My passion for nature has been strong from a young age. In the lake area in Southwest Friesland, stroll through the fields and sail on the lakes. Free nature in optima forma. The butterfly has left a special impression. The variety of colours and shapes, but especially the transformation from caterpillar via pupa to a unique, precious and tender life form. Over the years I have photographed many different species at home and abroad and now it was time to share this with others in order to initiate or expand that passion for this colourful phenomenon to others. All the butterflies, that I mention here, have been spotted in the wild, so no butterflies and moths whirling around in domesticated gardens. Each butterfly is indicated by the year in which I spotted the butterfly or moth for the first time and in brackets the country where the sighting took place. In addition to the described butterflies and moths, I have added, for your information, some more specific information about their build and taxonomy and worked out the family tree with a direct link to the subfamilies in my collection.
I use a Canon 1000D, starting with an 18-55mm lens. Since 2014 I have switched to a Sigma 18-250mm Macro HSM lens with which I can capture most butterflies quite well. For the moths, I now use a conversion lens, Achromat Macro-200 (+5) 62mm. In 2020 I extended my collection with a Canon 600D and a Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 lens. This system shows a big improvement and will be used to extend the quality of the published photos.
Since 2017, the focus has also been on moths. This can really be an exciting activity. Especially, the tension which species will be attracted to the special light. With a stretched white sheet, I lure the moths with a special lamp, mini-lynx blacklight 20W, which scatters UVA light. For photography, I switch to the Sigma 18-55mm lens to avoid the shadow of the larger 18-250mm lens when using flash or to the Tamron SP 24-70mm. Sometimes I use a 160W lamp with 2735 luminous flux.
In December 2018 it was to my opinion necessary to create a contemporary logo that could be used as a watermark for my photos. With the idea to form a butterfly with my initials, the following logo was made:
© 2018 – E.H. Schakel
From 2019 this logo will be used as a watermark for recognition.
