PrettyTiny Film Company -- random pix (Mar. 27)

[Alliecat]

Thank you very much, everybody!    I'm glad you enjoyed them.  I have fun shooting them.  Would never have guessed after all those years raising them that I'd end up shooting photos of them with dolls!

And the one with Sara & the multitude of butterflies is amazing, how did you get so many to land at once?

Well, again, they are all just hatched.  None of the butterflies in these photos has had their first flight yet!
(Their first real flight... technically, they occasionally fall off or flap a bit and land on the ground.  I pick them up & put them back.  First flight -- the real one -- is preceded by a fun little "preflight check" of motions, then a flap or 2 and they soar up into the sky.  It's lovely to watch.)
So the process basically goes like this:  Hunt through neighbour's milkweed garden (the deer ate mine) for caterpillars.  Bring them home, house in jars, feed lots of milkweed, wait for them to pupate (make their chrysalis).  Wait another 7-10 days.  Chrysalis turns "black", which is actually just clear, & you can see the colours of the butterfly inside.  
Butterfly hatches, ex-pands wings with fluid from body, then hangs from chrysalis a couple hours while its wings harden.  Then it will climb somewhere, if available, preferably into the sun, where it starts flexing its wings till it feels ready to fly.  This could be a short time, or all day if it's not very warm.
Because they're in jars, I get them out as soon as possible, on a stick.  I put the stick in a glass & leave them in a box with sheer-curtain windows to wait for the wings to harden.  Once the wings are not floppy anymore, you can handle them pretty easily cos they'll climb on a finger or a stick or a doll, but still aren't ready to fly.  So for the photos it's just a case of taking them out, setting up my models, & then putting the butterflies on them.  This time of year, they won't likely fly away in the middle of the shoot because did I mention it's so bleeping cold???  They'd fly a lot sooner if it was hot.  On a warm day when I take the box outside they're sometimes flapping around inside & just fly out & go.
So yes, it does take some patience to position them, definitely moving slowly so as not to damage anyone, but it's not a question of waiting for them to land.  Once they fly, they're gone.  They'll go up in a tree & sit for a while longer before starting their journey to Mexico.
So that's how the PTFCo butterfly-studio division works  For those who want to watch one hatch, here's a 3:49 video from a couple years ago.  


Monarch hatching 3min by Alliecat09, on Flickr

[Alliecat]

A few more photos of Alice out back.


The sun was almost gone at this point but I liked the bit of backlighting.






A secret fairy doorway...?



Is it scary in the woods at night....?
(actually failed fill-flash!)


And, a couple more of Daesani enjoying one more bikini day on the porch.

[davidd]

The Alice and her Magical Mushrooms (that's "magical," not "magic") photos are quite, well, magical, really.

Dæsani certainly makes Canadian weather look inviting!

[neon_jellyfish]

I love the Alice in Shroomyland ones!!! Especially the one with the 'rabbit hole'.

[werepuppy]

The Alice photos are so lovely - but keep her away from the fairy door!

Also: wow those photos make us feel the warm

[Lejays17]

The ones with Alice in the fading light are beautiful.

[fishy]

The fairy doorway is so cool. ?

[Alliecat]

Thank you very much, everybody

Dæsani certainly makes Canadian weather look inviting!

Well.... . They have snow out west, so it could be a whole lot worse.

I have empty-jar syndrome .... my last little one hatched last Monday and launched the next day.  He was also half-size, and I was hoping for some last photos with him but he was ready to fly right out of the box so off he went.  Unfortunately most days it isn't warm enough for them to fly so I kind of doubt the last stragglers will get very far

Here's Miki with a cool grocery-store mushroom (!) and a couple of the last few hatchlings; another mini-size one.


As Sunsette would say, "Oooh, it's me-sized!"



"Hello there..."









With half-size and regular-size boys.



And that's all the butterflies for this year
Thanks for looking!

[neon_jellyfish]

Bye butterflies! Have safe trip!

[werepuppy]

Aw, so lovely. Bye bue butterflies

[dargosmydaddy]

I forgot about Miki. She's cute! Love that both the butterfly and the mushrooms are appropriately sized

[davidd]

The butterfly photos have been very interesting and a lot of fun. I have not seen the mini-sized ones before, so that was something totally new to me.

These pictures are colorful with excellent contrast and excellent definition and sharpness.

[Alliecat]

Thanks, all.  
I've never had so many mini butterflies other years.   I don't know if it's genetic or a result of being the last very slow-growing stragglers in colder weather.

I've managed to cram in some Halloween photos, but not as many as I'd like to have done thanks to a too-busy week, then I fell down the stairs today & almost sprained my ankle  It's very sore, but I can walk, ... don't know if I'll be able to tomorrow, which is disaster because I have way too much to do the next 3 days
Anyway, here are the latest pix from PTFCo.


Dal crew helping carve the pumpkin.






Penny & Scarlett checking out the pumpkin-guts loaf, which was perfect this year -- woohoo!  Given how many fabulous yummy things you can make with ALL the parts of a pumpkin, I'm mildly outraged at how much good stuff gets wasted every Halloween.



And after the group shot featured over on the pic-a-week thread, Cherie's gorgeous face said, once again, "take my picture!"  



I mean, seriously, how fabulous is she!  

Thanks for looking

[davidd]

I mean, seriously, Cherie is fabulous! 

The Dal crew did an amazing job with that pumpkin! Their cuts are very precise, and they really got the interior cleaned out well! (My pumpkins this year were very coarse and stringy inside and I could not achieve a smooth interior finish.) I suppose the Tinies were able to crawl in through the openings to complete the detail work, which is a convenient benefit of their diminutive stature.

The pumpkin... loaf/bread/cake... looks tasty. Such a perfect brown crust.

And unrelated: what's with the "Canada Day" can of Canada Dry? That is Canada Dry ginger ale, isn't it?

(Oh, wait; I answered my own question. It's just another example of the divisive and exclusionary culture of Canada: people will complain about anything and everything.)

[neon_jellyfish]

Looks like you and the crew had tons of fun! I hope your ankle is OK!