My First Butterfly

For the past couple of weeks or so I have been glimpsing the passing of butterflies. At the photoblind twice now I have spied Western Swallowtails on determined flights headed north. In my own backyard this week I spotted a Swallowtail lazily floating around the Lilac bush before gliding off to parts unknown. I've also seen quite a few Duskywing Butterflies feeding on the daisies in my backyard. This morning however I got to photograph my first butterfly of the spring. It was one of my longtime favorites a California Sister Butterfly. It was hanging around the flower bed in the front yard. They are just so beautiful in an unpretentious way. I just love those orange spots! I crawled on my knees as close as I could focus to the butterfly. I braced the camera with my elbow on one knee. Image was created with a Canon 7D and a Canon EFS 17-85 mm lens at 85mm. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 200, F 5.6 at 1/25th of a sec. May God bless your week ahead, chris