Giant Swallowtail

[Steve Maxson]

This cooperative Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) was photographed at a butterfly farm in Florida. Fortunately, it was overcast and I was allowed to use a tripod. 1D 4, 70-300 mm L at 230 mm, 1/60, f/8, ISO 400, live-view focus on the eyes, tripod, mirror lock, cable release, natural light. I removed an OOF plant from the background, cloned over some worn spots on the wings, and ran nr on the background. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[Adrian David]

Magnificent species!!! Absolute gorgeous. Excellent sharpness and exposure.

[Melvin Grey]

Excellent overall sharpness and great detail in the dark wing areas. Quality to aim for!!!!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice indeed Steve, I like the composition and the colours, the right wing tip is just a tad OOF or was this where you have been cloning? It is unfortunate the leaf directly behind the lower wing tip is there, other than that a really fine shot.

[Jerry van Dijk]

This is very well done Steve, right on all points! My only critique has been pointed out by Jon already: the crossing of the wing tail with the leaf.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

Very nice indeed, and a lovely, well lighted background. The red at top adds a nice punch of color.

What would you say is your most commonly use aperture for butterflies? I have been all over the place, tending towards f/11 or so now, but curious what your experience has been.

Randy

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks for the comments folks!

Jon: You are right about the right wing tip - it was outside the DOF at f/8 - I did some extra selective sharpening there to make it look a little better than it did originally.

Randy: I don't think I can say that I have a favorite aperture for butterflies. I looked over some of my recent shots - in some cases f/4.5 was fine and in others f/16 was not enough. I think one needs to evaluate this on a case by case basis depending on the orientation of the butterfly, how far away it is, and the background. Ideally, if you have a cooperative subject (not always the case with butterflies), you could do some experimenting in the field. This is an area where I'm still in a learning mode. :S3: