Zebra Swallowtail

Favorite butterfly. Saw this chap in Utah but we also see them up in the midwest as well. If you want to shoot butterflies up close, get yourself a extra-large set of patience and a telephoto lens that can shoot macro. Butterflies tend to be very flitsy and do not hold stiff for long so shooting on a repeating mode can be very helpful, as will the distance you maintain with the telephoto lens be as well. Most importantly though, you need patience. I have been trying for years, that is not an exaggeration, to get a shot of a zebra swallowtail and have not been successful till this one. In the end of it all, get out and shoot, be patient and keep trying to get the shot you want. It will be worth the effort (just not right away).