Beyond the Light

‘Life feels extremely purposeful, Colors are vivid. There’s a faith pulling me towards a room that feels new. A feeling I haven’t felt in over a decade: That the next moments of my life have been predated by my intention, and are currently in flight with my intuition.’

This is what I wrote the same week I took this photo in 2013 with my grandmothers 35mm film camera. I was twenty-two years old and studying abroad in Costa Rica.

Looking back, the idea of capturing a creature that is usually in motion, on an archaic piece of technology, is nothing short of magic. Truly a glimmer in time- frozen in dramatic lighting (and completely unedited I must add). A photo that still makes me hold my breath when I look at it, just like I did when I took it, as if not to upset the butterfly and loose my chance to bask in its color.

The Blue Morpho Butterfly is one of the worlds largest butterfly species and can be found in Central and South America. Some say that pilots can see the radiant shade of blue from the sky. But like all gods creatures, there is a more complicated algorithm that lays underneath a vision of beauty that seems effortless. Because ironically, The Blue Morpho is not even blue at all. The butterfly gets its blue appearance by the way the scales on the insect reflect light. These microscopic scales are diamond shaped and when the sun hits them they create an iridescent optical illusion, leaving its viewers in awe of a radiant pool of blue.

It’s scales that create an iridescent magic trick have even inspired scientific technologies: A Canadian company called Nanotech Security Corp have used the species light reflecting capabilities as a way to create unique bank notes in an attempt to stop counterfeit. Solar companies have used studies on the species light absorbing properties to create technology to enhance their product’s efficiency. And I think it goes without saying that the iridescent phenomena in the butterfly has even inspired cosmetic, fabric, and jewelry makers as well.

A scientific and artistic muse, the Morpho is a shapeshifter, a beautiful deceiver- even the species name Morpho comes from the butterflies ability to change shape while in flight. Switching from dark red and brown to an intoxicating shimmering blue. Being able to capture this rare yet inspiring creature, in a moment of complex scientific phenomena guised as an ethereal beam of color- reminds me of a quote from my favorite book, 100 Years of Solitude: “Finding God in a Daguerrotype”.

In the book that takes place in a mythical town in Central America, the main character is baffled by technology that is being introduced to his town that was previously untouched from the modern world. When he comes across a camera for the first time ever, he is fascinated by the way the film absorbs light, and is convinced that if he leaves the exposure open, he will be able to catch an image of god in a daguerrotype. —The chance of light hitting perfectly, and being able to hold onto it through a film negative’s emulsion— like i stated earlier, is nothing short of scientific magic.

The image of this happenstance moment of stillness in the butterfly, I hope reminds the viewer that time that is fleeting- and that the desire to freeze those moments are innately human. I hope that in reading about the magic in The Blue Morpho Butterfly one can see that there truly is a fine line between art, science, and life. The Blue Morpho Butterfly- their wings that have inspired scientific technologies, should be used as a reminder that without nature, we would be nowhere in the advancement of civilization. If life imitates art, technology mimics phenomena found in the natural world. Learning about and preserving beautiful creatures insures a world with infinite possibilites for expansion.