Butterfly #2

[Steve S]

Are you getting tired of these yet..............

[Donald]

Are you getting tired of these yet..............

No. Keep 'em coming. I enjoy looking at quality.

[maloufn]

Steve that is a beautiful butterly. Well done. Ill post a few of mine. Caught with a 70-200 Lcanon USM non IS hand held. Not as nice as yours Steve.

Nasseem

[maloufn]

Another butterfly. C& C please.

[mythlady]

Here's one I recently took:

[Sahil]

Leopard Butterfly..

[Steve S]

Great job guys. I've alway found butterfly's to be very difficult to shoot. Partly because they never sit still, and partly because of a good composition. It is very hard to isolate them from the background. I find it best to set up on an isolated flower and wait for one to land , instead of following them around and trying to get a good shot. Here is another one i like................ Keep them coming!!

[maloufn]

Nice work guys.

Nasseem

[DippyRebel]

Your first shot here Steve is a really nice one. You've worked with the focal plane to ensure that both wingtips are pretty much in focus and the butterfly is nicely isolated from the background. Waiting for them to alight on an isolated flower in order to reduce background clutter is a good strategy to use. Remembering to choose a flower that isn't a bit dog-eared, though, is something I often let slip - and then kick myself when I look through the shots later as I find it distracts from the butterfly.

I find that butterflies that rest with either wings held flat or held upright together are quite a bit easier to shoot and get alignment right - but those like skippers (and that pretty orange one of Sahil's in post #6) that hold them at an angle are a bit of a nightmare when working with a shallow depth of field. Skippers do look good head-on, though!

[DippyRebel]

This is one of mine where I quite liked the butterfly, but the flower isn't that great:




PS. Keep the butterflies coming - I love to see them.

[Alison Wong]

Steve,
Wow~ Your work is stunning!
Do I need a macro lens + flash to make such kind of picture?
Tnx.

[Steve S]

Steve,
Wow~ Your work is stunning!
Do I need a macro lens + flash to make such kind of picture?
Tnx.

No.................these were all shot handheld---available light (no flash, and softer light of early morning or evening)---canon 300 f/4L lens. The 300 f/4 has a magnification ratio of 0.24, which is good for light macro work . If you find that your lens won't allow you to get close enough, you could put an extention tube on it. Very inexpensive and will allow you to boost the magnification ratio of your lens. Go to the website SLR Gear and look up your lens. Click on specifications and you will see the magnification ratio and closest focus distance.

[Alison Wong]

I'm now using a Nikkor 16-85mm zoom, definitely too short. I'll learn more about extention tube. Thanks alot Steve

[Fit]

The notion of you doing these hand-held... plus waiting around for the butterfly... I have this very zen image of you sitting for several hours waiting for "the shot".

[ScoutR]

Another butterfly. C& C please.

Hi Nasseem: This is a beautiful composition, but to my eye and on my screen it looks quite bright and oversaturated. Unfortunately some of the highlights are blown also. I'm not sure if it could be toned down with PP, but perhaps toning it down and purposely giving it a soft focus look might be worth a try

Wendy

[ScoutR]

Who could ever get tired of butterflies? These shots are all so good and so hard to do. I love the out of focus background that most of you have been able to manage. Excellents shots, Hope to see more.

Wendy

[ScoutR]

This is one of mine where I quite liked the butterfly, but the flower isn't that great:




PS. Keep the butterflies coming - I love to see them.

Hi Rachel: I quite like the whole whole shot - background, butterfly, composition, even the flower get full marks. Excellent shot.

Wendy

[ScoutR]

Another beauty. I tried shooting a similar type butterfly last fall. These guys do not sit still for a millisecond. This is such a beautiful shot in all respects and I can imagine how difficult it must have been waiting for it to sit still.

Wendy

[ScoutR]

Here's one I recently took:

Love it Elise, it's kind of neat the way the leaf frame the monarch, and the backgound is just out of focus enough to give some context without being distracting

Wendy

[mythlady]

The notion of you doing these hand-held... plus waiting around for the butterfly... I have this very zen image of you sitting for several hours waiting for "the shot".

Here's me focused on a flower, waiting for the monarch butterfly that never came --