10 years ago my Dad and I went adventuring in Costa Rica, fueled by my love of butterflies. While spending hours in a butterfly conservatory, I was determined to capture the perfect photo of my most favorite creature, the vivid Blue Morpho Butterfly. To my dismay, the little punks would constantly close their wings just at the moment I snapped the photo, revealing a less exciting dull brown color with many eyespots for camo. Not the magic photos are made of. It took me over 100 tries to finally catch him in his blue iridescent glory.

Getting comfortable with the dull brown spots in our day makes the catch of something vivid and beautiful so much more thrilling.