Author Archives: Chet Gottfried

The New Year

Happy New Year, everyone! And, as you would have noticed, I haven’t added much if anything to my website or my blog. The reason for that comes down to two factors: personal illness and the dismal world situation. Too many … Continue reading

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A Zabulon skipper

A Zabulon skipper (Lon zabulon) is a smallish butterfly but average as far as skippers go. I consider it to be thumbnail size. I come across one in central Pennsylvania about every other year, but this season was different since … Continue reading

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Monarch color

By “monarch color” I don’t mean “typical” monarch photos (which, incidentally, I love to take) but a different category altogether. The following photos make use of different angles and lighting conditions to present artful monarchs.

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More hummingbird photos

One day last week when I was outside photographing butterflies in my backyard, a ruby-throated hummingbird came along. Given that my 200mm macro lens depends on manual focus, image clarity depends on a fair bit of luck. And I was … Continue reading

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A tiger swallowtail

The tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) is one of the largest North American butterflies, and the following photos are all from my backyard. Theoretically, this particular tiger swallowtail is a male (because of the bright yellow), whereas the females are darker … Continue reading

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It’s time for hummingbirds

Autumn migration is underway for hummingbirds, and for Pennsylvania that means the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). Consequently, I have many and excellent opportunities to photograph them. Of course it helps to have a pollinator garden and/or a hummingbird feeder. I … Continue reading

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A hummingbird clearwing

Since a snowberry clearwing featured in my previous post, I thought it fair to have a hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) be the subject of this one. A hummingbird clearwing is the larger of the two hummingbird-type moth, about half again … Continue reading

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A snowberry clearwing

The snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) is the smaller of the two species of hummingbird moths in the United States. It is somewhat larger in body size than a bumblebee but has a magnificent presence thanks to its wonderful wing motion … Continue reading

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Red squirrels don’t beg

Red squirrels often shout, curse, or complain, but they don’t beg.

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A celebration of bumblebees

Actually, it is a celebration just as much of thistle flowers, on which bees of all types and butterflies both dine on – in terms of gathering pollen and/or nectar. They leave the flowers as beautiful as on first arrival.

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