Heliconius butterfly

[Jerry van Dijk]

I've just returned from a holiday in France :cool:, where I had many wonderful encounters with a variety of butterflies, both in the wild and a butterfly garden. Here's one from the butterfly garden. It's a Heliconius species from Costa Rica, probably Heliconius hecale (Tiger longwing), but I'm not sure about the ID.

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, handheld, 46 mm (276 mm eq.), Suntec 4+ closeup lens, ISO-200, F/3.6, 1/40 sec, EC -0.3, pattern metering, aperture priority, RAW.
PP in ACR 5.0. Very slight crop from UL corner for composition. Cloned out a bright spot in the UR corner.

[Ken Childs]

Jerry, the detail on the face and proboscis looks fantastic! You may want to consider brightening up that soccer ball of an eye just a bit. I'd like to see more in focus but it's OK as is. The green area at the bottom is very distracting so maybe some serious cloning or even cropping this down to a close portrait would work better.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Ken, the green part didn't bother me that much, I was afraid it would be a bit of a boring image without it. Cropping wasn't a good idea, so I tried cloning. Although it is a bit against my photography ethics, I tried it as a PP excersise. Since I was busy cloning and violating reality anyway, I also cloned out the OOF front leg. See how you like it. I'll have to pay more attention to the FG next time. I was too busy watching the BG and focus point :o. Small steps at a time :D!

[Jim Bridges]

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[Steve Maxson]

This is a very nice portrait, Jerry. The coiled proboscis and the spotted eye really make the image for me. I didn't mind the OOF foreground that much in the original, but you could make it less noticeable by selectively darkening that area. Cropping a little off the bottom might also help. I don't care for the repost as much. After I look at it for a while, I start to wonder where the other front leg is and whether the lower section of the visible front leg is really that long and straight. :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jerry,
I actually don't mind the OOF FG element in this one.....it's almost like we are sneaking up on him! I do like the idea of lightening the eye more.......unusual presentation and very well done!

[Julie Kenward]

What a wonderful image! I also dont mind the OOF area in this one as it does give the appearance that we are sneaking up on him. I think giving the eye a quick contrast tweak and sharpening will take this to the top. Fantastic!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks for all the comments. I brightened up the eye and added a little contrast and sharpness. I like the result, but the eye was a bit hazy in reality as well. Haven't worked on darkening the FG color, hope to try it out soon.