We took a wander through the butterfly enclosure at Woodland Park Zoo.  These enclosures require a fair bit of care on the part of the visitor.  They briefed you as you went in what to watch for.  Double doors are at the entrance and exit to stop the butterflies escaping (or at least keep them in the entrance hall if they do manage to sneak out).  You must watch carefully for them.  They will land on you and your stuff but they will often be resting on the ground.  Treading on one will not be considered cool!

I will state right now that I didn’t make much effort to photograph a butterfly in flight.  They are rather fast movers as you quickly discover if you try to photograph them while airborne.  I have tried this before and I wasn’t going to frustrate myself again.  Instead I settled for a few shots of the stationary versions.  I assure you that they were real and alive – this was not a staged creation for me.