Of Tiger Swallowtails and Joe Pye Weed.....

The days are getting shorter, the acorns are beginning to fall, the dogwood nuts are being eaten feverishly by the squirrels and the Tiger Swallowtails are feeding on the Joe Pye Weed, sure signs that the seasons are about to change.......This morning while fixing breakfast I noticed, through the kitchen window,  the Joe Pye weed at the end of the yard was full of Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. I had planted the Joe Pye weed for just that purpose, to bring butterflies into the yard. I did not have time to try and make any images at that time; however after my appointment today I went out to cut the grass, and as I approached the shed, I saw the butterflies again. So the yard had to wait....I put my 200mm macro on and in natural light had fun chasing the butterflies around. I think they can hear, every time my shutter went the butterflies took flight. A little research..butterflies really don't hear but respond to vibration...so maybe they did vibrate to my shutter...anyhow it was fun. Instead of shooting straight on, I decided I wanted to shoot through the Joe Pye weed to see if I could get some surreal looking soft images...after about 100 shots, the butterflies seemed to drift away and I went on with  my chore of mowing the lawn.
  These images obviously are made with image overlays....I find when using image overlays some extra curves processing helps give me more of a look I am striving to achieve, as well as some localized levels adjustments, and some opacity adjustments using masks on the overlay.......