360 - 10th - Among the branches

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 10th Dec'08

I was staring at the big group of butterflies on the ground and making some videos when something inside the tree in front of me caught my attention. I could see a couple of butterflies playing around and hopping from branch to branch. I stood there and observed them for some time. It was only two of them, flying around behind each other and occasionally fluttering their wings in communion. Their play lasted for a couple of minutes before they flew away to another tree out of the range of my camera.

I took this one while watching them enjoying the sunny afternoon.

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359 - 9th - The black sheep

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 9th Dec'08

While climbing down the mountain in the jungles of Zitacuaro, I saw a herd of sheep grazing on a small patch of grass at some distance. I told my friends to go ahead and that I would meet them at the base. I walked for around ten minutes to reach the place and maintained a safe distance from the animals so that they don't get scared and run away.

Once there, I got behind a bush and clicked some photos. Due to the sun shining at the back, the photos got a a nice effect of a bright background and a dark foreground. Among all that I clicked, I liked this one the most.

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358 - 8th - A swarm of beauty

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 8th Dec'08

This picture can easily be titled as one of the most rare scenes I would ever shoot; hundreds of orange butterflies planted in a small patch of land, sipping on water flowing in a small stream. It was a scene I had never imagined could exist and was really a treat to the eyes. The butterflies, completely oblivious of the people moving around were lost in their own beautiful world. You could go within a "touching distance" and they wont even care.

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357 - 7th - A new beginning

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 7th Dec'08

To every end there is a new beginning. A beginning which overshadows all the memories of the end and sparks a new flame of life. A beginning which induces a new streak of life in total lifelessness.

This tree was probably chooped some years ago and the dry stump was all that was left of it. But somehow a small trace of life has managed to sprout from the dry wood. A tiny branch with lush green leaves give a sign of new life and a new beginning. Maybe it will rise to the same magnificent heights some day :)

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356 - 6th - Monarch Butterflies

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 6th Dec'08

Imagine a place where all you can see is butterflies. Millions of them at practically every nook and corner. You can see them on trees, in the air and even on the ground. Splashing their bright orange color all around, they just fill up the whole place with their beauty.

I happened to go to one such place last weekend. It was a place where these Monarch butterflies come each year after traveling hundreds of kilometers from Canada to Mexico. They gather here to lay eggs, to reproduce and then to fly back home. A really exceptional view and really a rare phenomenon.

Stay tuned for more photos from the same place :)

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355 - 5th - The converging trees

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th Dec'08

It is amazing how different things start looking when you just change the angle of your view by a few degrees. I was roaming around in the jungle for almost two hours looking at figs and branches to find something "clickable". I shot some tiny flowers, some buzzing bees and some crawling creatures, but all the time I was looking either down or straight in the line of sight.

I dont know what prompted me to do that, but suddenly I looked up towards the sky. I could see the trees converging over my head as if I am looking thru a fish-eye lens. It surely was a nice view and a good one to click too.

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354 - 4th - The pine tree

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Dec'08

I think it was pine but I had a doubt because the branches were hanging really low. I searched for some signboards nearby but couldn't find any. Given that it was a butterfly sanctuary, I found the idea of inquiring about a tree totally out of context. So I just went ahead and took some photos of the sharp green leaves shining against the bright sunlight.

Later when I returned to the base, I saw some local people selling painted pine fruits. Maybe that was a silent indication that the tree was really pine :)

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353 - 3rd - The butterfly on the vase

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd Dec'08

I had just entered my room in Zitacuaro when I saw this big butterfly perched on a dry branch right on top of the dressing table. Had it not been the size, I would have really mistaken it for a real one. Firstly because of the amazingly vivid and real looking colors in which it was painted and secondly since everywhere at the place one was expecting to spot the butterflies.

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352 - 2nd - The red rose

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 2nd Dec'08

I was waiting at the reception in a hotel in Zitacuaro when my exploring eyes stopped at this bowl kept right in front of the receptionist. I still dont know what made the water looked green; maybe it was the painted base of the bowl or some color dissolved in the water. But whatever it was, it made a great contrasting combination with the crimson red roses floating on the surface.

I had to bend my camera and my neck at a very awkward angle to get the right shot from the top. When I finished, I realized that everyone around including the bell boy standing right behind me, were staring at me in amusement.

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351 - 1st - Morning dew

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 1st Dec'08

The mornings are getting colder and the temperature is dipping. Each morning when I get up I see the world outside covered in a layer of dew. The plants, the trees, the grass, all the cars parked outside and the glass of my apartment windows.

This morning I got up and removed the curtains off my bedroom window when I saw the sun shining on the flowers just outside my window. The view of the bright yellow flowers through the dew drops immediately made me jump off my bed and reach for my camera.

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