Imaging Brazil 376: Cat on Park Bench in Belo Horizonte MG (2012)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

376: Cat on park bench

During my ten years in Belo Horizonte, I’ve spent a lot of time in Parque Municipal, the century-old city park in the heart of the capital of Minas Gerais. I was often found in the butterfly garden, in order to photograph the colorful flowers and the graciously hovering butterflies. Or I was sitting along the pond, observing the waterbirds and the people passing by. Sometimes, I sat on a bench, reading a book. On such an occasion, a big black-and-white approached me and jumped on the bench. He strided towards me and settled himself down next to me. He allowed me to stroke his head and ears. Obviously, one of his ears had a big hole in the middle. I was wondering about what might have caused this big hole, but I still have no clear explanation. 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2012, 2017

Advertisement

Imaging Brazil 364: Wood in detail in Belo Horizonte, MG (2012)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

364: Wood in detail

Parque Municipal (Urban Park) in Belo Horizonte attracts many visitors that like to spend their lunch hour wandering along the ponds, to enjoy the amusement park, to watch the little monkeys that can crawl and swing on tree branches above your head, to see the colorful flowers and beautiful butterflies in the butterfly garden. There are many big trees in the park, and it is no wonder that from time to time, some trees have to be cut because of their advanced age and of the possible danger that they can collapse. The tree stems are then dried in open air, and eventually carved into elegant benches. The picture shows the core of such a giant tree stem. It is not hard to see that this tree must have suffered much during drastic climate changes: from extreme rainfall and hot temperatures to extreme drought and colder temperatures. 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2012, 2017

Imaging Brazil 348: Glasswing Greta Oto Butterfly in Belo Horizonte, MG

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

348: Transparent wings

This butterfly may be a general appearance in the parks in Belo Horizonte, it does not occur in the wild in the immediate vicinity. The Greta Oto is mainly found in tropical rain forests, where the flowers grow from which the butterfly lives. It looks like a fragile insect, but this butterfly is pretty strong. It can carry a multiple of its own weight and can travel about ten kilometers a day. The wings are transparent, and that is unique in the animal world. Some aquatic animals such as jellyfish are transparent, but on land and in the air it is very rare to observe transparent animals. The light is not absorbed by the wings and is also not reflected. Thanks to a not fully understood microstructure, light is bent in such a way that our eyes recognize it as transparent. In this way, this butterfly can protect itself against its predators.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 346: White Calla Lily with Yellow Stamen in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

346: White calla lily

This beautiful, creamy white calla lily was found in Parque Municipal in Belo Horizonte. These lilies are originally from Southern Africa, and are very popular among florists. They are strong plants with arrow-shaped leaves and a trumpet-shaped flower. By far the most well-known are the creamy white flowers, but there are also orange, green, yellow, pink, purple, light blue and dark red variants. The creamy white flowers are often associated with wedding bouquets and religious celebrations, symbolizing purity, rebirth and hope.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 343: Red and Yellow Heliconia Plant in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

343: Heliconia plant

Heliconia plants are quite common in Brazil, especially in ornamental gardens and urban parks. This is how I met this heliconia plant at the Parque Municipal (urban park) in Belo Horizonte. The plant is family of the banana, and is named after the Helicon mountain (where the muses lived) in Greek mythology. The large, yellow and red, hanging bracts hide the flowers, which are very popular among the hummingbirds. Because of the difficult accessibility of the flowers, the plant is very dependent on these hummingbirds for the pollination. The plant also stores water and is loved in this way by a number of insects, including mosquitoes. As the Helicon mountain offered much inspiration to poets, this colorful heliconia plant offered me inspiration for this photo.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 333: Maria-Boba Butterfly in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

333: Butterfly and blue flowers

I found this butterfly in the butterfly garden of Parque Municipal in Belo Horizonte. Using Google, it was fairly easy to find out that this butterfly is called a maria-boba (‘Crazy Mary’). The scientific name is Heliconius ethilla narcaea, described by Godart in Rio de Janeiro in 1819. This butterfly species is quite common, from Panama to the extreme south of Brazil. It flies quite slowly, but it doesn’t need to be really afraid of hunters: they are poisonous for their predators. You will find this flutter mainly in the passionflower bushes, but other colorful (mainly red) flowers also attract its attention, including the blue flowers in the photo.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 329: Shoal of Fish in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

329: Shoal of fish

In weekends, I used to wander around in the center of Belo Horizonte, and paid a visit to one of the municipal parks. The nearest municipal park is Parque Municipal Américo Renné Giannetti, which is located at the Afonso Pena Avenue. My favorite locations in this park were the Butterfly Garden, where you could meet a collection of colorful flowers that attracted some dozens of butterflies of various sizes, shapes and colors. Another favorite spot of mine was the pond that hosts certain water bird species and some fish species. When you take a closer look in the water, you can observe the big, colorful koi carps. Smaller, and less colorful fish are seen on the photograph. A large shoal of grayish-brown fish of different sizes and age. The younger fish have big heads and big eyes. They must be searching desperately for oxygen or for some food.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 320: Pink Flowers in Parque Municipal in Belo Horizonte, MG (2011)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

320: Pink flowers

During the weekends, I was regularly found in the center of Belo Horizonte. Sometimes I visited the versatile Mercado Central on Saturday, or the cozy open air market Feira Hippie on Sunday morning, followed by a visit to Parque Municipal, the city park. A butterfly park was recently opened there, and various types of butterflies actually came across the colorful and fragrant flowers. Even in the absence of butterflies, it was very pleasant to wander around in the colored beds of various flowers. With my camera in hand. As a result, this beautiful flower with an intense pink color was pictured.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 294: Red Coral Tree Flowers in Belo Horizonte, MG (2010)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

294: Erythrina speciosa tree

Erythrina speciosa, known as the coral tree, is common in southeastern Brazil. These shrubs are popular in the city parks, as I have seen in Parque Municipal in Belo Horizonte. This striking shrub is also located along the banks of Lake Pampulha. In winter, the shrubs lose their leafs while the red flowers bloom. The result is a red-dominated shrub, a beloved spot for hummingbirds. With their tall, slender beak, the hummingbirds manage to extract the sweet nectar, while they hover in the sky.

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

IMAGES OF BRAZIL: SELEXION 2011 – 016

A selection of photographs taken in Brazil in 2011.

Part 16:
Belo Horizonte (MG) – Heliconia rostrata flower
Belo Horizonte (MG) – Butterfly and blue flowers
Belo Horizonte (MG) – Butterfly

Belo Horizonte (MG) – Heliconia rostrata flower

Belo Horizonte (MG) – Butterfly and blue flowers

Belo Horizonte (MG) – Butterfly

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2011, 2017

Imaging Brazil 262: Bee on Yellow Flower in Belo Horizonte, MG (2010)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

262: Bee on yellow flower

One of my favorite places in Belo Horizonte is Parque Municipal (Municipal Park), which is located along Avenida Afonso Pena. The official name for this park is Parque Americo Renne Giannetti, and counts 182 thousand square meters. The park, designed in the romantic English style, has the same age as the city, more than 110 years. In the park you might get a chance to observe little monkeys, but also a rich diversity of butterflies and other insects, including bees. They are mainly attracted by many colorful flowers in the so-called butterfly garden.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017

Imaging Brazil 018: Capoeira in Belo Horizonte, MG (2005)

A personal selection of photographs with their stories.

018. Capoeira

JUNE 2005: Capoeira

Back in Belo Horizonte, I encountered a group of capoeira dancers in Parque Municipal (Municipal Park). The dancers were accompanied by typical music instruments, among which the berimbau. One by one, the dancers entered the circle to challenge their friends already dancing in the circle. The audience clearly enjoyed their acrobatic and rhythmic performances. I was amazed to watch a teenager dancing with the same acrobatic skills as his adult opponents.

 

© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2005, 2014