2017 Project 52 - 3rd QTR - Sandy(Skitterbug)

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[skitterbug]

Thank you John!

[skitterbug]

I have one more pic that I want to post for this week(31). But of course I have a story to tell first! I've been trying to get a decent pic of at least one of the crop dusters that have been working in the fields all around us. Trying to capture a shot that isn't facing the sun, or having the settings set correct, or ... well whatever else could go wrong, has happened. But I finally did get a few that I think will work! I'll probably try PP on the results that I have the rest of this week and hope to post something interesting by next week. But in the meantime, I found another flyer that I've not seen before or maybe haven't noticed. Searching for information about butterflies of Ohio, I finally decided that maybe this one is a Question Mark Butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). If I've misidentified it, someone please let me know!

The settings that I used are these: ISO400 - f/5.6 - 1/500ss

[Urbanflyer]

Nicely done! Might consider darkening the wood just a tad in its lighter areas. I like the framing. He/She has room to fly off if desired!

[skitterbug]

Nicely done! Might consider darkening the wood just a tad in its lighter areas. I like the framing. He/She has room to fly off if desired!

Hi Judith ~ Thank you for your ideas and comments!

[Geoff F]

Basically OK, Sandy.

I think I would crop fractionally tighter on the right side and bottom to reduce the dominance of that post, but only slightly, don't overdo it.

Maybe darken the post a little but I wouldn't worry too much if it causes any problems.

Exposure is good.

From this angle, the wings are of unequal size and the far wing is getting soft at the tip; but I find that doing it this way, with the biggest wing to the front, works well enough and gives a bit of perspective effect to the scene. Having an angle which gives an apparent smaller wing as the closest, always looks wrong to me.

So yes, a tricky subject well photographed.

[skitterbug]

Basically OK, Sandy.

I think I would crop fractionally tighter on the right side and bottom to reduce the dominance of that post, but only slightly, don't overdo it.

Maybe darken the post a little but I wouldn't worry too much if it causes any problems.

Exposure is good.

From this angle, the wings are of unequal size and the far wing is getting soft at the tip; but I find that doing it this way, with the biggest wing to the front, works well enough and gives a bit of perspective effect to the scene. Having an angle which gives an apparent smaller wing as the closest, always looks wrong to me.

So yes, a tricky subject well photographed.

Hi Geoff ~ First, thank you for the kind words "tricky subject well photographed". You lifted my spirits today!

I decided to give your ideas and Judith's a try and see what came of it. I worked on it in Affinity Photo and finally took it into Snapheal to touch up some sloppiness on my part. I've cropped a bit more and tried to darken the post without it seeming "fake".

I hadn't really thought much about how the butterfly was sitting, only that his wings were open! So many times, they will land and then fold their wings shut. They don't cooperate very well most of the time. But you've given me some info to consider the next time I try photographing one. I appreciate the knowledge!

So here is what I came up with. It appears TinyPic is still down and out so I used Flickr again.

[Urbanflyer]

Nicely done! Do you have sharpening tools available?

[skitterbug]

Nicely done! Do you have sharpening tools available?

Checking Affinity Photo's help documentation.....hummm, it says there is a "Sharpen Brush tool". Nope, I've never used it! I can hunt for a tutorial about it, but what do you think I should do with it for this pic?

[skitterbug]

Hi Judith ~ Found some info about using that tool and gave it a whirl. Hopefully, I didn't overdo it. If I did, I can tone it down but now I know a bit more about my application and how to use it. I figured you meant for me to sharpen the butterfly.....

So here's my go at it!

[Urbanflyer]

Subtle but noticeable improvement!

[skitterbug]

Subtle but noticeable improvement!

Hi Judith ~ Thank you for the extra "push". I learned a couple of new techniques today. Darkening the wood which was a bit trickier and then using a sharpening tool. You, Binnur and Geoff and the great CiC group are keeping me on the "straight and narrow"! Thank you!

[Wavelength]

A really beautiful butterfly

[skitterbug]

A really beautiful butterfly

Thank you for your praise, Nandakumar! Missed you in CiC the last couple of days!

[Wavelength]

Thank you very much Sandy; It is fever all over Kerala... me too fell one victim; slowly recovering

[skitterbug]

Thank you very much Sandy; It is fever all over Kerala... me too fell one victim; slowly recovering

You are in my thoughts! Hope you recover quickly!

[John 2]

The cropped and sharpened image is excellent Sandy. I rarely get away without some subtle sharpening. It's worth getting to know how to use that sharpening tool.

[Wavelength]

Sandy, thank you very much

[skitterbug]

The cropped and sharpened image is excellent Sandy. I rarely get away without some subtle sharpening. It's worth getting to know how to use that sharpening tool.

Thank you for the praise John! I am still referring to directions to use that tool! (....which step to do first, what to click next, etc.) but if I play with it enough it ought to become familiar to me. The next step will be learning to resist the urge to over sharpen a pic! LOL

[joebranko]

Beautiful capture of the butterfly. Looks very sharp to me, particularly the antennae. How was the green background created?