Yay the Birdwing butterflies ‘hatched’ from their giant chrysalis yesterday! And I have been in hot pursuit of them ever since…
Two out-of-the-ordinary events have occurred today.
1. My amazing Apple Mac Pro tower crashed and burned this morning. Complete flatline. A 71 minute telephone help session with Apple Care couldn’t rectify the problem, and the technician really tried with polite patience… but the super-computer was booked into Mac-Hospital and is being resuscitated as we speak.
Now what makes this extra-ordinary is that I am not panicked. I am not flicking my head back, frothing at the mouth and rolling my eyes like a wild stallion. I am calm, cool and collected. I was prepared, all my work is safe. I have burnt DVD’s galore. I have backed up on external drives, Time Machine is in effect, blah blah blah. I have my laptop able to step in as a temp workstation. My local Mac dudes, Lightforce, are really great at what they do, so I choose happiness and relax.
What a difference the way I feel today, as I remember the first time I experienced a major computer crash. It was just weeks before one of my first gallery shows. And with all of my artwork complete, I was trying to burn a disc for the printer, to output all my pain-stakingly created pieces. The computer just bombed and I went into a comatose state, so beyond emotive outburst. I couldn’t even verbally abuse the inanimate object, which would be the normal course of action…I put down everything and just went to cinema, and got a ticket to whatever was showing (Jurassic Park 3?).
After an hour of sitting in the dark with screaming dinosaurs and people in far worse situations than I (OK, so it was CGI danger, but still, that T-Rex is scary), I was able to return home, and deal with that evil machine…which was horrifically expensive and soul destroying. Somehow I made it to the exhibition!
And how is this for timing! My Mac Pro was just delivered back to me, given a clear bill of health ( misbehaving video card) and is back to its robust self – YAY! And I didn’t gnash my teeth or freak out once – now that is out-of-the-ordinary (for me!)
Ulysees Butterfly in my studio!
2. Experience two is having a giant Ulysees butterfly flying all around my studio! I have been photographing them as I am going through a butterfly obsession at the moment. Their wings are brown and drab on the outside, and the most AMAZING irridescent blue on the inside.
The challenge is, they sit with their wings closed, and that amazing blue that I am trying to capture, is hidden… until they fly! So I have been chasing the butterflies all around my studio and into my offices. Its a lot of fun and a wonderful way to spend the day! I want them to sit on orchids, but so far they are choosing my chandelier and unicorn head (I found it in Florence – isn’t it divine?) to perch on. But as has been proven by scenario 1 on my out-of-the-ordinary day, I am nothing if not patient.
This morning I went on a Butterfly watching walk with Kath Vail, an environmental campaigner and butterfly expert in the Byron Shire. The weather has been unsettled for the past few days and is still very humid – perfect for butterflies! I learned that many butterflies are attracted to hilltops and males wage heated territorial battles. So while wandering amongst the zooming butterflies was utter magic, trying to capture a pic was like trying to remember a dream, always just a little bit out of reach.
Blue Triangle butterflies in a territorial dispute....
I was surprised to find I managed to capture anything at all, because the butterflies were just SO fast and unpredictable. This image prompted me to look through my vast collection of butterfly images looking for pics I had taken of them in full flight.
I was surprised at how long I have been struggling with this unrealised mission and how much film (both roll and digital) I have dedicated towards it. I have many, many pics of movement blurred butterflies tearing along garden paths, above tree-tops and across skies.
For example, I visited the extraordinary Chicago Botanic Gardens a few years ago, and after hours and hours of enjoying the gardens and all the bugs in them, spotted two large butterflies playing tag across the carpark (which was an arboretum in itself).
I love these images because they remind me of magnificent days spent in sunshine with time to admire nature and marvel at the world. They aren’t magic images to anyone except me. They inspire me to keep experimenting and trying to overcome the impossible and capture an image that fully conveys the beauty I am witnessing and joy I feel when butterfly watching.
