Story and photos by Gail Miller-Hildebrand
Our home spaces offer the best opportunity to photograph birds, butterflies or bees if they find you provide tantalizing flowering plants.
First, let’s review how to increase or add drought-tolerant plants to your space. Consider planting a Desert willow for hummingbirds; Mexican Bird of Paradise adds bright orange flowers for butterflies and bees. A few others are Desert marigold, chuparosa, and Blue palo verde.
You can start by doing some internet searches or using local services. Casa Grande has two public libraries, many plant nurseries and the Chamber of Commerce, where you can learn more about what to put in your yard or find groups you can connect with.
Macro photography is another way to find your niche. You don’t need fancy gear to start; a smartphone or basic DSLR can do wonders. Smartphones have great macro modes, and DLSRs have a simple zoom lens for close-ups.
The best tip I can share is that lighting is critical; the sunrise and golden hour are better than the bright sun in the middle of the day.
I took these pictures around the San Pedro house garden in Sierra Vista last August. I recommend visiting this area starting in February for the bird migration, the San Pedro River, the gift shop and the garden planted to attract birds, butterflies and bees.
I used my Canon 5D Mark IV DSLR camera and Canon 24-105 mm lens to capture these butterflies, and I could have also easily used my cellphone.
Gail Miller-Hildebrand is the Associate Broker and Realtor® with ROX Real Estate. She can be reached at 503.956.4270 or gail@roxsells.com.
