Butterfly time in Michigan

[Randy Stout]

Each year the local conservatory has a butterfly event for two months. Shooting conditions are challenging, between crowds, no tripods, dark Michigan weather, but it was a good day yesterday as Roy and I spent a few hours working them. Pretty good selection of species to work with, some very solid individuals, some quite beat up, esp. the blue morphs's for some reason.

D500 70-180mm Nikkor, 130mm f/8 1,160s ISO 1000. R1C1 flash

Artificial background, courtesy of Roy.

Post: Slight crop for comp, cleaned up a few rough spots in the background. Selective sharpening

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Thanks for sharing. I really like the composition.

Can you let me know your thoughts on 70-180 Macro Lens from Nikon.

I am thinking of buying one from ebay.

[Randy Stout]

Krishna:

Thanks for the comment.

re: 70-180 Micro Nikkor. I have found it to be a very useful lens for the butterfly work I do. It isn't quite as sharp as my 180 Sigma, but the flexibility to zoom is really valuable, and I often take a series of shots at different focal lengths, and then choose the one with best composition later. It is also a bit lighter, which is a plus when forced to shoot handheld. They seem to hold their value well, so certainly worth a trial in my opinion. The zoom ring can be a bit sticky, so ask about that when considering one. Not a major issue, but something to be aware of.

Cheers

Randy

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely image Randy, exposure looks excellent, good DOF, maybe just a tiny little more would have gotten the antenna tip in (?). I like the background, it looks natural/believable.

[Steve Maxson]

That background works really well, Randy! The image is well composed and you have a nice specimen giving you a classic pose. Good overall sharpness on your subject. Very nicely done! :S3: