada. Outside USA and Canada they are found in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Jamaica, and Cuba.

Technical Details

This image was captured with a Canon EOS 5D Mk II using an EF 24-105mm f/4L lens. Exposure settings were at 1/80 second at f/5.6 and 640 ISO.

7 Day Nature Challenge – pt 4

Light wings carry us

I was nominated by a fellow blogger, Stella of Giggles & Tales, for a 7-Day Nature Photo Challenge. Stella’s blog is always full of interesting posts, which are a blend of poetry, photography and perspectives on the world around her. Go check her blog out!!

On this third day of Spring, I want to bring you something to look forward to…

20130309-Monarch_MG_5489 — *Tender-winged beauty*

This beautiful creature posed for me during a trip to Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens in Deerfield, Massachusetts. A small group of us were lucky enough to get this delightful conservatory to ourselves before the general public was admitted.

As the building was still warming up, butterflies were still slow in gearing up for their day, which resulted in gorgeous poses, such as this one. If you are ever in the area, I’d recommend a visit wholeheartedly, as it is such a peaceful location.

Technical Details

This image was captured with a Canon EOS 5D Mk II using an EF 24-105mm f/4L lens. Exposure settings were 1/125 second with f/5.6 at 640 ISO.

The Rules

Post a #naturephoto every day and nominate another blogger for this challenge.

Nomination

The challenge of nominating a fellow blogger… This is Another Story‘s Yinglang has a beautiful blog that covers many interesting topics with stories, wisdom and photography. Go check out this talented, creative blog! If she accepts this challenge, I look forward to the results!

	Stephen Greaves on Tuesday Photo Challenge…
	pensitivity101 on iPhone Friday
	jansenphoto on iPhone Friday
	pensitivity101 on iPhone Friday
	jansenphoto on iPhone Friday