Butterfly at rest

[Ramesh Adkoli]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3501/3979586476_bf2fb4ccb9_o.jpg

I haven't done much insect/butterfly photography. But this one, sat still long enough for me to get closeup and photograph. Appreciate your views and comments.

Nikon D700, 105mm Micro VR, 1/80s, F/4, ISO 200, Hand held, full frame
Levels, selective curves, selective colors, cloned a half visible leaf from LHS.

regards,
ramesh

[Ed Vatza]

The whole image seems very dark on my monitor and could stand some brightening up as the background seems dull and all detail in the black, red and white on the wings appears lost. On the plus side, the post is good as is the "perch" and the diffuse background.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Ramesh, I like the pose and comp, I think the light in the image looks fine, just need to lighten the B-fly.
One minor thing is the tip of the leaf at the bottom of the frame is touching the edge of the frame so a little extra space would be nice.

[Julie Kenward]

Ramesh, I noticed the bottom of the leaf being cut off as well but you could easily add a little canvas and clone that tip back on and I doubt anyone would notice.

Lovely detail on the butterfly - love the back antenna - it adds a nice dimension and a real softness to the beauty of the insect. I think the top of the wings look a little more OOF than the rest of the insect - you might try some selective sharpening there to see if you can crisp that area up a bit more.

I also find the lighting a bit dark and shadowy. I don't think there's really anything wrong with it - it would just be nice to have had brighter, warmer light to bounce off those reds of the butterfly. Overall, still a very lovely butterfly portrait. Do you by any chance know the name of this one? I don't think I've ever seen one before.

[Christopher Miller]

Agree on the image looking a bit dark. The greens and reds in particular need to be brighter and more vibrant. I also think more DOF would have been nice so that more of the butterfly would be in focus. On the plus side, the pose and composition are very nice.

[Ramesh Adkoli]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2541/4057699182_4a158ae4a9_o.jpg

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Appreciate your views on the image. Here is the repost: i opened up the butterfly a bit using selective curves, adjusted whites a bit with another levels adjustment layer and then added a bit of saturation. I did some selective sharpening but didn't notice much difference on the OOF wings. I tried adding small canvas at the bottom and tried to clean things up. Saw it left some trace and hence, undid all that. I will try that once more later on.

Julie, i do not know the name of this butterfly. Appreciate if any one on this forum could ID this.

regards,
ramesh

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I think it is a swallowtail, but I can narrow it down any further than that.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Ramesh,
Carefully controlled flash would have helped open up the darker side. Nicely isolated