St. Francis and the butterfly

This image has been added to all of the PRINTS galleries.

This image is a good example of what happens when everything comes together perfectly and all at the same time. I am not sure whether the Variegated Fritillary butterfly was either feeding or just resting on the last of the butterfly bush flowers for the season. I moved into a position to include a statue of St Francis of Assisi. I wanted to frame the image as the statue of St. Francis appears to be looking at the butterfly. St. Francis was the Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans and he is also known and revered for his love of nature. I think that this makes his statue perfectly appropriate for this shot. I am always trying to incorporate this statuary of St. Francis in an interesting pose. And a big shout-out to the Variegated Fritillary for its pose. Nature always does what it wants to do. It's really special when it happens when you want it to.