Monarchs mating. I spent HOURS watching and photographing these guys after I figured out I had a girl and boy in the garden. This was the moment that most astounded me, when he took off with them still connected. Looks like it must hurt! I did find Monarch caterpillars on my Milkweed a few weeks later, but sadly none of them made it to the butterfly stage. Next year I may kidnap some caterpillars and raise them inside till they're ready to fly.
PP - cropped, white balance, levels, colored/cloned out white spot in background, colored female butterfly more orange, dodged/burnt butterflies, increased contrast and saturation, desaturated some butterfly bits, reduced noise, touched up a couple of sensor dust spots, vignette, resized, sharpened, added border.
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Honey Bees bumble
Flutterby Butterfly tumble
Spring sings
Romance is in the wings
Love the bold orange hue that just pops off the soft greens. The capture of the two butterflies in a twirled flight is not an easy feat. Congrats on being able to get this shot. The colors, the flowers, the twirled flight all sing spring to me.
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