Pipevine swallowtail

[D. Robert Franz]

Now that the judging for the ICF Pro Tour Contest is done I feel free to post more images taken during the month long event..

Here I photographed a pipevine swallowtail on a thistle.

Canon Eos 5D, EF180 mm F3.5 macro, Manual expousre balanced to BG, ISO 200, 1/160 @ F11

[Julie Kenward]

What could possibly be wrong with this? Maybe a little darker on the black wings of the butterfly? Other than that, I love it. Your DOF, compo, everything is spot on.

(All of these butterfly photos are making me anxious for the butterfly festival at our local botanical garden next month!) :D:D:D

[Robert Amoruso]

Works well for me. Not knowing the species cannot comment on the darkness of the wings though.

[Alfred Forns]

Just perfect for me Dale !!!

The perch is beautiful, got a stunning green bg and just the right placement for the bfly !!! love seeing the entire bug in focus with dof !!! Big Congrats !!!

[Bill Whitney]

Fantastic image!!!! BG is nice providing wonderful pop to the bfly and thistle. I might be tempted to make the stray piece on the stem disappear.

[Gus Cobos]

Fantastic image and composition. The colors on the wings are fantastic and the details are razor sharp. Love the color of the flower and the soft pale green background. congrats...:cool:

[Fabs Forns]

Ir works great for me as presented. Great light and BG too.

[Steve Foss]

Smashing! What they all said, plus more!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Nothing wrong with this one from my end. Everything right on!

[Ed Vatza]

Excellent composition. Thistle makes a wonderful perch for butterflies and birds. (I was watching some yesterday but didn't make any images.) I agree with Julie on the blacks. And it may be my monitor but the thistle color looks off just slightly - at least from the thistle I am used to seeing around here. It looks a tad to purplish. But again that may be my monitor. Overall, an excellent image methinks.

[John Cooper]

Exqusite is the only word I can find to describe this capture - love it!!!
Note that your camera/lens combination here is identical to my own - excellent choice ;)

[Mike Moats]

Hey Robert, I think you hit it out of the park with this one. Good luck on the ICF contest. A similar contest is forming here in Michigan for next year.