My Peackock Fireworks Photo (not the one shown here) has been selected for Photo of the Day on 2/5/08. It'll cycling every few minutes in Times Square that day and will be showing on Kodak.com in the photo of the day section every few minutes.

This photo wasn't selected by Dreamstime, but its good enough for Times Square... LOL!

Link to Peacock Fireworks Photo

If that link doesn't work, just go to www.naturalphotos.org, go to the gallery and search for Peacock Fireworks.

I can't tell you how excited I am about this.

I get a lot of people asking me how I manage to get the butterflies to sit still or to stay on a particular flower. I do have a couple of tips and look for more to share.

Time of Day - As with most photography, early morning has not only the best light, but often lower tempratures. Cooler weather has the butterflies sitting still longer trying to capture the heat. They prefer sunlight.

Weather - Cooler weather as I said helps. Also, just after the rain is a good time. They like to let their wings and will leave them more open at this point.

Food Source - Find a stand of flowers that attracts the species you prefer. Spray them lightly with a sugar water solution. If the species you like prefers fruit like mango, spray with a mixture of water and that juice....

I've been asked where I get so many different flowers to photograph. I thought I'd share some tips on the subject and I hope others will share theirs.

Locations - Not everyone lives in a warm climate, but that doesn't mean you can't get some great shots. Look in your area to see if there are any plant nurseries, hot houses, green houses, botanical gardens, etc. A lot of my shots come from Lowe's and Wal-Mart. If you ask the manager of the store, most of the time they are not only happy to let you take pictures of their plants, some will even help you find the best ones or hold them up for you to get a great shot. I have agreements with several local places. They let me take photos and I give them a few of the files for their advertising. One even calls me everytime ...

Most people don't photograph alligators in the wild. They go to zoos or theme parks (like the one where this one was taken). I'm blessed with the opportunity to live very near some of these dangerous creatures. This is NOT the time to use tripods. They are typically found near the water.

For every one that you see sunning themselves on the bank, there is at least one hidden from view in the water or vegetation nearby. In the area where I live in Florida, it's not highly populated and the alligators are not used to tourists coming by to photograph them.

Most of the time I take the photos from the hood of my car or from inside. For the ones that I'm familiar with, I'll sometimes get out and (staying at a safe distance) photograph ...