The usual subjects for keen nature photographer Jeanette Nee are New Zealand falcons and hawks at her Ohauiti farm.
But a last-minute decision to enter an image of a monarch butterfly has seen her named a finalist in the wildlife section of the NZ Geographic Photographer of the Year Awards.
Mrs Nee, 72, said when a friend mentioned that monarch butterflies were gathering at Te Puna Quarry Park during the Christmas break, she had grabbed her camera and rushed to the park.
![A snap by nature photographer Jeanette Nee of a monarch butterfly sitting on datura plant has made the finals of the NZ Geographic Photographer of the Year Awards. Photo / Andrew Warner](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/7UP2EG5CBOPAJBW43Y2BLWO7VE.jpg?auth=24ffe38f0bc924f09ab1446e802e68a7848e77f5b1c69f39ed148307186fa82e&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Mrs Nee said it was a cloudy backlit day when she photographed a monarch sitting on a datura plant, which has trumpet-shaped flowers, and using a shallow depth-of-field it enabled her to produce a neutral backdrop to the minimalist image.