It has been a few years since I visited the butterfly exhibit at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I went there this past Sunday with my wife, and we spent several hours there.
The exhibit runs from March 1st through April 30th, and the butterfly exhibit offers an escape from the bitterness of winter. When we went, it was windy and chilly outside, but when you walk into the enclosed exhibit, it was hot and humid, so you soon removed y
our coat. Butterflies are warmer weather creatures. There is a nice ventilation system in the exhibit, so you get the sense of a tropical breeze now and then.
This year was the 16th year of the exhibit, and when you visit you enter into the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory, and walk among the butterflies as they fly around. You can also see some exotic moths, and learn about the life cycle of butterflies through the displays inside the greenhouse exhibit.
As a photography buff, I was looking forward to this excursion. What I did not expect was how challenging it is to photograph butterflies. They tend to move faster than you can snap a photo. I often found myself aiming and shooting, only to find I had a great photo of a green leaf, but the star of the photo has fluttered off at the near speed of light it seemed.
Nonetheless, I did manage to get a few good shots, so I have included those here. I hope you enjoy my collection of the butterfly exhibit at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.
I consider this annual exhibit to be one of the best kept secrets in Southwest Michigan, and I strongly recommend that everyone take some time to visit it. It is great for kids too!
I shot these photos with three seperate cameras. My Canon Rebel ESI, my Canon Powershot and an old Nikon Coolpix. My wife Margarita also deserves credit for some of these wonderful photos, as she took a lot as well. We shot a lot of video as well, which I hope to incorporate into my YouTube channel in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! For information about Southwest Michigan Real Estate, check out my website at: www.michaeldelaware.com.
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