Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory
Categories: Local Interest , Outdoors & Nature , Children's Books , Arts & Crafts
The Butterfly Show has taken flight at the Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park through June 24th!
When I think of butterflies, I always think of the butterfly alphabet by nature photographer Kjell Sandved, whose amazing butterfly photographs can be seen in A World of Butterflies and the children’s book The Butterfly Alphabet.
Originally from Norway, Sandved came to the United States in 1960 to research a wildlife encyclopedia that he was working on. The Smithsonian Institution invited him to view the museum’s collections, and that’s when he peered into a cigar box of butterfly and moth specimens and first saw a letter ‘F’ on one of the wing patterns. He taught himself how to take photographs, and a quest for an entire alphabet had begun.
It took him 24 years, but Sandved found them all. He sought out butterflies and moths with alphabet markings (and numbers!) in books and museums, and then planned trips to photograph them in the field. His expeditions took him to over 30 countries, including Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. He is best known for his uncanny ability to find hidden beauty and surprising shapes in the natural world (see his nature alphabet).
Interested in learning how to photograph butterflies and nature like Sandved? Here are some books to help you get started!
- Nature Photography by Jim Fitzharris
- The Art of Photographing Nature by Martha Hill
- John Shaw’s Nature Photography Field Guide by John Shaw
- The Magic of Digital Nature Photography by Rob Sheppard
