Silvery Checkerspot

[Ken Childs]

Canon EOS REBEL XT
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Manual mode
1/1000"
F20
ISO: 200
Canon 430EX: On, Fired
CS3

I can't remember why I would have shot this at F20. Probably just a case of being excited to see a new bfly species and forgetting to change the settings after shooting something else. :)

[Paul Lagasi]

Ken, the black background really makes this stand out...congrats on new butterfly species

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Ken,
I'm fine with the black BG.....as it does make the BF stand out....but the flash is a bit hot for me (on the body mostly). This is probably due to the lack of ambient light at ISO 200 and the f20....but the plus to that choice....was tack sharp antennae that really stand out......so for me, this was a nice choice....even if it was by accident!

[Randy Stout]

Ken:

Interesting perch, subject sharp and well exposed, but as Roman mentioned, the flash is a bit too hot for my taste. You certainly had lots of room to try for more ambient light to show if you had time. I try to take a meter reading, then while in manual mode, underexpose the background by 1-2 stops. The flash will take care of the subject, but the background won't go black. Just depends on the look you are after:)

Cheers

Randy

[Julie Kenward]

Good tip, Randy! I, too, think the body is a bit "hot" but Roman's right - the flash really grabbed those antenna! Lovely composition - a bit more to the left and we might have seen a bit more "face" but you can't always move or you scare these little ones off!

[Ken Childs]

The "hot" body is my fault and was done in editing, not in camera. I used SH to try to bring out more detail in the body and face and obviously went too far. I think a minor adjustment the other direction is all it needs to look right.

[Charles Wesley]

Ken,

Very nice capture. After hearing your reply, sounds like a little less SH adjustment and this image would be really fine. Thanks for sharing...
___________________
Charlie Wesley
St Augustine Beach, FL

[Markus Jais]

Normally I don't like butterflies against a black BG but here it works very well. I also like the composition with the diagonal line leading towards the butterfly.

Markus

[Ken Childs]

A minor highlight reduction on the body and the hind wing. Does this look any better?

[Randy Stout]

Ken:

Quite nice now!

Randy

[Vida van der Walt]

Love the strong comp and those colours pop against the dark bg Ken. Repost even better.:)