Orange Sulphur in flight

[Ken Childs]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p193/kjchilds/BPN/IMG_1431.jpg

Canon EOS REBEL XT
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS @ 400mm
Tv mode
1/3200"
F5.6
ISO: 400
Photoshop CS3

This a significant crop, representing about 10% of the original image. When shooting flying butterflies, it's hard to get them anywhere near the center of frame or at least for me it is so there's always a lot of cropping to do. I tried lightening it up a bit more with S/H but didn't like the results. The eye was given a slight color and contrast boost.

[Allen Sparks]

I'm amazed by any butterfly in flight shot and have quit trying to attempt these due to the difficulty. I like this shot alot due to the fairly sharp eye and the probiscus curled up in flying position. Also like seeing the legs and the wing blur. I believe the image suffers overall from the very large crop but overall I really like this one.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Ken, very cool shot! I haven't seen many of these. BG, light and comp are great, as well as the points mentioned by Allen. Might opt for some more DOF if speed allows it. Nice!

[Ken Childs]

I'm amazed by any butterfly in flight shot and have quit trying to attempt these due to the difficulty. I like this shot alot due to the fairly sharp eye and the probiscus curled up in flying position. Also like seeing the legs and the wing blur. I believe the image suffers overall from the very large crop but overall I really like this one.
I'm hoping the extra megapixels with my new camera will help with this type of extreme crop. I take lots of these every summer and fall and have a better than expected success rate.

These aren't as hard to get as you might think. Take a drive to Mifflin this summer and I'll show you how it's done. :)

I'll post some more in the coming weeks.

[Julie Kenward]

Ken, in my two years here at BPN I do believe this is a first. I've seen bees and wasps and what not but a butterfly in flight? This really is amazing.

Even though the crop is so large and you're going to be greatly limited in what you can do with this I just love to look at it. I cannot believe you got the eye, legs and antenna to be so sharp - that's just incredible. Maybe Artie Morris will let you borrow his 800mm big gun and you can try getting a 100% crop some time. ;)

Now what I wonder is if you have ever set up multiple flash units to catch these little guys the way the pros freeze the action of a hummingbird?

[Mike Moats]

As Allen said I am also amazed at subjects shot in flight. The success rate has to be very very low. I like the crop and position in the frame. Good details where they need to be.

[Vida van der Walt]

Excellent shot Ken! A difficult shot and so very well captured. Great angle, beautiful colours (both butterfly and bg) and love that green eye.:)

[Ken Childs]

Ken, in my two years here at BPN I do believe this is a first. I've seen bees and wasps and what not but a butterfly in flight? This really is amazing.

Even though the crop is so large and you're going to be greatly limited in what you can do with this I just love to look at it. I cannot believe you got the eye, legs and antenna to be so sharp - that's just incredible. Maybe Artie Morris will let you borrow his 800mm big gun and you can try getting a 100% crop some time. ;)

Now what I wonder is if you have ever set up multiple flash units to catch these little guys the way the pros freeze the action of a hummingbird?
I'm sure the technique for shooting a butterfly in flight is similar to what others use for other bugs. I'll post more details when I post more shots because it will be more obvious in those shots what's going on.

To use a setup with multiple flashes, I'd first have to own multiple flashes. This is a hobby for me and I have a hard enough time as it is rationalizing to my wife what I'm already spending. :)