tiger swallowtail butterfly photo

If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

One of my goals for 2013 when it comes to my photography activities is to participate in more photo challenges. I hope to mingle with other photographers of all levels, get more people to see my photos and gather feedback.

This past week, I joined the Project 365 – 2013, where I will attempt to post a photo almost every day, both on my Facebook page, as well as the Project 365 2013 Facebook page. I love to see the other photos people submit on a daily basis!

I’ve also decided to join Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, which takes place weekly. This week’s theme is “Your 2012 Outdoors and Nature”, with a focus on people and animals. If you visit my site regularly, you’ve probably seen all of the photos below already, and I apologize. If you’re new here, I hope you enjoy my photos of outdoors and nature animals. You can click on each image to see a larger view in a slideshow format. You can also access much larger photos directly from each post, available from my Animals page, which needs some serious updating. Another of my 2013 goals!

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Lines on a tiger swallowtail butterfly

Mourning dove sitting on its nest and eggs

Capture The Colour 2013 photo contest – blue dragonfly

Bee on a wild rose

Stellar jay bird

Travel theme: Contrast – Sea jellies

Stellar Jay bird sitting on a branch

squirrel relaxing in the sun

Delicate dew drops on spider web

View all of the pictures I selected for my 2013 photo calendar.

My 2013 12-month photo calendar is now available for sale on my Zazzle online store. Thank you for your support!

I admire any photo that can capture an animal in flight without looking blurry. Most flying animals don’t take a long enough break to allow the photographer to take a worthwhile snapshot. They also don’t like people to get too close to them, which makes the task even more difficult.

But I’ve also noticed tiger swallowtail butterflies are a little different. Unlike other butterflies, they’re not very shy and don’t mind as much if you stand right next to them while they go about their business. Tiger swallowtails are very active in the spring in Southern California and their bright yellow and black pattern makes for great photo opportunities.

So to represent May in my 2013 photo calendar of Southern California, I picked this beautiful tiger swallowtail butterfly busy sucking up the nectar out of a bougainvillea flower. With the bright blue sky in the background and the red bougainvilea blooms, this made for the perfect mix of colors. What do you think of it?