I'm always amazed at how many photographers (nature) seem to put their cameras away during the hot summer months, except for those once in a lifetime summer vacation pictures. I've found that the months of late July, August, & September can be very fruitful.

These months may produce some of the most spectacular colors of the year. Yet most photographers don't start to think about colors until the turning of the leaves in the fall. They seemed to have developed a frame of mind which I refer to as "it's just too hot" or "the light to harsh" syndrome. When in reality the hours of early morning, late afternoon, and bright cloudy days produce many hours of enjoyable photography as well as the learning experience of stalking your prey and developing your skills of fill flash and macro or close-up photography.

So what am I talking about that's going to get you up and out of bed or your easy chair and your comfortable air conditioned house? I'm talking about butterfly, insects, flowers, wildflowers, spider webs and dew drops. I have found that trying to photograph these jewels to be very challenging.Those butterflies and insects are constantly moving around from one flower to another and will never sit still for any period of time. The wind seems to always keep the flowers blowing back and forth.

When I'm doing this type of photography, I'll use my macro lens, off shoe flash cord for my flash unit which is mounted above my camera and lens on a flash bracket.. The flash is used to balance the flash with daylight (fill flash). I have found that -1 to -2 setting on my flash works good for fill light. If I got the flash close to the subject then -3 setting may work well and sometimes I'll used the built in flash diffuser to soften the light from the flash. This is a good time for you to develop your skills using fill flash and to find out how your equipment works, so write down the flash reduction, picture frame number, and f-stop you're using. Then when you review your photos you know what amount of reduction you dialed in for that picture. DON'T rely on your memory.

There are several brackets on the market to extend your flash unit above the camera or lens. Brackets manufactured by Kirk Enterprises and Really Right Stuff work very well. The one thing I've found over the years and through much testing is I like for my flash unit to be from 10 to 14 inches above the center of my lens. This helps eliminate harsh shadows as well as what's referred to as white eye, red eye, or wash out of eyes in both humans and the natural world. However you still need to be careful using flash on mammals especially if they are in the shade, you may still get white or red eye. Again you need to test your equipment and find out what works best for you and the results you want to see.

I usually do not use a tripod when I'm photographing butterflies, skippers, and moving insects unless I'm using one of my telephoto lenses with an extension tube. I usually hand hold the equipment and stay as flexible as possible. I know many photographers who may use a shoulder brace or monopod to help steady their equipment. Normally if you are shooting with a flash sink from 60 to 250th of a second you won't have any problems. I do suggest you use the highest flash sink speed that your equipment allows; this will help to stop the blur that occurs due to the movement of wings and wind.

This past summer I have been photographing butterflies and skippers during the months of August and September and had not thought much about the various varieties I normally photograph. I guess I was just content to be out with my camera. In fact, the thought had not occurred to me, one of the main butterflies was missing.

I had to make a trip to the Boone area of western North Carolina for business and it was there that I finally realized what was missing. The motel where I stayed had a copy of the Appalachian Voice which is a local paper published in Rosman, N. C. There was an article written by Elizabeth Hunter entitled "Where Have All the Monarchs Gone?" Then it hit me like a lead balloon, I had not seen nor photographed any Monarch butterflies this summer. Ms. Hunter's article stated that Monarch sightings were down by almost 50% in 1998 as compared to 1997. She talked about their migration to Mexico each year and that some Monarchs which were tagged in Ontario, Canada migrated some 2500 miles to Mexico. The article stated that tropical populations of Monarchs aren't threatened and are expected to survive. The problem is the huge eastern migration population (estimated to exceed 100 million) is in danger of collapse. It is feared that monarch migration will disappear in the early 21st century mainly because of the loss of habitats.

Monarchs depend on certain types of wild flowers such as asters, goldenrod, and milkweed. They depend on the plants for nectar and the milkweed is their host plant. The problem is more and more old farm fields and roadsides where these plants grow are disappearing. They are being turned into housing projects, shopping malls, being mowed, or sprayed with chemicals to the weeds. In addition, some of their over wintering areas have been destroyed due to fires or cutting of forest areas.

According to the article, some programs have been started to help preserve the Monarch's habitat. Meetings between Mexico, United States, and Canada are held periodically to discuss ways the three nations can work together to preserve the Monarchs' population.

While I was driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, I came across an area which had several milkweed plants. I stopped to see if I could find any Monarch Caterpillars since milkweed is their host plant. I was able to find some plants with Monarch Caterpillars and decided to come back early the next morning to photograph them since the afternoon light was fading fast into the night.

The next morning I arrived with my camera equipment and headed to the area where I had seen the caterpillars. They were still on the plants, so I began to set up my equipment. I used my macro lens mounted on a tripod with ball head. The light was very soft and even and some early morning dew had formed dew drops around the edges of some of the caterpillars. I decided I would photograph the caterpillars with natural light and use my flash unit set for fill flash since some of the caterpillars where on the underside (shadow) of the milkweed leaves. I also checked my depth of field to make sure the caterpillars where in sharp focus for the f-stop I had picked (f8 to f11) after I had positioned the camera and lens as parallel as possible to the caterpillars.

The early morning light could not have been better and the dew on some of the caterpillars was an extra treat. I could not help but think about the article I'd read concerning the plight of the Eastern Monarchs as I was photographing them in their caterpillar stage of life. I wondered if I'd be able to photograph these beautiful orange and black butteries in the future? Hopefully, the programs started will help maintain enough habitats for their survival and eastern migration. Likewise, we as nature photographers can help educate the general public through our pictures and stories.

Now I know you're still thinking to yourself, hey it's those lazy, hazy days of summer and the weather is hot and the humidity just runs off you like water. But it is a great time to find those hidden jewels and to sharpen your skills. Who knows, you may be the last person to photograph one of these beautiful creatures. So get up and out of the air conditioned building and explore the wonders around you, before it's too late!

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