This is a morpho butterfly, specifically a Morpho peleides, I captured several years ago in Mexico with my medium format film camera, the Mamiya RZ 67. These butterflies are almost impossible to photograph because they fly so fast and so erratically that it's hard to keep them in focus with your eyes let alone a camera lens. I was able to take this picture because I caught the insect in a butterfly net, and I was able to do that because in this small Mexican town the butterflies use a set of railroad tracks cut through the jungle as a flyway. When the tracks enter a tunnel, the butterflies would turn around because they won't fly into darkness. I stood at the opening of the tunnel and, after several hours, finally caught one. It wasn't easy. About this time I met a Mexican family who were intrigued with what I was doing, and they invited me home for dinner. This gave me access to their refrigerator to cool the Morph down so it couldn't fly (butterflies can't fly if the ambient temperature is less than 55 degrees Fahrenheit). Brought back outside after 15 minutes in the cold, it sluggishly opened its wings to warm the tiny wing muscles in sunlight before it could fly. It was at this time I took this picture. I used a flash, and my lens aperture was f/32 for maximum depth of field. After a few shots, the Morpho flew away, probably a bit confused as to what had just happened.
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