I'm the wife of the most wonderful man in the world, we've been married since 1980 and I hope to at least double that time. Andy and I have 4 sons all men now and with children of their own. We are both retired elementary school teachers from Southwest Louisiana.

I have always loved photography, I resisted digital for a long time, I waited until I felt the quality matched a film camera. I love the digital age in photography. I've learned a lot since I've had my camera and long to learn more.

Butterflies!

I first became interested in the process of butterflies as a Kindergarten teacher. I just didn't feel good about the butterfly in a cup experience that is touted for teachers to use to teach about life cycles usually in the Spring. I decided I would try butterfly gardening. I built a small one in my backyard and it seemed to bring the butterflies. So I approached my principal for a patch of land and some money to start one at school. She gave me the land and 200 bucks to get started. I was excited and eagerly tilled the ground and bought my plants, all to have them root rot in the thick clay soil. So a co-worker and I wrote and won a grant for $5ooo. $3000 went to soil improvement. The rest was for materials inside and outside of the classroom.

We've had the garden in place for three summers now and the growth has been amazing. My students have seen butterflies lay eggs, caterpillars grow and split into chrysalis', and the emergence of the butterflies from their pupas. All from the butterfly garden.

I do on occasion bring catapillars in for observation for a few reasons, to protect them from predators, weather elements, every now and then even down here we get a freeze, and then of course to get closer to the process.

The bonus to all this is I get to photograph all of these processes. I've learned so much about the butterfly life cycles myself from direct observation, different families of butterflies have differents shaped eggs, and attach themselves differently for making their chrysalids. I've learned that more often than not when I scare off a butterfly, if I hang out, the butterfly will return in a minute or so. That's how I get many of the close-ups I get. Most of my pictures are taken with my 18-55 lens, hand held, with the auto focus on. I am not opposed to laying on the ground however to get a good shot.

I've also learned that while here in the deep south we don't have the gorgeous autumn's that more northern areas have we do have an abundance of butterlies each fall, so we do get color, just not from the trees. And that in deep south Louisiana butterflies are a fall thing not a spring thing.

Happy hunting/shooting to all!