Photo by Jay Paul
Richmond magazine photographer Jay Paul was spending the morning in his girlfriend’s garden, which is full of pollinator-friendly plants, when he spotted an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. He ran inside to grab his Nikon Df and a telephoto lens to capture the winged insect as it fed on salvia.
Paul, who often shares his nature photos on the magazine’s Instagram feed, took numerous shots of the butterfly as he attempted to capture the perfect image. He likes this photo, he says, because, “Most of the time you look at butterflies down on their wings. I really like being able to see the butterfly’s face and body, to see this insect with beautiful wings.”
He says the experience reminded him of when, as a kid, he collected a few chrysalises and placed them in a jar with flowers so that he could watch butterflies emerge from them. When one died, he says, he felt sad and learned an important lesson: “Sometimes you should just leave things in nature.”
Today, when it comes to the natural world, Paul follows the mantra, “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.”
See more photos taken around Richmond at instagram.com/richmondmag.
