The FZ1000 and A Gem in Key West

1/26/2016

We spent last weekend in Key West and spent an hour in the Butterfly Conservatory. It's not a big exhibit, but butterfly conservatories have become a favorite since visiting my first one five years ago in Cleveland at the Botanical Gardens. Having a LUMIX FZ1000 with me just made it that much more fun!

Just like a coin has two sides, so do butterflies. I loved the contrast in colors and design of the little guy above. The under side of the Blue Morpho is brown with eye shapes and serves the purpose of camouflage, while the top of the wings are bright blue. It's a stunning display of color on each one.

Rumor has it if a butterfly lands on you during your trip through the exhibit it's a sign of good luck. Fortunately I had on my "lucky" shirt, which was bright yellow and a color they're attracted to. Sheila tried to get a shot for me, but I'm a lot taller and didn't want to move too much. However, being able to turn the screen around 180 degrees and compose the shot myself gave me just what I wanted. It might not be the most flattering pose, but who cares - I got the little guy sitting on my shoulders.

The only challenge I had was patience for the camera to adjust to room temperature. Your natural instinct is to start shooting immediately. However, coming from the air conditioned ticket area/store into the humidity of the butterfly sanctuary created instant fog on the lens.

All of my images were shot with the LUMIX FZ1000 usually in auto focus macro with the ISO at 200-400. I found myself experimenting with "IA", Intelligent Auto mode as well. In Intelligent Auto the camera continuously runs through a series of features including image stabilization, ISO sensitivity and continuous auto-focus, just to name a few.

Key West is known for its natural beauty, the shops, galleries, restaurants and obviously being surrounded by the ocean on all sides. However, the Butterfly Conservatory created a stunning moment of beauty and peace we just didn't plan on. There's little that beats butterflies, soft music and the beauty of the conservatory.