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Butterfly

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This is a chapter from my seventh book called Bookeh - Through the lens of a Trinidadian photog


I made a lot of notes for this chapter. Let us see if I can condense it into something beautiful, just like a butterfly. My friend Chatty tells me that the first known photograph of a butterfly was taken by French photographer Louis Darget in 1907. His pioneering work utilized early photographic techniques to capture these insects, marking a significant moment in both scientific documentation and nature photography. My curiosity had me asking, what number is this photograph of all the butterfly photographs there ever was? Gemini says it would be astronomical and in the billions. I would take a wild guess and say that this is the 107322649538th butterfly photo ever taken. With 17,500 species there are probably hundreds of billions of butterflies living in the world. More butterflies than humans I would guess. Who would win a dance battle? Humans or butterflies? My friend Gemini thinks butterflies would win. Their ethereal movements could easily outshine human choreography. Imagine thousands of tiny wings fluttering in sync, creating a mesmerizing performance that would leave any human dancer captivated.

The butterfly photo I made for this chapter was not the best butterfly photo I ever made, in my opinion. There was harsh sunlight. It is a noisy and distracting composition. There is a lot going on. The butterfly is not properly exposed. There is a chaotic feeling for me with this photo. Yet, the beauty of the butterfly and the flower still shines through among the chaos. The reflection of the clouds and sky in the water makes me think of "as above so below". I like the deep bright yellow of the flower. The fence is a reminder of modern living and the human experience. I am made to look beyond the surface for the beauty in this photo. Makes me think that there is beauty in all photos and the limit of our appreciation is our own preconceived notions. Confucious said, "Beauty can be seen in all things, but not everyone observes it."

Mario Quintana said, "If you spend your time chasing butterflies, they’ll fly away. But if you spend your time making a beautiful garden, the butterflies will come. Don’t chase, attract." I have my mom to thank for the plants and flowers in our yard. We know why the flower is beautiful, to attract the insects and carry on reproduction but why are the butterflies pretty? My friend Gemini tells me that butterfly coloration evolved through sexual selection for mate attraction and natural selection for aposematism or camouflage. You know what? The more I looked at the photo, the more I liked it. The photo makes me see beyond what is beauty on the surface and become curious and ask questions.

This is a monarch butterfly. I think so because I read that there are monarch lookalikes. I feel like we need an updated or new Butterflies of Trinidad and Tobago book. Today I learnt what a lepidopterist is. A person who studies or collects butterflies and moths. My friend Chatty tells me that the term "lepidopterist" derives from the Greek words "lepis" (scale) and "pteron" (wing), reflecting the study of butterflies and moths, whose wings are covered in scales. I also learnt about local lepidopterist Malcolm Barcant. I think butterfly gardens or butterfly farms are good ideas for tourist attraction in Trinidad. Even a butterfly museum. I know that Angostura has the Barcant Butterfly Collection that is open to visitors.

Do butterflies have arms and legs or just legs? I learnt that they have six legs. Where do butterflies sleep? Butterflies don't truly sleep but enter a resting state called quiescence, often hidden under leaves or in sheltered spots. Did you know that butterflies taste with their feet, have eyes made of thousands of lenses, and their wing colors come from tiny scales reflecting light? Writing this chapter made me curious about butterflies and wanting to learn more about these beautiful creatures that we admire so much. And it all started with an ordinary photo of mine that on another day I might have discarded as not good enough, not beautiful enough. Learning is beautiful. Becoming a better person is beautiful. There is beauty in curiosity. There is beauty in chaos. Somehow we try to make sense of the world and that is beautiful. Vincent Van Gogh said it nicely when he said, "If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere."
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