478 - Charco Verde Park
I never thought I’d see butter fly until today. Alright, I’m just going to shut up.
Today’s adventure was a focus study on the art of butterflies. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. In my last adventure you watched me battle swarms of mosquitoes with nothing but high socks and sweatpants. We had camped on the side of a massive lake in Nicaragua, awaiting a ferry to take us to its infamous island, the tropical paradise known as Ometepe.
Well folks, the moment had arrived and we loaded our massive van onto the ferry and set sail. The ride over only took about 90 minutes, and was significantly easier than our (almost deadly) voyage across the Cortez Sea a couple months back.
We drove off the ferry to our newfound island and looked around. This lil’ volcano was going to be our home for the next three days. On a smaller scale, it reminded me of the fish bowl in Finding Nemo. It’s also how I felt- there was no leaving this place. We were in a mini civilization now.
However at the same time, it invoked a strange feeling of freedom. The first destination we had lined up was Charco Verde Park. From the looks of it, Charco Verde was a mini national park on the island that protected its isolated lagoon. This lagoon also happened to be the home of hundreds of rambunctious monkeys and soft spoken butterflies.
Quite the combination.
But we had to wait until the light started getting good first. The perfect time to shoot jungles is a few hours before sunset, not right at sunset. You want the light peaking through the trees, illuminating certain plants. Once the sun gets too low, the jungle loses all of its light and becomes incredibly flat.
So once the conditions were prime, we headed out.
Butterflies were always something that caught my interest in the photography world, namely because of their curious elusiveness and eye-catching colors. They also were also easy to shoot, but quick enough to provide a nice challenge. I like to think of them as bird photography lite.
We entered the butterfly garden (which was enclosed in a giant net,) and started shooting. It took me a minute to get warmed up. I’ve found that the trick with butterflies is to first look for them just out of your shooting range, then step closer to them (very) slowly and get a shot. If you just go lumbering around they’ll all fly away from you before you can get close. You gotta act like a fucking ninja.
For my first shot, I’m not even ashamed to say it’s a composite. I picked my favorite flower, then took a shot of my favorite butterfly, and layered them on top of each other:
“Intrepid”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM
[ISO 1250 ~ 73mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/2000s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
That’s how I warm up. No need to go for the crème de la crème right out of the gate. We’ll get there.
The next shot I got reminded me of the black diamond logo that pops up when you ski an advanced slope in the Rockies. I’m not sure why that visual popped up in a jungle in Nicaragua, but I lined up the camera and snagged this:
“Black Diamond”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM
[ISO 1600 ~ 114mm ~ f/6.3 ~ 1/800s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Maybe I’m starting to get a bit homesick. I guess I could admit that. We’d been on the road for about 8 months now, and I think being on this island made me realize just how far from Colorado I actually was.
Recently I've caught myself craving cold weather, 20 mbps wifi, and sleeping in the parking lot of Planet Fitness under a giant maple tree. I wanted to see old friends, hug my family, and drive around the suburbs delivering food to Netflix fiends. I wanted to eat Taco Bell, not wash my veggies, and smell the dull scent of tofu sizzling in a pan.
But I snapped out of it. I’m in a tropical jungle right now in Nicaragua. With beautiful butterflies. Why am I craving home? This is a literal island paradise…
I kept walking. I’m not even sure how I saw the next butterfly. I guess my butter senses were starting to tingle. The thing was hidden in the wood perfectly:
“Hover Bot”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM
[ISO 1250 ~ 165mm ~ f/8 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Ok. Now here’s a solid thing I’ve been learning in the editing process, that can be demonstrated here perfectly. I’ve been trying to add more contrast to my subject lately- because the eye is drawn to it. Thus, in this shot, I isolated the butterfly, then decreased the saturation, contrast, and sharpness of the wooden backdrop. This makes the butterfly almost seem three dimensional- like it’s ready to fly away. You can notice this technique was also applied to the previous two shots…
I kept walking. Haley decided to split off and go search for monkeys in the lagoon. I wanted to go also, but I had unfinished business here. For some reason the butterflies were calming my mind in a way I hadn’t experienced in a long time. They were just so goddamn peaceful and carefree.
I know it’s cheesy to say, but I was getting inspired by these little buggers. Then suddenly I stumbled upon my favorite scene of the session:
“Double Take”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM
[ISO 2000 ~ 179mm ~ f/10 ~ 1/100s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
A strangely emotional shot that captured my mood almost perfectly. The beauty of the light airy butterfly, contrasted with the deep colors of the droopy flower.
My unrelenting curiosity for travel, contrasted with a dreary, homesick mind. It was almost like I felt guilty for longing for the simplicity and banality of home, while I was in such an exotic and mystical place. How could those feelings simultaneously exist?
Then the butterfly flew away, in that clumsy kind of way. And for some reason it made me come to terms with the fact that it was alright to feel how I felt. Because guess what? I’m a human, and humans have emotions, no matter how weird. I can’t deny that.
I let that thought wash over me for a second, then I left the aviary feeling surprisingly refreshed. Someone needs to invent butterfly therapy. Those things are like mini healers.
I caught up to Haley and we spent the next hour searching for monkeys. One didn’t show up until the very end… But he didn’t have much to say. The lighting was too far gone and the tree was far too high to get any sort of decent shot.
Oh well, I thought. I’ll have to save the monkey shot for another day… Today was a butterfly day. And somehow they made me feel butter.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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