Butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptera. This name means “scale-wing” in Latin and refers to the scale cell structures found on butterfly wings. I had read about butterfly scales and thought about trying to photograph this beautiful feature of their design.

My opportunity came when I noticed the wing of a fallen butterfly on the street side and brought it home.  By window light I photographed the piece of wing laying on a  piece of black paper with my compact digital camera.

When I look I look at this picture, it feels as though I am gazing at the stars of the midnight sky.

The abilities of common compact digital cameras constantly amaze me. This shot was easily taken without any special equipment. I first took several shots then removed the memory card to review the images on my home computer. After a couple tries I found what I was looking for.

I am not sure if this is technically called macro photography or close-up photography, but either way, the macro feature on most of today's compact digital cameras gives the casual photographer access to a miniature world that was previously not accessible.