Butterflies - part 1

[Dave Humphries]

This will be a two part series, as much to not present too many in one go for comment as anything else.

Part 2 is now here.

These were taken in April 2014 at a Butterfly place that sadly closed permanently just before Christmas 2015, so another visit is not feasible.

1. Atlas Moth

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 105mm, f/2.8 Macro lens; f/11, 1/250s, iso 1600, +1/3 EC, Aperture Priority (386-7681)
Hit Kbd F11 and click image to see at 1400px × 950px (recommended)

Note the translucent panels in the wings (the texture behind is visible through these).


2. Atlas Moth - close up of head

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 105mm, f/2.8 Macro lens; f/11, 1/160s, iso 1600, 0 EC, Aperture Priority (386-7805)
Hit Kbd F11 and click image to see at 1600px × 885px (recommended)

Not my finger.
We know where these are native, due to Brian's recent threads on them.


3. Blue Morpho - from the right

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 105mm, f/2.8 Macro lens; f/11, 1/75s, iso 1600, 0 EC, Aperture Priority (386-7641)
Hit Kbd F11 and click image to see at 1140px × 950px (recommended)


4. Blue Morpho - from the left

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 105mm, f/2.8 Macro lens; f/11, 1/250s, iso 1600, -2/3 EC, Aperture Priority (386-7661)
Hit Kbd F11 and click image to see at 1154px × 950px (recommended)

You might wonder about the name; the only hint is visible past the damaged wing above - unfortunately, they never seemed to perch or feed with their wings spread to reveal the fantastic blue colour while I was there. See Wikipedia


5. Owl Butterfly

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 105mm, f/2.8 Macro lens; f/11, 1/400s, iso 1600, +2/3 EC, Aperture Priority (386-7854)
Hit Kbd F11 and click image to see at 1273px × 950px (recommended)

I have several from the same angle, but not much variety.


6. Zebra Longwing

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 105mm, f/2.8 Macro lens; f/11, 1/320s, iso 1600, -1/3 EC, Aperture Priority (386-7798)
Hit Kbd F11 and click image to see at 1154px × 950px (recommended)


7. Zebra Longwing pair

Nikon D7100 + Nikon 105mm, f/2.8 Macro lens; f/11, 1/250s, iso 1600, +1 EC, Aperture Priority (386-7743)
Hit Kbd F11 and click image to see at 1154px × 950px (recommended)

Difficult shot against the light. I'm not sure I am happy with the colour temperature or exposure, given the rather bright and colourful background in the shot, I was trying retain the correct colours in the wing, but possibly I have stretched the range too far - that said, parts are black still, so perhaps the brown looking parts are actually passing light from the background through the wings.

Light was variable, so although I always had f/11 and ISO1600 set - I hadn't discovered Auto-ISO back then, the shutter speed ranged from 1/75 to 1/400s.


Part 2 will be mostly one species, of which I took several good ones, due to their abundance and calm nature.

Thanks for looking, Dave

[zkogut]

Very nice set. You managed to get a lot of clarity with that 105mm. I opted for the 85mm since I couldn't afford to go big at the time but I use extension tubes to get closer. I really like the second shot you took. Very up close and personal. I took a bunch of photos of Butterflies at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix AZ a few years ago and it was a lot of fun using my new D7100 at the time. How do you like your D7100?....personally my favorite camera.

My Butterfly set if you're interested in looking at it. https://flic.kr/s/aHsjXYqBGu

[ScoutR]

Hi Dave: these are all exceptional for detail and what I would describe as documentary photos. Makes me want to get that 105mm macro that I still don't have.

#7 The Zebra Longwing pair is just beautiful. To my mind this one goes beyond documentary into art. The lighting that gave you so much trouble helps with this (I think) but it's also the positioning of the butterflies and the delicate foliage that really make it stand out for me.

# 6 comes close, except of course for the top left right and bottom right corners.

Looking forward to seeing the next set.

[Wavelength]

superb images...just awesome

[Shadowman]

Nice series, 3, 4, and 6 are very vibrant. All nicely composed.

[DanK]

Very nice shots. I think the blue morphos and the first zebra longwing are the best.

Have you thought about using diffused flash? It takes care of most lighting problems.

Zak, you wrote this:

I opted for the 85mm since I couldn't afford to go big at the time but I use extension tubes to get closer.

A longer focal length allows you a greater working distance but the same magnification at minimum working distance (MWD). Extension tubes don't emulate this. They give you a greater magnification at MWD, but a decrease in MWD.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Zak,

Very nice set. You managed to get a lot of clarity with that 105mm. I opted for the 85mm since I couldn't afford to go big at the time but I use extension tubes to get closer. I really like the second shot you took. Very up close and personal. I took a bunch of photos of Butterflies at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix AZ a few years ago and it was a lot of fun using my new D7100 at the time. How do you like your D7100?....personally my favorite camera.

My Butterfly set if you're interested in looking at it. https://flic.kr/s/aHsjXYqBGu

To be honest, while the 105mm is a great lens; I got a lot of "clarity" from ACR (Clarity and Vibrance) and other PP techniques

Yes, I really like the D7100, with the exception of the small buffer (although it is better than my previous D5000) and the lack of a tilting LCD screen - so guess who's hoping to treat himself to a D500 for his 60th birthday in July
(as long as I become active again using the D7100 before then, to justify it)

Your butterflies set is good, although if I have one issue, it would be the flash apparently overwhelmed the ambient light and they are all brightly, but rather flatly lit, if you know what I mean.

I note you have several Julia's - that's mainly what my "Butterflies - part 2" thread will contain
(when I have processed them)

Thanks for the feedback, Dave

[Dave Humphries]

Good to hear from you Wendy,

Hi Dave: these are all exceptional for detail and what I would describe as documentary photos. Makes me want to get that 105mm macro that I still don't have.

#7 The Zebra Longwing pair is just beautiful. To my mind this one goes beyond documentary into art. The lighting that gave you so much trouble helps with this (I think) but it's also the positioning of the butterflies and the delicate foliage that really make it stand out for me.

# 6 comes close, except of course for the top left right and bottom right corners.

Looking forward to seeing the next set.

The 105mm is a great lens, not light, but it does the job and has VR which is handy for shooting these types of subject (necessarily handheld).

#7 Yes the foliage they were on is very nice, this is one where, in hindsight, I should have used flash to fill, even if only the pop-up.

#6 suffers having too much food crammed in to a smallish 'greenhouse' space, I was on my own, but if I'd had a helper, it might have been possible to hold something in the background to shoot this same angle, while hiding the food on the ground. I guess I could try cloning out the half orange, there's a fair bit of grey tile to replace it with - I could even do the banana. There were a couple of other single blooms on that lower edge which I did take out, and I almost did clone out the separate group of blooms in lower right corner but got lazy

I'll do the second set in the next day or so.

Thanks for your thoughts on these, Dave

[Brev00]

#4 for me. I like the different background sections. A bold display.

[TonyW]

These are amazingly sharp. The depth of field looks better than I would have expected and the detail of the heads and bodies is great. They make me want to go back and reprocess mine.

[NorthernFocus]

These are awesome, Dave. The perch and BG on the first one conflict with its coloration. But other than that I like them all. Excellent detail etc. Well done.

[Dave Humphries]

Nandakumar, John,

Many thanks for your encouragement.


Hi Dan,

~ Have you thought about using diffused flash? It takes care of most lighting problems.

All I have is on-camera, which is hardly diffuse - although as noted above, I wish I had used that to help with #7.

Something to consider for the future if I get one for the "Baby pics" series.

Thanks, Dave

[Dave Humphries]

#4 for me. I like the different background sections. A bold display.

Thanks Larry,

The blue is the leg of someone's denim jeans passing by


Hi Tony,

These are amazingly sharp. The depth of field looks better than I would have expected and the detail of the heads and bodies is great. They make me want to go back and reprocess mine.

Yes, I seemed to be stuck on f/11, I had quite a few where focus and DoF wasn't ideal.
I'm also quite adept at making the most of LCE/clarity and sharpening, all of which contribute, although having shot at ISO 1600 meant they needed noise reduction and even after that, I couldn't sharpen too much for fear of making the backgrounds noisy, but I did use Smart Sharpen in PS, which helps avoid that.


Hi Dan,

These are awesome, Dave. The perch and BG on the first one conflict with its coloration. But other than that I like them all. Excellent detail etc. Well done.

Yes, the trunk and moth were in quite a dimly lit area compared to the background, which pretty much blew out.

Many thanks.


It is a shame I didn't show these a year or two earlier, I'd have been encouraged to return and shoot more before the place closed.

Cheers all, Dave

[JBW]

Hi Dave, with all of the talk about DoF and macro versus closeup these shots bring home the discussion for me.

I noticed that in your first shot you suffered from my greatest problem. You missed the moth and focused on the bg (by accident).

Number 2 gives me something to aim for when my lenses get here.

I think all of Butterflies you shot can be found in our garden. Once the new lenses get here I will hopefully be able to capture some of them.

I agree with the overpowering flash. One of the reasons I usually shoot in natural light. I end up with a little more grain sometimes but I don't mind.

I know you didn't shoot these to educate me but you certainly have, thanks
Brian

[rpcrowe]

Hi Dave,

As an aside, I am going to visit a butterfly exhibit at the San Diego Safari Park (AKA: San Diego Wild Animal Park).

I had a problem with the last time I visited the exhibit. The morning was quite chilly (about 50 F. or 10 C.) and my camera and lens got pretty cold as I walked from the gate of the park to the Butterfly enclosure which is kept warm and humid (about 90 F. or 32 C.).

As soon as my lens hit the warm moist air, the front element fogged up. I was using a 90mm Tamron Macro Lens and the front element is recessed deep into the lens barrel and was very difficult to get clear. By the time it finally cleared up, the general public was entering the enclosure and the crowds made it quite difficult to shoot.

This time, as I walk from the gate to the butterfly enclosure, I will keep my camera/lens beneath my jacket so that it doesn't get cold. I am also going to use my Canon 5D2 because of the wider field of view at any given shooting distance. I will post some of my shots...

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Brian,

I noticed that in your first shot you suffered from my greatest problem. You missed the moth and focused on the bg (by accident).

Oooh, payback
(I jest)

In my Nikon ViewNX2 software, I can see now that the focus point is actually on the junction of body and right wing, but due to the angles of the wings relative to that and the 'trunk' behind and distances and global sharpening applied, it does seem that is the sharpest area. Sure I could have made better use of the DoF, ideally I would have shot 'squarer on' to the moth, but there was something in the way and this was as good an angle of capture as I could get.

I agree with the overpowering flash. One of the reasons I usually shoot in natural light. I end up with a little more grain sometimes but I don't mind.

Yes, we're on the same page there, although I am going to experiment when I have a flash and am next somewhere suitable.

I know you didn't shoot these to educate me but you certainly have, thanks

True, but I did include the shooting data with you firmly in mind, the difference between my 105mm and the 90mm Macro lens you are buyng is minimal - and we are both shooting with 1.5 crop sensors of about the same age, so my results should be quite transferable to you. That said, the butterfly house is laid out with food to attract them to places convenient for visitors and I didn't have to go down in to a concrete rainwater gully as I think you did for one of your Atlas moth shots - also, there are lots of butterflies in a quite small enclosed space (hence no wind), when I think of trying to shoot them in my garden - that's far more difficult (read: almost impossible).

I think all of Butterflies you shot can be found in our garden. Once the new lenses get here I will hopefully be able to capture some of them.

Amazing - and I look forward to seeing them in due course.

Cheers, Dave

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Richard,

As soon as my lens hit the warm moist air, the front element fogged up. I was using a 90mm Tamron Macro Lens and the front element is recessed deep into the lens barrel and was very difficult to get clear. By the time it finally cleared up, the general public was entering the enclosure and the crowds made it quite difficult to shoot.

Yes, I did that my first time

This time, as I walk from the gate to the butterfly enclosure, I will keep my camera/lens beneath my jacket so that it doesn't get cold. I am also going to use my Canon 5D2 because of the wider field of view at any given shooting distance. I will post some of my shots...

Yes, I now keep my camera and lens inside my jacket for that reason too.

I haven't tried this, but you could fit a filter temporarily to the front of the lens, trapping warm air adjacent to the front element, then when you go in, it will fog, but can be removed for shooting much sooner.

One butterfly house I visited had one of those hot air hand driers (like found in public toilets/restrooms) for demisting visitors glasses/spectacles - which is another problem I had. Again, a spare pair, kept somewhere warm and put on once inside, helps.

I did wave the lens under that at a distance of 18 inches/50cm to warm it gently and demist it quicker - just don't get too close.

Then turn camera round and demist the viewfinder too
Although that's easy to wipe with a microfibre cloth to dry off.

Good luck with your visit, Dave

[bnnrcn]

All very nice shots but 3,4 and 6 are really beautiful

[Dave Humphries]

Part 2 is now available here.

Part 3 is now available here.

Thanks, Dave

[IzzieK]

Sorry to be late to this post and I have not bothered to read the other responses because I have been looking at this butterfly offline for three days and can't get to it due to my being so busy trying to photograph and plan to photograph my P52. There! I've said it. Tonight I will not respond to any of my post yet but I will try to play catch up with the links I had saved for two days...so here goes...

1 This is a good shot. I've seen this moth before, I think this was the first one I was looking at when my then grandmother said not to touch this because if I put my finger to my eyes, I will be blind.

2 This is my favourite. It has that wicked expression on it's face. 'Makes me smile.

3 Blue Morpho -- very sharp. I'd love to feel the tickle of its feet on my hands.

4 He's looking back at you, Dave. I think this one is a lady one, look at the sexy, coy look she has for you.

5 Wow! what is it feeding on? 'Must be sweet....looks sweet.

6 Again another sweet presentation there.

7 Did you tell this couple to find a room somewhere?

OK...all right...all are very good shots if you ask me...
Izzie