Butterflies, Flowers and Sam

Visits to regional botanical conservatories have been staple photo destinations for me the past few winters and springs.  After a trip to Garfield Park in Chicago in March 2020, that type of venue for cold weather creation has been off limits.  Some like Krohn in Cincinnati are yet to re-open.  Others like Garfield in Indianapolis require pre-sale tickets with limited time allotted in the facility. 

Things are now starting to open up again.  Last week I made the trip to Fort Wayne and Froellinger Friemann.  Aside from a mask requirement, things were pretty much back to normal there.  I took my friend and occasional model, Samantha with me.  I wanted a quick mental health get away day following the end of the semester and she needed some time away as well. 

To our surprise, not only was Froellinger open, but they also had their annual spring butterfly show going on.  The butterflies are housed in a white mesh tent with limited planting inside the tent so decent backgrounds to accentuate their beauty was a bit tricky.  I managed a couple shots I liked.  Outside the tent, we found some flowers in bloom.  Sam’s hobby is plant keeping so she enjoyed the afternoon.  Last time Sam and I shot was the series about anxiety and depression and while portraits weren’t the plan on this day, leaving the gloom of the past year behind for a vaccinated smile in a happy place made the day.