Photographing insects is not exactly my “bag” as they say, (especially after photographing a fox earlier in the day) but I found myself shooting some beautiful butterflies recently.

The butterfly at left was photographed while on a garden tour in Garrett County, Md.

The final home on the tour featured 3 ponds and at least a dozen gardens on nearly 30 acres of land.

I think the key to a good butterfly picture is including the insect’s environment. It provides scale, color and additional points of interest.

Both of these photos were taken with a 60MM macro. I had left my longer lens in the car so I made due with the shorter macro.
The shot below was taken at the same garden.

With the shorter lens, I waited patiently until the butterfly was practically under my nose.
Any guesses on what type of butterflies each one of these are?

If I had it to do over again, I would have opted for a 105mm macro instead of the 60. The extra length gives you a little more space so you do not have to get on top of your subject like I did here.

Like to see another butterfly image post, please click here.