"> Butterfly Wonderland - Scottsdale, Arizona | Nick Gasmena // BIGboiFASTboi
Photos
Orange and black butterfly resting with folded wings on a long green leaf Pale patterned butterfly spreading its wings across soft green foliage Dark butterfly feeding on a cluster of bright pink flowers Orange butterfly with black and white wing tips perched among green leaves Orange and black butterfly opening its wings on a sunlit leaf Smiling visitor watching a blue butterfly perched near her shoulder Blue and black butterfly silhouetted against a round white light Blue patterned butterfly spreading its wings against a soft pink circular light Orange butterfly feeding from purple flowers with its wings held upright Dark butterfly with an orange wing border resting on a textured leaf Black butterfly spreading its broad wings beside pink blossoms Black butterfly with orange markings approaching a cluster of pink flowers Two dark butterflies hovering and feeding around pink blossoms Brown and white patterned butterfly resting among bright green leaves Two dark butterflies with orange markings perched on separate green leaves Pale butterfly with orange-edged wings resting flat on a large leaf Yellow and black patterned butterfly perched on a backlit leaf Brown butterfly with white wing patches feeding beside purple flowers Pale brown butterfly spreading its patterned wings behind a purple flower Yellow and brown butterfly clinging to a purple flower beside a tall leaf Yellow and black butterfly feeding on a small purple blossom Brown and cream butterfly perched on a rough rock against dark foliage Brown butterfly showing circular eyespot markings on its folded wings Butterfly resting edge-on with upright wings on a textured green leaf Pale patterned butterfly opening its orange-edged wings above green leaves

Butterfly Wonderland, Scottsdale, Arizona — Macro Butterfly Photography

Butterfly Wonderland, Scottsdale, Arizona — Christmas week, in the middle of a holiday visit from my mom and a golden afternoon with my girlfriend Liv, we ducked into one of the largest glass-domed butterfly conservatories in the country. Thousands of free-flying butterflies moving through humid, plant-packed air is genuinely disorienting in the best way — and an absolute nightmare to photograph. These things never sit still.

Shooting Macro Wildlife with the Sony FX3

This was also the first real outing for my Sony FX3, paired with the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II (and a 2x teleconverter for the shots that needed serious reach). Only 12 megapixels on paper, but Sony’s color science in the Alpha line does something you can’t fake — and the GM II’s autofocus tracked wings mid-flap better than I expected. The bokeh rendered by that lens against the conservatory’s flowers and succulents turned every background into a wash of color. Not a bad way to spend a holiday.


Photography by: Nick Gasmena // @BIGboiFASTboi // instagram/bigboifastboi

Photos are free to use. Photo credits, tags & collabs are greatly appreciated!