Brookside Gardens Butterflies

Brookside Gardens is a park in Wheaton, Maryland. I last visited there in 2002 and when someone suggested we go to see the Wings of Fancy exhibit there, it sounded like a great idea.

And it was! They had butterflies that were native to Maryland as well as butterflies from Costa Rica. I’ve never seen so many beautifully colored butterflies in one spot before. We spent about two hours photographing the butterflies. I used a 100mm macro lens for my shots, though most didn’t end up being macro shots. I used flash for most of the shots and that was a mixed blessing. Portions of some flowers or some butterfly wings were very reflective and that made exposures a bit challenging.

Unfortunately, the photos came with a higher than anticipated cost. My car was broken into and my purse stolen. With the exception of my PDA, nothing of value was lost, but it sure was a hassle having to replace a car window, driver’s license, and other assorted documents. If you go to see the exhibit–and it is worth seeing–don’t leave anything that looks like a bag in your car. My car was the third in three weeks.

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