Showing his colors

[Roman Kurywczak]

Haven't posted here in a while.....figured I'd drop in. This was from Jan at Butterfly world down in Florida.....my favorite place for butterflies!
My normal Macro set-up of the Canon 1D Mark lll and the Sigma 180mm macro and the MT24 twin lights at -1&2/3 at ISO 800 and f22 for 1/100 sec. hand held and manually focused. Noise reduction run on BG and a few highlights removed in PP'ing.

[Don Lacy]

Hi Roman, Love Butterfly World but a challenging place to get clean images in. Really like the comp and how the flash shows off the iridescence of the scales on the wings.

[Harshad Barve]

lovely compo and amazing details , butterfly pops up nicely on vibrant flower
TFS

[Julie Kenward]

A beautiful image, Roman. I like how much of the flower you left in/out - feels intimate without feeling chopped off. I'm wondering why the black wing with the pink stripe appears to be softer than the short wing and the blue wing behind it...any idea?

Now here's my other question for you, Roman...

How in the world do you shoot f22 in what I imagine is an enclosed area full of plants and butterflies and still get a clean BG? I get above f5.6 at my local butterfly festival and I'm seeing everything but the kitchen sink in the BG. Is it because you are using the 180mm and I'm using a 100mm?

[Roman Kurywczak]

A beautiful image, Roman. I like how much of the flower you left in/out - feels intimate without feeling chopped off. I'm wondering why the black wing with the pink stripe appears to be softer than the short wing and the blue wing behind it...any idea?

Now here's my other question for you, Roman...

How in the world do you shoot f22 in what I imagine is an enclosed area full of plants and butterflies and still get a clean BG? I get above f5.6 at my local butterfly festival and I'm seeing everything but the kitchen sink in the BG. Is it because you are using the 180mm and I'm using a 100mm?
Not sure on the stripe Jules.....all I did was desat a bit......now for the BG's......
I guess it's tons of images with busy BG's over the years that I finally figured out that the BG is just as important as the main subject! I spend more time now looking at flowers with clean BG's or ones that are further away or I don't take the shot.....so if I go to butterfly world.....and I've been there over 30 times.....I just walk around and look for flowers or perches that I consider clean......then I just either stay at that spot or walk around to the 2 or 3 spots in an area and concentrate on that and take whatever lands there. I do feel the 180 has given me a greater working distance and thus allows me to not spook the butterflies as easy.....but if I point it in the wrong direction.....I still get the very busy BG's. Another big addition has been the twin flashes....with digital it has greatly allowed me to tame my flash ouput. Throw in the hand held flexibility.....really works well for me.

[Dave Leroy]

Great colours and really like the composition Roman. Dave

[Christopher Miller]

Beautiful image, Roman! Very eye-catching with the bright orange flower and the bold-colored butterfly.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Roman. I like the colors, pose, comp, and background - well done on those counts. On the other hand, I'm straining my eyes trying to figure out if the image is sharp (Jules noted some of this above). The near side rear wing and the far side fore-wing appear sharp, but the head, thorax, and near side fore-wing appear soft. Maybe the image lost something during downsizing??

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Lovely compositions Roman! I only find the BG a little noisy.

[Charles Wesley]

Roman,

This is most excellent. Love the color, composition and BG. I love my Sigma 180 HSM macro lens. It certainly helps with BG's but as you say one needs to find the BG first.

Thanksfor sharing....
____________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL