From time to time we are treated with something a bit special when we are out with our cameras. Such was the case during a recent visit to the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory. I had the opportunity to capture some images of a newly emerged Atlas Moth.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

I arrived just as the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory opened, finding the parking lot almost empty. Since my visit was during the Christmas school break period this surprised me. I suspected that it wouldn’t be too long before the parking lot would fill with cars.

Within the first few minutes of my arrival I spotted a newly emerged Atlas Moth. Unfortunately the moth was partially buried in some foliage in a dark area of the conservatory. This made achieving a good shooting angle challenging.

I did the best that I could given the situation, but I wasn’t that happy with my initial results. I was unable to get a good, head-on view of the moth.

After quickly composing about a half a dozen images I was approached by one of the workers at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory. She asked me if I was finished photographing the newly emerged Atlas Moth.

Explaining that these moths are reasonably fragile when in this state, she told me that she needed to move it to a more secure position. Since many families with small children were now streaming in, the newly emerged Atlas Moth needed to be out-of-reach of inquisitive hands.

I asked her if she would mind pausing with the newly emerged Atlas Moth on her fingertip so I could compose one final image. She was more than happy to oblige. The resulting photograph was my favourite one of the morning.

Technical Note:
Photographs were captured hand-held using camera gear as noted in the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process.

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