Cloudless Sulfer

[LindaHarden]

D700, Sigma 150mm and SB700 flash.... ISO 400, 1/250s, F16, -.3 EV
These fly around my yard but are usually not still for a moment. I saw this and took a couple shots... using F16 to try and get the wings totally in focus. I thought I had a flat plane to the butterfly but maybe it is how the body narrows that makes it seem slightly facing away.. thoughts? Did I miss?
In Post (NX2), after I set the black and white points, the background was very dark so I went with that and made it as black as I could get it taking out several leaves in the background. Thanks for looking.


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4683wn8wwl0/UFYz2fZsCxI/AAAAAAAAAIM/ffvZk99Esqs/s800/DSC_0004%2520D700%2520cloudless%2520sulfer%25203_0 1.JPG

[Jonathan Ashton]

The butterfly is well exposed, it looks similar to our Brimstone butterfly. The black background certainly shows the butterfly off and as you indicate it is clear of distractions. Black backgrounds for day flying insects can look good or not so good I think it is a matter of personal preference.. your depth of field is good, the antenna appears just a tad out of focus. Did you use a tripod or monopod or was it hand held.? If a tripod had been used maybe you could have got almost perfectly perpendicular to the butterfly and used say f11 and I suspect the butterfly would have had that tiny little more detail. The antenna of course may not have been in the same plane as the wing and depending upon how far out it was then f11 or f16 would have never got it into perfect focus. I think you have a very nice image there and I am just wondering if you could have teased a little more detail out of the head area.

[LindaHarden]

Thanks Jonathon. I was hand-holding and I think I might have been slightly off the plane which probably is just going to take me more practice... with or without a tripod.
I am beginning to realize that the lens VR doesn't replace the benefits of a tripod for getting the tiniest details. I am going to have to upgrade my very old and cheap tripod and I hope to show some photos using tripod within a couple of months.

[Dave Leroy]

I think it is a lovely photo and the contrasting colors/bg really add to the look. It is hard for me to tell if the butterfly is square or not but the wings looks very sharp and in focus. A 100% look at the eyes would be a good indicator. Nice composition as well.