WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT:
Few creatures capture the imagination like butterflies. These beautiful, delicate, but surprisingly durable, insects come in an amazing variety of colors and shapes. They flit about like erratic Christmas ornaments. Those erratic flight patterns and small size make them a real challenge for photographers. The Dallas Butterfly House and Insectarium provides numbers and variety within a controlled environment creating opportunities to capture stunning images that are not frequently available in the wild. Keeping them in focus as they fly in unexpected patterns, avoiding strong backlight that turns them into silhouettes, while getting enough light on them go capture the amazing colors and shapes is both a challenge and a joy when it all comes together.
Admission to the Dallas Butterfly House & Insectarium costs $12.00 for adults (ages 13-64), $10.00 for senior citizens (ages 65+) and $6.00 for children (ages 4-12). Parking is free on the date of the HNP field trip.
TRAVEL:
From southbound 75 or northbound I-45, exit at the 2nd Avenue Fair Park exit. Stay to the right onto Robert B Cullum Blvd. You will pass Gate 5, then turn left at Gate 6. Turn right and then right again into the Texas Discovery Gardens parking lot. Cross the street and you’re at Texas Discovery Gardens.
From eastbound I-30, exit at 1st Avenue and stay to the right. At the Parry Avenue traffic light turn right. Parry turns into Robert B Cullum Blvd. You will pass Gate 5 and then at Gate 6 turn left and then right and right again into the Texas Discovery Gardens parking lot. Cross the street and you’re at Texas Discovery Gardens.
DART Light Rail: The Green Line takes you to Fair Park, but there you will need to walk across Fair Park from the Fair Park Station to get to the Texas Discovery Gardens. The Martin Luther King Station is outside Fair Park, but is a shorter walk to the Texas Discovery Gardens, but is still a longer walk than from the Texas Discovery Gardens parking lot.
SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT:
No tripods. However, monopods are acceptable.
Telephoto Lens (A zoom adds flexibility, especially since we will be in a confined area with little room for zooming with our feet.)
Macro Lens for up-close and personal shots of butterflies and plants.
Extra Batteries and Memory Cards
Comfortable clothing. It can get humid and warm inside the butterfly building.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contact me if you have questions:
Tom Martin
HNP Field Trip Coordinator
469-261-3045
hollyfox07@gmail.com