butterfly

[mikedelaney]

canon 40D
sigma 70mm macro
f 6.3
1/80 s.
ISO 500


i took out one of these orange sprouts on the right hand side but was a fraid to take all out because it would make a drab picture. should i have taken it all out, it adds soome balance.

[Anita Rakestraw]

Hey, Mike, the focus/sharpness on this one is again much better than your earlier efforts! I think you could sharpen just the butterfly a tiny bit more, but it's not at all bad, in my opinion. I really like how this image shows the butterfly's camouflage in this particular environment! I do think the bits of color distract from the butterfly; this was a difficult environment in which to showcase the butterfly! I'm going to leave it to the more experienced and skilled to make further suggestions. Thanks for posting this; I love that particular species of butterfly.

[mikedelaney]

hi Anita,
you know i was drawn to this orange sprout on the right hand side and knew it would be an issue. i liked it better with the orange root in. i showed it to my wife and she agreed. i cloned it out anyway because i thought most would agree with you. i'd like to show you the picture with the orange included. it seems to me that the strong contrast helppps the picture.

[Alfred Forns]

Re post looks much better Mike !!!

With the Butterfly looking away and being photographed from the top I can much go for this image I understand the appeal with the colors but they are not strong enough to make the image !!!

[Julie Kenward]

I agree with Al. There's way too much (mulch and plants) getting in the way of the beauty of the butterfly. Next time, move in closer and really settle on just seeing IT. I think that will make all the difference!

[mikedelaney]

i took 25 pics of this bfly. i thought this one was the most interesting because if you leave out the orange junk the whole right side of the bfly just dies. i sure agree that it is a busy picture with all that orange, but i thought i would bring the pic up just to see what you guys thought of it. in the end, i agree, the picture is much too busy to be successful. isn't it neat the way the pic dies though?
i picked up the tips on how to successfully pose them though.