Wild Life at Home: How to Study and Photograph It

The butterfly held still by a passing shadow

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Still on the iron

Two brothers were looking for a bird’s nest when they came across a group of small tortoiseshell butterflies. A cloud crossed the sun. The butterflies stayed where they had landed and spread their wings. One was resting on a piece of an old mowing machine. The brother with the camera moved closer.

Closer still

They took a photograph, then moved in for a second. The camera was closer still when they set up for a third shot. Just then the sun broke through. The butterfly’s wings snapped upright. It looked ready to fly.

A shadow across the iron

The photographer leaned forward until his head blocked the sun. As his shadow crossed the iron, the butterfly’s wings dropped from upright to flat. It stayed still. The brothers had time for another photograph.

Sun, then shade again

After the photographs, they tried it again. When the photographer moved his head aside, the sun reached the butterfly and its wings rose. When he leaned forward again, they lowered. The brothers tried other butterflies nearby and saw the same response.

The picture they brought back

In the photograph, the butterfly’s wings are open against the iron. The brothers had watched those wings rise in the sun and flatten in the shade. A small shift of the photographer’s head was enough to change the light.

The butterfly held still by a passing shadow
By Adapted from Richard Kearton
Two brothers were looking for a bird’s nest when they came across a group of small tortoiseshell butterflies. A cloud crossed the sun. The butterflies stayed where they had landed and spread their wings. One was resting on a piece of an old mowing machine. The brother with the camera moved closer.
They took a photograph, then moved in for a second. The camera was closer still when they set up for a third shot. Just then the sun broke through. The butterfly’s wings snapped upright. It looked ready to fly.
The photographer leaned forward until his head blocked the sun. As his shadow crossed the iron, the butterfly’s wings dropped from upright to flat. It stayed still. The brothers had time for another photograph.
After the photographs, they tried it again. When the photographer moved his head aside, the sun reached the butterfly and its wings rose. When he leaned forward again, they lowered. The brothers tried other butterflies nearby and saw the same response.
In the photograph, the butterfly’s wings are open against the iron. The brothers had watched those wings rise in the sun and flatten in the shade. A small shift of the photographer’s head was enough to change the light.

The butterfly held still by a passing shadow

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